Looking Up & Forward!

It’s mid-December and what a year we’ve experienced! As we approach another new beginning, it’s important for all of us to look up and forward to 2010 with hope and enthusiasm for positive change!

Since the fourth quarter of 2008 and throughout 2009, smart organizations and wise leaders – from solopreneurs to large corporations and non-profits – began (and continue) a process of realignment to serve our (internal/external) customers as well as possible during these changing times to survive and prepare for the upturn. Although, as leaders and managers, we couldn’t do much about the economy at large, we could take certain steps to safeguard our organizations against professional and organizational disaster. We tightened up our spending, went back-to-basics, retooled, and, at times, found it necessary to even resize. Many of us also took advantage of the opportunities presented by the economic downturn to invest in our infrastructures – refreshed websites, new advertising and marketing initiatives, and even added products/services. (Have you heard about my new “Positiv-A-Tea ®”? Check out my website, www.posimpact.net for details about this great new team building program!)

As you’ve heard me say so many times, one of the key elements of our infrastructures is our people, the employees. It’s no secret that resources are strained these days; those wise organizations who recognize and continue to develop and invest in the human resources - the people who are really running their businesses - will hit the jackpot in the short and long run! Their investment in improving the overall workplace environment and boosting morale helps the organization to weather the storm, prepare and recover much quicker and more successfully. Most importantly, it will keep the best and brightest of its talent more fully engaged, thereby, improving customer service and ultimately, bottom-line results.

Engaging the people who are really driving the organization needs to be at the top of this year’s gift list! Keeping morale and productivity up when doing more with less is more critical than ever. As we come to the close of 2009 and begin 2010, (re)building trust, improving communication, growing and fostering the essential “P2P” team relationships are critical to achieving successful results in any organization!

Investing in your people is the greatest gift you can give - to them, to yourself, your organization and to the bottom-line. Spend some time talking with them, informing them about how things are going, retraining and cross-training them, and most of all, having some fun with them! I hope you will continue with the tradition of a holiday gathering - even if it’s on a smaller budget – it will help to improve morale and is needed more than ever this year!

Think about the people on your team(s) and your responses to the following questions as we approach the close of a very difficult year: Do morale and productivity need a boost? Is your organization rebuilding its team after resizing? Do your team members need a renewed sense of community? Does your team need “Positive Energy” and refocusing for the 2010 upturn? I can help…Let’s talk – “P2P”!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you all the blessings of good health, work-life balance, family harmony and the joy of building the essential “P2P” (people-to-people) relationships – both personally and professionally! Thank you for your friendship, your support, and your business this year.