Realistic resolutions: being grounded and specific with your goals for the New Year will result in success.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ... again! Here we are at the beginning of a new year with all the promise of it being the best yet. With the added motivation of a few extra pounds gained while enjoying the holidays it's now time to sit down and write out the promises that are otherwise known as New Years' resolutions.

It's funny how so many of us make resolutions, yet rarely do those seemingly important commitments make it through the first week of the year--say nothing of the first month. I know when I break New Year's resolutions it is usually because they were really more like big dreams rather than tasks or goals that I could realistically accomplish.

I have learned that when looking forward at what you want to accomplish, either through regular proactive collaborative planning, imposed requirements/demands from outside forces, or a voluntary personal resolution, it all boils down to two basic categories--what's working and what's all gummed up.

Most people spend their time obsessed by what's all gummed up. It's usually easy to identify where we fail but not so easy to understand why or how it happened. Whether it is lack of sales, too much scrap, or even a personal objective such as one's need to lose weight, the overall problem is easy to see but the underlying reasons are another story. The same is true when you identify what is working for you or your company. How many times have you looked at a process or team of people who are clicking along effortlessly only to be unable to identify why everything is working so well?

This brings us to why I believe New Year's resolutions never seem to pan out. All too often we make a resolution thinking it's a plan, when in reality it is only a dream without focus or direction.

The simplest (and usually the most appropriate) example of this is losing weight. It's great to decide that this year you are going to shed some tonnage and develop six pack abs, but, unfortunately, that's the kind of resolution that is doomed for failure. While a worthy goal, it lacks the details and identification of tasks necessary to enable success. Similar business resolutions might include things like "We're going to triple sales" or "We are going to eliminate scrap." Both are great goals--quintessential resolutions--but lack the details and related tasks to see the desired results.

Then there are the resolutions we all want to make but never do. These also fit into two basic categories: inwardly focused and outwardly focused. An inwardly focused resolution might be something along the lines of quitting your job so you can sail around the world. That's nice if you can do it, but I have yet to meet anyone who has made that resolution on New Years' Eve and then followed through with it that following year. An outwardly focused resolution might be along the lines of shooting a problematic employee out of a very large cannon so he is never to be seen again. Most of us have been there, so we know how unrealistic that is, regardless of how desirable it may be.

Like many of you, I have resolutions this year as well. Not big dreams, mind you, but simple things I know I need to work on. Let me share a few that fall into the above-mentioned categories:

Build on what's working. The team has done a great job so I am going to commit to finding an extra benefit/ bonus plan that will reward them for their success and motivate them to keep it up. Maybe it will be as simple as a company outing, maybe it will be an enhanced bonus plan, but they deserve it and I am going to do something to help keep the good times rolling.

Improve what's gummed-up. OK, we all have problem areas, or at least opportunities for improvement. We can't fix them all but I am going to address one area and commit to making a significant improvement this year. I'm not talking about firing everyone or doing more of the same, but I am talking about sitting down and working through the problems, identifying who needs help and what resources are needed to improve that area. While I might want the results to be a dream-like solution, I will settle for knowing that good solid steps have been made in the right direction.

Inwardly focused wants. We all want to look good, and maybe the best way to look good is to lead by example. While it won't replace having a pro-athlete's physique, I will probably look a whole better to the people around me if I do a better job at what I do and provide a good example to my employees.

Outwardly focused wants. As much as we all might want to resort to violent outbursts from time to time, I don't think my HR person will allow it. Instead I am going to make a resolution to commit greater time and money into training people--especially the most frustrating employees--so that they can improve and be better contributors at work and in life. If I can help turn just one mediocre worker into a solid performer, I will have helped the company and, even more, helped that person.

When it comes to simple New Year's resolutions, all should be doable and measurable, and none should cost a fortune. They should include positive steps that will help build on what is good, fix what is not, and improve yourself and/or others. By working on these resolutions, I bet I will lose more than just a few extra holiday pounds and gain some deeper rewards.

PETER BIGELOW is president and CEO of IMI (www.imipcb.com). He can be reached at [e-mail].