January 1, 2009 560 Comments

Your 3 Goals for 2009

3 goals Since 2006, I’ve been using a different method for planning my year than resolutions. I always felt that resolutions were a little too push and not enough pull, and I wanted something a bit more compelling to pull me towards the future. Basically, I come up with 3 or so keywords that tie to goals and work from that.

In 2006, my three words were “Ask. Do. Share.” Everything I did, I tried to filter through the mindset of asking people for help, or asking if I could help them. Doing seems self-explanatory. Sharing was making sure that I shared opportunities with others, that I shared my learning with you, and that I kept myself open to sharing the possibilities.

In 2007, I blogged about seek, frame, build, bridge. I’ll admit that it wasn’t as easy to keep that in mind all year long. I still worked towards it, and it still made a difference.

In 2008, I blogged about my three goals being “believe, loops, and farms.” Those are a bit more abstract, but they actually did help me through 2008.

Set Three Words as Goals for 2009

If you want to try the process, it works something like this: think of how you want to be successful in 2009. Then, try to think in even broader terms. Extrapolate on the broader terms, and find one word to hang the idea on.

Meaning, don’t think as much “I want to lose 50 pounds and get back into my high school pants.” Try thinking “Fitness means I’ll be able to cover more ground.” From there, you can say “ground” might be your word. And then, when you look at that as a word, you see how it can open you up to even more meanings. “Ground” can remind you to get fit so you can cover more ground. It can mean to be “grounded,” like someone who feels calm and at rest.

Look for three words that will help you frame your challenges and opportunities for 2009. Don’t think about where you are this exact moment. If you’re without a job, setting a goal in 09 to get a job might not be very useful. Once you’ve got the job, then what? Instead, you could think about setting the goal of “Alignment,” where you ask yourself, “does this fit with everything else I intend for myself in this year?”

Try setting your three words far out on the horizon, but such that they can lead you to your goals every day. Meaning, can you use the same word to get you started, but have it still be relevant when you’re almost at the big goal?

My 3 Goals for 2009

Here are my three words for 2009:

Equip . Armies . Needles .

Taken out of context, those all look terribly wrong. But I know what they mean. I’ll share with you.

Equip – Equip and educate people to solve their business communications challenges in 2009. It’s what we’re using for a theme for New Marketing Labs, from our events to our social media agency practice, that’s the goal: give people the tools and skills to tackle everything from online marketing to internal collaboration. My goal here is to equip you to do what you wish with the information I share.

Armies – I’ve learned a lot over the last few years and I shared as much as I could. That’s great, but if I don’t start building armies of people who can execute and do similar things, then I’m still just one guy, and the scale isn’t all that useful. I’ve started off the year by hiring Justin Levy as my General Manager at New Marketing Labs. His role is to build armies of people who can execute social media in some way (blogging, community management, listening management, blogger outreach, etc). At the same time, everything I learn and share in 2009, I’m going to try and teach even better, so that I can equip more people to execute. That’s why we built New Marketing Bootcamps.

Needles – Simply, the work I do in 2009 is not about theory; it’s about moving needles. I mean to say, when we work with people, it’s not “gee whiz, the Internet is cool.” We’re working on “reduce customer service escalations by X%, improve lead funnel by X%, improve engagement stats by X%.” It’s all about needles in 2009 for me. If I’m going to work on something (at least with clients, not so much for just my pure research), it’s going to be about moving a needle for them at some point. Why? Because social media for businesses feels like a lot of talk, if we don’t show a concrete change for it.

Share Your Three Words

If you come up with a set of three words to frame your 2009 goals around, please feel free to share them. I bet your ideas will inspire others, and I know that I’d love to see what you’ve got in mind. Oh, and because my goals are to equip and build armies, please share the concept liberally. I’d love for your communities to learn this from you, and for them to find the same results I’ve had for the last several years since working in this mindset.

So, what are your three words?

