Don’t end up trashing your resolutions. Make them well-defined.
2013 is fast approaching and I’m secretly happy to get rid of 2012. Personally, it’s been a big year of change for me and that’s not ever easy but it has been exciting. Member organizations are probably feeling the same way. There are things that are occurring in your organizational/professional lives that have taken some getting used to but we’re all still here and we’re all still trying to figure it out. Change will be the new black for many of us as the culture of our organizations change from predictable to relational. Your members expect a tailored experience; even more so as Gen Ys enter our organizations (and we can only hope that they do).
Since this is the time for resolutions, I’ve decided to commit to only one this year. In the past I’ve chosen large encompassing resolutions, like living a more healthy lifestyle. While resolutions such as this are laudable, they are large and cumbersome with lots of moving parts. Leading a more healthy lifestyle could involved losing weight, giving up soda, increasing my exercise, eating more greens, etc. The problem is it could mean all of these or none of these. I decide giving up soda is something I’m going to do but midway through my weekly exercise regimen, I decide cutting down on red meat is enough. No exercise needed. There’s too much room for wiggle. Instead of resolving to engage members more, which could encompass multiple activities not to mention a cultural mind-shift in your organization, pick one specific thing to do. For instance, resolve to write one personal letter to a member a week or make one phone call. Pick something that is measurable and give it a time frame. Once a month I will…The fifth of every month will be my day to…. That way on those days you can ask yourself, did I make that call? If “engagement” was your resolution and you asked yourself whether you had accomplished it that week, you might try to make an action fit into your resolution, instead of your resolution shaping your actions.
If you like more meat to your resolutions, if you enjoy more of a challenge and this seems like an oversimplification, add a new one to your list every other month but keep doing whatever you committed to initially. Adding one every other month gives you time for the original resolution to become a habit before you add something new.
What are you resolving to do for your members?
