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Eric Zorn on New Year's resolutions

"Those who refuse to make New Year's resolutions because they always break them anyway miss the point. Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle."

Here are my marketing resolutions for 2006:

• Clarity - I resolve to be clear about the value that I provide to my audience. I will be clear in my understanding of how I can improve their lives. I will be clear in my appearance and my message to them. Clarity will inform every campaign, every new product, everything that I communicate, every dollar that I spend. I will not add more confusion and complexity to their lives.

• Conviction - I resolve to be passionate about my point of view. People are either going to love me or hate me, but they surely won't be able to ignore me. And they won't have to wonder about what I believe in and what I stand for. I will demonstrate it with my actions (e.g. If my people are indeed my most important asset, then I'll pay them like I mean it).

• Connection - I will embrace every opportunity to enhance my connection to my audience, as well as their connections to each other, in the real and virtual worlds. Therefore, I will have a Web presence in 2006. I will understand and experiment with blogging, podcasting, videocasting, wikis, tagging, search, syndication, and anything else that allows my audience to stay tuned in, voice their opinions and participate.

• Curiosity - I resolve to be curious about my audience, their changing preferences, and their evolving problems, issues, challenges, passions, etc. I will ask more open-ended questions. I will watch what they do. I will measure for insights, and not to rationalize decision-making. And I will respect my audience by making my marketing more relevant, meaningful, educational and emotional.

• Celerity - Yea . . . I could have written urgency, but I thought I'd keep the whole "C" thing going. I resolve to act quickly and decisively. Of course I'll create a plan. But I resolve to experiment more and worry less. To set the pace. To be a leader, not a follower.

• Celebration - Finally, I'll celebrate life and keep Emerson's definition of success top of mind:
  
  To laugh often and love much; to win and hold the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of little children; to earn the approval of honest critics and to endure without flinching the betrayal of false friends.
  
  To appreciate beauty always, whether in earth's creations or men and women's handiwork; to have sought for and found the best in others, and to have given it oneself; to leave the world better than one found it, whether by nurturing a child or a garden patch, writing a cheery letter, or working to redeem some social condition.
  
  To have played with enthusiasm, laughed with exuberance, and sung with exultation; to go down to dust and dreams knowing that the world is a little bit better, and that even a single life breathes easier because we have lived well, that is to have succeeded.

Posted December 27, 2005
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