Those early rituals of the new year are starting to fade – people are remembering their passwords, you only have a 50% chance of having a conversation with a customer or sometime-colleague starting with ‘Happy New Year’. But there are a few signs that the year is still fresh.
The ‘what will be the biggest issues for [the profession] this year?’ conversations are in full swing. This is a good new year habit. It is the chance to tap into the ‘blue sky thinking’ that happens between 25 December and 4 January. It is the chance to choose one or two leading ideas to guide activity and development.
I also can’t complain – in the interest of full disclosure, I did win Bnet’s twitter competition on the subject. For the record, my business trend prediction for 2010, in 140 characters was:
@BNETaustralia Whoever collaborates best wins: convergence of leadership, comms, change, HR, design, innovation improves outcomes. #bnetwin
Businesses are realising they might need to communicate their plans for the year.
Whatever the size of the business, a simple plan to communication your strategy is one of the most valuable activities you can invest in at this time of year. It is the opportunity to provide employees with market context, priorities they can measure their performance against and a common focus for all members of the organisation. There is the optimism of the new year.
Resolutions can still be turned into plans.
Meaning Business 