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24.12.07

Resolutions for the New Year

Resolutions for the New Year. Well I don’t really do resolutions as my liver will testify but there are more things I need to concentrate in 2008. These fall into two camps – professional and personal.
So here they are:

Professional
Concentrate on the bottom line. GREEN is a great agency doing some fantastic things for clients but like most creative agencies we don’t pay enough attention to profit. That will change this year and we will be counting the pennies and measuring ROI.
Encourage colleagues to take leadership. Too often I take on too much in spite of the fact that I am surrounded by talented people who would do a better job than me.
Engage with clients more. If everything is going well we take no calls. When there is a crisis we are in the thick of it sorting things out. I need to talk more to clients during the down time.
Do More Social Media Gigs. Pat on the back to me but I do know what I am talking about and can be very entertaining – certainly that’s the feedback I get. So this year I plan to do one speaking gig a month. Social Media & Web2.0 anyone?
Think strategically. I think 2008 is going to be a period of turmoil and unless you have a plan of action any business is going to sink deeper than whale shit.

Personal
Shut up and listen.
I’ve learned that when I take the time to shut up I learn a lot more from other people.
Spend more time with my wife. Need I say any more!
Spend more time on the river. I’m not a passionate man but I am passionate about rowing. That’s why I plan to go sculling the day after Boxing Day.
Travel more. So many places and so little time.
Do some journalism. I’ve always been uncomfortable working in PR and writing as a journalist at the same time. But it is one of the few talents I possess so I might indulge in some freelance work.

Happy Christmas Everyone and here’s to an interesting New Year. Cheers!

5 comments:

Alex P said...

Wow. I don't come across many rowers in PR, so good to see I'm not alone with all the accountants I seem to end up in crews with...

News Update said...

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the comment. I row at Bradford in a boat full of vets and just one accountant although to be fair he is a finance director at an oil company.
Our crew is made up of a painter and decorator, a professor of metallurgy, a salesman, a head of human resources at a co-operative, furniture company director, chartered surveyor, pork butcher, electrician and teacher.
Check us out here: http://bradfordrowing.wordpress.com/

News Update said...

Oh and by the way we did go out in a IV on the 27th in terrible conditions with the wind blowing the boat all over the place.
Ian

Alex P said...

Yeah- we've been dragging ourselves through some pretty fierce conditions on Tideway last few days too. Read Bradford blog before- think it's a great idea. Presume it works well for recruitment of new bods too, giving them a much better idea of what they're signing up for.

News Update said...

Hi Alex

The Veteran Blog works really well
for recruitment - the club's official website is shite. Blog also allows us to plan outings, racing etc. I'm currently looking into creating a wiki.

Ian