A couple weeks ago, a few other consultants and I were part of a feature story in the Sunday business section of The Birmingham News. We were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding business strategies—especially approaches appropriate to a brand new year.

Since our Point of the Week subscribers are located throughout the U.S., I’m going to share my responses to what I thought were very good questions. No matter what kind of business you are in, these questions are about issues and ideas that will concern you. Over the next several weeks, we’ll cover each question and answer in some detail.

The intent of these Points is to get you and your organization off to a fast (and solid) start this new year. We hope to help you create the traction you need in your organization to make this year better than the last—even during a down economy. In some ways, these weekly Points mirror my executive coaching sessions, where I’m encouraging a fast start followed by consistently quick responses to this unpredictable, unstable economy. That said, here’s the first question followed by my response:

“Should businesses have New Year resolutions?”

Well, that depends on two things: the authenticity of the company’s leadership and their ability to be disciplined once they establish resolutions.

The New Year is a great time to wipe the slate clean of any unnecessary challenges or disappointments from last year and boldly move forward. You can (and should) use this opportune time to inspire the troops with promise and promises for the New Year. But only do that if you are going to follow through with those promises! If you are authentic in your desire for change and improvement, the New Year (and any positive resolutions that go along with it) will give you the perfect opportunity to get everyone energized, focused and "on the same page" for the upcoming, brand-new year.

If you’re not totally committed and authentic about your aspirations, goals, initiatives, etc., believe me, your employees will know it. Also, if you’re not authentic, it’s very hard to follow through with any resolutions. So, if you are just giving lip service to the idea of positive change and you know deep in your heart that you are not going to be disciplined enough to make it happen, just skip this exercise.


The New Year is a great time to inspire your troops with promise and promises, but only if you (and your leadership team) are authentic in your intentions and disciplined enough to stay on task with your resolutions, goals, initiatives, etc. Do this right and you’ll energize the troops, reach working consensus and build real excitement in your organization. On the other hand, if you are not totally committed to the process, then skip the exercise. Making New Year resolutions simply because you think you should will do more harm than good.

Next week we’ll focus on exactly what you can do to create traction in your business. Meanwhile, if you know of someone who would benefit from our Point of the Week messages, please email Briana Dudley at briana@corsini.com and she will be happy to add them to our subscription.