Taking my vitamins

Yesterday I started off the new year with soaking up the Southern California sun. I was at a friend’s house and we were all outside with the kids enjoying a quiet Sunday. It could have been any day of the year. But it was New Years Day 2012. We were naturally talking about our resolutions. The night before I had made a declaration that I was resolved to “take 3ones to the next level.” In the morning I had a different way of saying the same thing. “Guys, I changed my resolution,” I said. “I made it more concrete.” And I went on to explain…

We’re going to double our revenues this year. And here’s how…

1. Our products revenues will triple in 2012.
2. I’m going to blog every working day.
3. I’m going to put 15K miles on my car.
4. I’m going to speak at 6 conferences.
5. I’m going to do pushups every day.

I had gone to bed uncomfortable the night before. 3ones traditionally takes the last week of the year off as a company. While everyone else was enjoying the respite, I had taken it upon myself to do what little relaxing I could by catching up on emails, roadmaps, strategy and corporate direction. Of course, doing that in isolation just made me more anxious. I wanted to so badly to bounce my ideas off of my colleagues. That’s why I was a ball of nerves going into 2012.

While I wasn’t sleeping I was thinking about my resolution and coming to terms with how I could “take 3ones to the next level.” It struck me that I was trying to answer that question because the goal wasn’t concrete enough. I set out with the right goal, but the wrong means for achieving it. I’ve had a recent revelation in setting concrete goals which will help shed some light on what I mean.

Getting Better one Plate at a Time

No, thanks. I'll have a salad.

Back in May I got really sick for the first time. I ended up in the hospital over night and scared my wife pretty badly. What had started as a common cold ended up getting the better of me and totally ravaged my body. When I came home from the hospital, I resolved to fixing whatever was wrong with me to make me that sick. When I looked around, I had a pretty good idea it was the food I was eating that was making me so sick. So I set myself a goal: every plate must be at least half-full with fresh fruits and veggies. Every plate. Every meal. Every day. Half. Always. I aslo resolved to taking my vitamins every day. Niacin (250mg), vitamin C (1000mg), ecanacea (500Mg), zinc (250mg), fish oil (500mg), flax seed oil (500mg) and a multi-vitamin (500mg) just for good measure. Funny thing happened once I did.

I managed not to get sick. I’ve had a runny nose or two. An occasional cough, stuffy nose and general winter gunk. I chalk those up to being a father of two and someone who still burns the candle at both ends when it comes to life-work balance. Not only did I manage to stay healthy, I also lost 20 pounds. I was getting soft and wanted to lose weight so this was a nice bonus to staying healthy.

In the past, if I had set out to “lose weight” or “eat healthy” like so many resolutions, it was set up to fail because the goal itself was too unclear. By making concrete goals, I was able to achieve success.

Daily accountability

For our business, I want everyone to know what I’m holding myself accountable to in order for us to achieve our goals. My commitment is to the top line. I aim for us to have 2012′s top line be twice as large as 2011′s. What’s more, there are tasks I can do every day to help inch us toward that goal. Beyond the everyday concrete goals, there are some bigger goals which should also serve our needs. The best way I know how to get new business is to meet people face to face, hence my desire to put more miles on my car and do more public speaking.

My Thermometer

Measure success one notch at a time

I have two resolutions that are harder to accomplish because they are not directly controlled by me. Selling more products is going to be hard. I need to find buyers. But it’s not an abstract goal. I know how much we earned from product sales in 2011. Thus, I know where the finish line is on that goal: 3×2011. Will doing that double our total revenues? Actually, it won’t. Not alone. So there’s an unwritten goal of increasing our revenues from contract and retainer-based work. I believe we can accomplish that as well, but I’m going to rely on my colleagues for that. They will help me identify how we can generate more business from the customers we have and find new business for contract work. Invariably, as we sell more products, we will also be selling more professional services. I’m confident in my strategy and will pour myself into my goals to achieve them both.

Why Pushups?

From the waist up, I’m wimpy looking. I’ve always had a bird chest and small shoulders. I’m athletic, but not strong in the upper body. I figure pushups will help with that. Wish me success!