Sunday, January 1, 2012

Resolutions

Happy New Year!

Do you do the whole New Year’s Resolutions thing?

I did in 2011, and I am now for 2012.  They worked very well last year.  While they weren’t specific (so I couldn’t tick them off) they were good guidance - they’re probably not what others would think of as resolutions. The key, personally, was not to leave them hanging.  You may know I plan things pretty extensively, so for me it is just a matter of making sure my plans for the year incorporate my resolutions.  You don't need all those details, but here is 2012 resolutions in brief!

Presumably Calvin Hobbes is written by someone but I found this here


Resolutions

·         Pioneer: push myself of the bank of career certainty, make myself into a doer

·         Engage: speak up, connect, and make real what I have learnt

·         Develop broader skills: collaboration, acting in uncertainty, design, entrepreneurial, strategic planning...

·         Develop personally: become a helpful, valuable, connected person, develop niche (value-add) expertise

What to do?

The resolutions are like a vision statement, just with a specific timeframe.  Now you can either state them and hope that by osmosis you’ll do them, or you’ll articulate how this will happen.  I do lots of things by osmosis, but nothing I can identify that matters.  I do have more specific plans around these, but in short, for 2012 I will:

·         Get an online presence that fosters engagement with others, particularly in an area of expertise (e.g. blog on economic thoughts or public admin)
·         Get involved in exciting extra-curricular projects (tbd what exactly), and develop a practice of pursuing my own ideas
·         Find a new workplace that better supports my 2012 objectives
·         Develop my ‘brand’ of expertise in public admin systems (to a point of public recognition, e.g. being invited to present or write)
·         (Ir)regularly review the resolutions to determine whether these actions will get me there

Checking in

In organisations reviews tend to happen when people need to justify doing what they are accountable for.  They don’t happen very often otherwise.  I know I’m not overly accountable for these, but I think reviewing has value for anybody looking to develop and learn from where they’ve been.

I sit down and have an informal review every* quarter against the year’s plan, and reframe activities in the meantime.  This wouldn't normally be documented, but I may post thoughts here if they are of value.

Good luck with your resolutions and intentions for 2012!


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John Baxter
www.jsbaxter.com.au

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