New Day, New Week, New Month, New Year Blah Blah Blah!

So it is a new year and time to re-energize yourself and your organization. This is the year that is going to be better than last year. This is the year that the organization is going to make its mark on the industry. This is the year that the new, big contract is going to be won - blah , , , blah . . . blah. We have all heard this and probably all said these same words to ourselves and staff each year.
You know Einstein's definition of insanity - repeating the same thing hoping for a different result. So I have a suggestion. Instead of making all those promises of the great things we have planned - take a different approach - and NO it is not being negative.
Look at your weaknesses. This should be the year that you will not repeat them. This is the year that those weaknesses will turn into strengths. So often we do not want to hear about our weaknesses. That is negative and depressing.

Rule #1: Celebrate if you have weaknesses. Be upset if you do not have any. Weaknesses mean that it can get better. No weaknesses mean this is the best it is ever going to get.
Rule #2: You cannot manage or grow your organization without having some sense of reality. Knowing reality may appear to be at first scary. It is actually “freeing”. It frees you to come up with solutions that can have possibilities of actually working. You have a better handle on success managing the known, not managing a fantasy.
So write down those weaknesses, embrace them, and start making meaningful improvements. A new year with old weaknesses being improved upon - now that is something you can work on.