Why are resolutions important? Where will they take us? Are they as important to businesses as to individuals? Find out …

“What is your new year resolution?” we asked a couple who are friends of ours. “Not to fight between us in 2005,” the wife said. “And what is yours?”

“To do more of what I do.” I thought to myself, why are new year’s resolutions important? What merit does it have and is there a message from this to our businesses?

I think the dawning of a new year gives us reason to introspect. To pause and look back at the year that was, and see with hope and dreams the year that will be. Should one continue on the same old path or does the raising of a new sun provide newer opportunities and throw light on newer realities? Will the path taken so far lead to where one thinks it will?

Most of the year one is drawn into a routine, a routine of tasks to do, deadlines to meet and goals to reach. There are very few times in a year one gets to revisit the basics. Why is one doing what one is doing? Is there a better way? In a sense, the whole year we are mostly busy climbing ladders without questioning if the ladder has been placed against the right wall. The changing of calendars gives us the opportunity to check out the walls, question some basic assumptions on what we want, and why, and if it is worthwhile to go forward in a particular direction in the coming 365 days.

The first question and the most difficult to answer is “Am I in the right place?” Which would include whether one is in the right job, right role, right career path. This is not a very easy question to answer for most of us because it involves knowing in depth about something, which is very near yet very far, knowing ourselves. Ideally we would like to be in Geet Sethi’s place who said this about billiards: “A game that appears to be destined for me.”

But most of us may still be on the lookout for what we were created for. But in all probability if one is doing something that one enjoys doing, activities and tasks which do not seem like “work,” one can be sure about excelling in that task. Marry these tasks with opportunities for which the time has come, and you have the recipe for success. However this is easier said than done. For those of us still on the road, we either need to set ourselves to explore more of our own capabilities or get into a meditative state.

But what should these plans be based on? For those of us who have the comfort of holding a copy of Businessgyan in our hands, the next meal is not really the issue. We are blessed since we have the luxury of making choices about our future, and the capacity to dream about it. I would rather say that we need to focus on what we like to do rather than where we want to reach. From all the biographies of successful people that I have read, people have never started out with the aim of becoming great. They sure had objectives like playing well in a cricket game or clinching the big order. Greatness came more because they were doing what they were good at and they were giving it their 100%. Are you doing what you are truly passionate about? The fundamental question is what is it that you are destined for, and once there, the Vision and the Goal will come naturally.

This process is true for an individual and an organisation. Every organisation has its own characteristics and personality. There are certain activities that will come naturally to the organisation, certain tasks which the talent, temperament and capabilities of the team will naturally be able to solve. The trick is to get into those businesses which the organisation can do in its own rhythm. Once in the right business, the milestones set by having articulated goals will energise the organisation just like a pendulum swinging fully when it attains its Natural Frequency.

(The author is the Chief Catalyst of businessgyan. His areas of interest are business strategy and innovation. For feedback and more information, mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )"

Issue BG46 Jan05

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