ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

The New Year is upon us. This annual switch of the calendar signals the official shift from looking back on 2008 to looking forward to 2009. Looking forward usually takes two forms: predictions and resolutions.

The New Year is upon us. This annual calendar shift signals the official shift from looking back on 2008 to looking forward to 2009. Looking forward usually takes two forms: predictions and resolutions.

Every year, some predictions pan out and some are laughable before we hit Q2 -- foresight, alas, falls far short of 20/20. Predictions live in the realm of what we can't control, whereas resolutions reside entirely within our sphere of influence. But despite the additional measure of control, resolutions made for the New Year are notoriously fragile. Here's a random sample by type:

• The speculative resolution: Marissa Mayer resolving to leave Google
• The sell-more resolution: Luc Vezina of Campaigner offers 5 ways to improve your e-mail marketing:


1. Clean your e-mail list


2. Review what worked and didn't last year


3. Make a 2009 e-mail marketing plan


4. Use customer data in e-mail campaign


5. Try something new


• The laundry-list resolution: 23 resolutions for a greener life (or businesses)
• The prescriptive resolution: Freshbooks CEO Mike McDerment's suggested resolutions for smaller businesses:


1. Place more focus on existing customers


2. Adopt new technologies to better your business


3. Use employee training to retain top talent


4. Re-evaluate all suppliers in search for the best prices and service


5. Establish a small business network


• The first-person resolution: What "I" should do in 2009 as suggested by the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce
• The IT resolution: Michelle MacLeod of IT Business provides her tech-centric suggestions:




1. Go green


2. Be more productive


3. Improve security


4. Focus on training


5. Try something new

Of course, there are the resolutions that strive to break out of the template. Community and social media expert Chris Brogan offers an interesting twist on the resolution genre: rather than a list of things to do, he offers this list of things to stop doing:

1. Stop writing about Twitter


2. Stop writing "inside baseball" posts


3. Stop putting yourself down


4. Stop waiting for something to come that will make everything better (if only)


5. Stop thinking you can read minds


6. Stop trying to do it all yourself


7. Stop trying old things in new places, unless they're really old


8. Stop making excuses for not doing things to move your career ahead


9. Stop presuming everything will get better because someone else will fix it


10. Stop writing "me too" posts, or doing "me too" work. Build on the body of work


11. Stop beating yourself up when you don't create something on a given day


12. Stop striving for perfection, and strive for execution instead

As he points out, stopping is hard than starting (insert any tale about quitting smoking here). But applying the brakes is worth considering. As a business owner, what are the things that you do that are not in your best interest? Maybe it's how you manage people, how you plan strategically, how you allocate IT resources, or how you focus on one aspect of the business over another.

Odds are there's something you'd be better off not doing in 2009. Call it addition by subtraction. It's easier said than done, of course; after running with his STOP list, Brogan decamps to a traditional list of affirmative resolutions for the coming year.

Not for a moment am I suggesting that tried and true resolutions are without merit, but in a year that's bound to be rife with mantras of "making due with less," I'd like to know what YOU want to STOP doing in 2009 -- e-mail me and let me know.

Happy New Year!