"Start the New Year with Some Action!"
Happy and Healthy New Year and I’m sure we have all set some great resolutions or goals that we have started to put into motion. Those goals are dreams with a deadline or as I once heard- Nothing happens without A.C.T.I.O.N.
So look at the following and take some “action” starting now.
A – Appreciation—start the year as I hope you ended it–Say thank you and show appreciation to all around you. Remember Attitude is everything and is always your choice.
C – Communicate- Even though we might be listening-we don’t always understand the other person. We all have different styles. Ask again and paraphrase to make sure you understand the other person and that they understand you. I follow the carpenter’s rule: “measure twice and cut once”. Really listen to avoid mistakes. Appreciate everyone’s unique ness—be flexible.
T – Communicate and work as a team. Babe Ruth used to say:”The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. “You may have the greatest bunch of individuals-but if they don’t play together, the team is not worth a dime!” Every department and group work together in ways to create the whole and we are only as strong as the weakest link.
I – Invest in yourself—take time to realize that in every meeting- and situation you are presenting yourself. Think of how we come across, the image we project and our character. Think that you are in the “Grocery Store of Life”—what can I do to enhance how I relate to my fellow colleagues. (It can be as simple as good eye contact, a smile and to listen)
O – New opportunities will present themselves. Be ready for them and be organized and follow agendas in meetings. We’ve all been to meetings that have none–with an agenda; you get everyone on the same page and the same direction. Avoid adding your thoughts when they have no relevance to the topic; there will be another time. If this one goal is achieved and we know we can only truly change ourselves-——history will be made!!
N – Network—“the opposite of networking is not working.” Be accessible to each other. Increase your visibility and develop your circle of influencers and people you can help and learn from. As we know, Networking is life!!I’m just back from a life changing experience in the Middle East. To be there especially during this time was amazing—what I saw, learned and the people I met have started my 2008 off to an incredible beginning!