Photo credit Hokkey

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework

Genesis Theme Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Become a StudioPress Affiliate

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
  • Gyna

    Health.Bless.Care

  • Gyna

    Health.Bless.Care

  • http://www.konayoga.com Barbara

    Inhale.Practice allowing Joy to rise within me as I breathe in and people and experiences exuding Joy will gravitate toward me.
    Exhale.Whenever I exhale, Peace and calm spread throughout my body and consciousness and therefore into my environment.
    Focus. When I focus on those qualities (Joy and Peace) as I inhale and exhale, everything else that I choose to focus upon meet no resistance, life flows.

  • http://www.konayoga.com Barbara

    Inhale.Practice allowing Joy to rise within me as I breathe in and people and experiences exuding Joy will gravitate toward me.
    Exhale.Whenever I exhale, Peace and calm spread throughout my body and consciousness and therefore into my environment.
    Focus. When I focus on those qualities (Joy and Peace) as I inhale and exhale, everything else that I choose to focus upon meet no resistance, life flows.

  • http://www.15minutesaday.info Catherine Ford

    My three words are going to be Education, Exploration, and Networking. I plan to concentrate on my doctoral degree (Education), delving into social media as deeply as I can (Exploration), and finding people (both online and offline) who can teach and inspire me or that I can teach or inspire (Networking).

    Thanks for the great post!

  • http://www.15minutesaday.info Catherine Ford

    My three words are going to be Education, Exploration, and Networking. I plan to concentrate on my doctoral degree (Education), delving into social media as deeply as I can (Exploration), and finding people (both online and offline) who can teach and inspire me or that I can teach or inspire (Networking).

    Thanks for the great post!

  • http://doncrowley.blogspot.com DC Crowley

    interesting how you call ‘your community’ an army. That changes the dynamics quite a bit. I hope you come to Europe some time to do this :)

  • http://doncrowley.blogspot.com DC Crowley

    interesting how you call ‘your community’ an army. That changes the dynamics quite a bit. I hope you come to Europe some time to do this :)

  • Pingback: Back to work, but with what attitude? | kilobox communiqué

  • tozgito

    thanks for the much needed inspiration. here are my 3 words – center, connect and balance.

  • tozgito

    thanks for the much needed inspiration. here are my 3 words – center, connect and balance.

  • Pingback: My Three Goals for 2009

  • Pingback: Friday Link Love — The Broad Brush

  • http://www.exploremyblog.com ExploreMyBlog

    Dear Ecairn,

    Thanx for providing us such a good post for read, I think it seems very useful for people who are linked with Social Media and Social networking.

    I discovered another great blog for Social Media which completely covers Social media and Web2.0.

    http://www.ExploreMyBlog.Com

    Explore the Blog and you will feel that some one write accurate and perfect about Social media blogs.

  • http://www.cpasuccess.com Tom Hood

    Great post! I am working on mine for 2009 so stay tuned. We have dione this for our organizations – http://www.macpa.org Connect – Protect – Achieve & http://www.mdbizexpo.com Collaborate – Innovate – Grow & http://www.bizlearning.net Knowledge – Innovation – Leadership. I also blogged about it here http://twurl.nl/i7rjrz

  • http://www.exploremyblog.com ExploreMyBlog

    Dear Ecairn,

    Thanx for providing us such a good post for read, I think it seems very useful for people who are linked with Social Media and Social networking.

    I discovered another great blog for Social Media which completely covers Social media and Web2.0.

    http://www.ExploreMyBlog.Com

    Explore the Blog and you will feel that some one write accurate and perfect about Social media blogs.

