Chat with Cat: Focusing on Targets for 2010

Happy New Year from Montreat Conference Center! We rang in 2010 with a wonderful College Conference, and there's no better way to make a new start than to bring in 850+ young adults and some fantastic speakers.

And of course it's the time of year to make resolutions, for ourselves and for our businesses too. I wanted to know what people were thinking about, so I tried to use LinkedIn's Q&A feature to get some idea of the types of resolutions that business people make, and the types of goals they set for themselves in a new year.

The responses were not was I was looking for, but it may have been even better. The first responder simply wrote, "They don't. They are called Strategic and Business Plans." His answer didn't offer any inspiration or motivation or room to maneuver. Several others responded similarly, except the gentleman who wrote, "Avoiding carbon pollution fines." Who knew?

It reminded me that despite all the inspiring and motivating that us marketing types like to think about, solid businesses do have to be run on real, concrete plans and goals. These strategic plans and goals can make the difference between growth and failure for some organizations. And maybe when the people who make these plans hear the word "resolution," they think it's something soft or lofty, or as one person put it, "loosey-goosey."

So perhaps today's connotation of "resolution" has been damaged or lessened by so many years of making New Year's goals that fall flat of their glory. Failed diets; broken promises; forgotten objectives. But let's also think about the other definition of the term. In terms of images, "resolution" refers to the amount of detail that is available, and to the ability to zoom in on or focus on a particular item.

So what will you do this year to add detail to your goals? So much detail that you can easily focus on what's important and work toward attaining those goals that could make or break your business. Do you need to bring in someone to help you increase this "resolution?" What sort of environment will best allow you to focus on your goals? Don't forget that even a temporary change in surroundings can put you in the right mindset to accomplish things you have been putting off.

Could Montreat be the right environment for your next strategic planning or refocusing retreat?

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.