How YOU doin' on those resolutions?

As we rapidly approach the Ides of March and St. Patrick's Day, we no longer remember what our New Year's Resolutions were. One buddy said he wasn't making any this year. But didn't he, in fact, resolve to not make any resolutions?

Running late is inexcusable.

My resolution was to arrive on time for meetings. I was late once. I had a flat tire. I snapped a picture with my smart phone and texted it to the meeting attendees. Wish I had one of these devices back in high school so I could snap a photo of the dog eating my homework.

Resolutions are not to be confused with goals. Unfortunately, many decision makers have forgotten what their 2012 goals are because they wrapped up 2012 goal planning in December, put the binder on the shelf and forgot-about-it. They may pull the binder out in September and compare actual with plan and perhaps, wonder why the variance is so huge.

Now is the time to have an accountability meeting. Compare your January and February actual to plan. If the variance is huge, you have 10 months to make adjustments and achieve goal. If you wait 'til September, you're too late.

Stop making those forgotten resolutions and develop a challenging plan with SMART goals and well thought out action steps.