Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Here’s hoping that 2008 will be a successful and prosperous year for you.

If you’re like most people, you’ve made some New Year resolutions. And if you’re like most people, by the end of this week you will have blown whatever you resolved. Studies show the 85% of resolutions are destined for failure. And you wonder why you can’t change anything in your organization?

If you want to be successful with your resolution(s), here are some tips that I have found helpful:
1. Keep it simple but well defined. You aren’t going to bring about world peace in 2008. However, you might make your little corner of Earth a better place. Be specific in your goal – not “Start my own business” but “Start a logistics consulting company in Moose Jaw, SK.” Set a goal that is attainable, but not so low it takes no effort to reach it. Maybe you’re going to keep better organized this year. So instead of trying to implement some drastic new organizing system for every minute of every day, take one part of your life and straighten it out. Email in basket overflowing? Maybe you should unsubscribe from all those newsletters you don’t read anyway. Maybe direct your friends to your personal email address instead of your work address. Small steps will help you achieve your goal, and you’ll feel better when you achieve it. And once you’ve reached your small goal…
2. Make another small goal. What’s so sacred about New Year’s for making a resolution? What stops you from making a birthday resolution? Or a President’s Day resolution? Or just a “Hey, it’s Wednesday” resolution? Once you’ve achieved one small step, plan and take another. Think of it as a Continuous Improvement for your life. In the work world, we call that Kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “continual improvement”. The Godfather of Quality, W. Edwards Deming, made the process popular in post-WWII Japan, and today it is the foundation of the Toyota Production System. Kaizen methodology uses scientific methods to study an issue, implement small improvements and standardize work practices. Make it your mantra – small, continual improvements.
3. Visualize the goal. Years ago, I met a brilliant young Ph. D. named Patrica Pitsel in Calgary. Not as a client, although I probably could have benefited from a few counseling sessions with her. She was a fellow lecturer at the University of Calgary. She was working with hockey player Lanny McDonald of the Calgary Flames. Lanny was stuck on career goal number 499, and seemed to be hitting a wall. Try as he might, he couldn’t get the magic number 500. So she told Lanny to visualize how he might score number 500. Slap shot from the point? Rebound? Lanny thought he would score on a wrap around – come in from the right, go behind the net and tuck it into the left side before the goalkeeper could react. Guess how Lanny scored his 500th career goal – on the wrap around. So close your eyes and visualize how you are going to achieve the goal you have set. Then put into action the steps you need to make that visualization a reality.
4. Remember the PCDA cycle. Plan – Check – Do – Act. You spent time thinking about your goal. You’ve done the reality check. You’re putting steps in place to achieve the goal. But don’t be afraid to go back and review. Maybe your target has changed. Maybe your goal needs some fine tuning. Go back and repeat the cycle. Is the goal still important to you? Does the need still exist? Don’t be afraid to change the goal as circumstances change.
5. Don’t be afraid to fail. Fear of failure often stops us from even setting a goal. But if you don’t fail, you aren’t trying hard enough. Think in sports terms – if you aren’t shooting at the net, you can’t score. In hockey, the “shots on goal” count is always higher than the goals scored. In baseball, the strikes are always higher than the hits. But if you don’t swing or shoot, you’ll never score. So don’t let fear of failure hold you back.

And what are my goals for 2008? Well, last year I realized that I wasn’t the trim, athletic hockey referee I once was, so I started on a path to get back in shape. I’m going to continue that. Healthy eating and regular workouts have really become a way of life now. I’ve decided I’m going to aim at running a 5K in February. Following my own advice, my goal is “I will run in the Gasparilla 5K Race on February 9th”. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

May your 2008 be safe, prosperous and fun.