Comments on: To Succeed in 2009, Do These 2 Things

By: 2009 Is Going to Be YOUR Year! — Mark Hayward

2009 Is Going to Be YOUR Year! — Mark Hayward — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:06:43 +0000

[...] am not big on resolutions, but with the New Year upon us the internet seems to be oozing optimism like gobs of jelly out the [...]

By: KissMyBlackAds

KissMyBlackAds — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:55:22 +0000

Smart post!

By: Nicky

Nicky — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:40:01 +0000

@Anthony Kershaw: Thanks for visiting and for the compliment. Yes, I love Thesis – and I see you do too. Always happy to meet fellow Thesis users… there are quite a few of us about

By: Anthony Kershaw

Anthony Kershaw — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:43:39 +0000

Great site, Nicky. Chris’ Twitter post led me here. I see you like Thesis. Me, too! I’ll take pleasure in exploring your site.

Cheers, Anthony

By: Nicky

Nicky — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:08:00 +0000

@Stephen – thanks for commenting! “I suspect a reason we fail to do so is because it demands that we be completely clear about whether we achieve goals or not, and lurking in the emotional background is the all too familiar “fear of failure.”

You are spot on. If we’re asked “did we achieve the goal or not” the answer is either “yes” or “no” and because we don’t want to risk saying “no” it feels safer to remain fuzzy. The thing is, as soon as you set measures they actually help you because then you can work on the plan for achieving the goal. And I agree, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we don’t achieve every goal…like you say knowing we’ve achieved some and looking at new goals and what got in the way are so much more important.
I will check out your blog

@Deb @ Shirley – Yes! I get a sense of purpose when I set goals that I never got when I used to make resolutions years ago. They give me direction – I knew I was working towards an expected result.

@Lord Matt – You’re welcome!I look at a resolution like a nudge that something needs doing. A goal helps you achieve success.

By: Lord Matt

Lord Matt — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:34:06 +0000

It makes a lot of sense. A resolution is a realisation but a goal is a metric by witch you can measure your success. Thanks for the great reminder Nicky.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:31:15 +0000

Yes, goals are key; resolutions are meant to be broken. Btw, anyone looking for a workout buddy. lol.

Yeh, goals are specific items that will be achieved whereas resolutions are these general ideas.
Resolution: I want to make my blog more popular.
Goal: I want to increase traffic rank to sub 50K Alexa.

With a goal, you actually get somewhere.

By: --Deb

--Deb — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:20:22 +0000

I’ve never done New Year’s resolutions (or, not since I was a kid, anyway) because I’ve never once succeeded in any of them … nor has anyone I know. I like the idea of setting goals instead, though … it gives you something to work TOWARD!

By: Stephen Rothman

Stephen Rothman — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:18:04 +0000

Hi Nicky,

discovered your blog via a comment you left on Chris Brogan’s blog about leaving comments. So now I’m leaving a comment on yours.

Good advice about goals. I work in advertising and it’s amazing to me how many of my client’s fail to define clear business goals on a given initiative. It is simple common sense, both in business, and in our personal lives. I suspect a reason we fail to do so is because it demands that we be completely clear about whether we achieve goals or not, and lurking in the emotional background is the all too familiar “fear of failure.”

But I also think it’s important to not knock oneself over the head when we don’t achieve all our goals. Indeed, we probably won’t achieve all of them. The important thing is that we know if we have or we haven’t. Only then can we identify the things that got in the way for a better chance at success the next time.

Like you, I also blog about social media at http://socialmediasoapbox.wordpress.com

By: Nicky

Nicky — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:40:17 +0000

Thank you Greg! It’s hard to argue with quantitiative goals. Everyone can understand them. And once they are set, they become very powerful drivers for achievement. For marketers, those goals need to drive the strategy. A very Happy New Year To You!