  • http://www.cpasuccess.com Tom Hood

    Great post! I am working on mine for 2009 so stay tuned. We have dione this for our organizations – http://www.macpa.org Connect – Protect – Achieve & http://www.mdbizexpo.com Collaborate – Innovate – Grow & http://www.bizlearning.net Knowledge – Innovation – Leadership. I also blogged about it here http://twurl.nl/i7rjrz

  • http://www.exploreeuro.com ExploreEuro

    Here are my 3 Wrods for year 2009

    1- Planning
    2- Work
    3- Implement

  • http://www.exploreeuro.com ExploreEuro

    Here are my 3 Wrods for year 2009

    1- Planning
    2- Work
    3- Implement

  • http://www.TheShastaLifestyle.com Jeanean Gendron

    Chris, I just wrote a post on AR about your post encouraging people to come over here and read and think about their keywords. It really is about the doing and not just the writing and conversation. That aspect is fulfilling however it doesn’t pay the bills. My three keyword for the year are: connect, share, build. Thanks for your work.

  • http://www.TheShastaLifestyle.com Jeanean Gendron

    Chris, I just wrote a post on AR about your post encouraging people to come over here and read and think about their keywords. It really is about the doing and not just the writing and conversation. That aspect is fulfilling however it doesn’t pay the bills. My three keyword for the year are: connect, share, build. Thanks for your work.

  • http://www.OneLoveBarbados.com Jane Shattuck

    I love this way of looking at the new year and by the number of responses you’ve had to this post, it’s clearly an idea that resonates. Thank you. My three words are Share, Smile, and Slog … Jane
    OneLoveBarbados blog

  • http://www.OneLoveBarbados.com Jane Shattuck

    I love this way of looking at the new year and by the number of responses you’ve had to this post, it’s clearly an idea that resonates. Thank you. My three words are Share, Smile, and Slog … Jane
    OneLoveBarbados blog

  • Pingback: New Year’s Resolutions: Seeking Good Advice and Ideas | My Super-Charged Life

  • Pingback: PLEASE STOP THE ROLLERCOASTER - Tips and Tools for Successfully Parenting Your Teens

  • http://fixmedia.tv lenwood brown

    Motivate. Delegate. Confidence.

    Motivate.
    Myself and those around me to work faster, smarter and with purpose. To take pride in the work we do and not to settle for “good enough”.

    Delegate.
    Move tasks to the appropriate people instead of diddling them and wasting time. Use freelance experts to complete tasks and free you up to focus on MY work.

    Confidence.
    Be confident with the genius’ you surrounded yourself with and stand behind your gut. No second guesses, chances are your gut was right all along.

  • http://fixmedia.tv lenwood brown

    Motivate. Delegate. Confidence.

    Motivate.
    Myself and those around me to work faster, smarter and with purpose. To take pride in the work we do and not to settle for “good enough”.

    Delegate.
    Move tasks to the appropriate people instead of diddling them and wasting time. Use freelance experts to complete tasks and free you up to focus on MY work.

    Confidence.
    Be confident with the genius’ you surrounded yourself with and stand behind your gut. No second guesses, chances are your gut was right all along.

  • http://blogblossoms.edublogs.org Holly Dilatush

    Inspiring idea! I’ve twittered about it and will post to EnglishCafe about it, and will implement it personally —

    I, too, like alliteration, and so have chosen:

    Delight
    Demonstrate
    Disentangle [I love words; disentangle makes me want to dance — I need more ‘dance’ in my life — movement, joy, hope, exercise, fitness, etc. I also need to disentangle my body from sitting in front of the computer for tooooo long stretches at a time. I need to disentangle myself from the piles and piles and piles of ‘to-do’ lists — sometimes with pragmatism, sometimes with determination and demonstrating “ta-dah! I did it!”, sometimes by letting them go undone.
    Demonstrate reminds me of Ghandi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world.” quote…
    I love the word delight as an outward verb — I usually use it in phrases like “I was delighted” — but what an energizing difference in reminding myself to delight others on a daily basis — love it!
    delight, demonstrate, disentangle. 2009, bring it on!
    Thanks, Chris!

  • http://blogblossoms.edublogs.org Holly Dilatush

    Inspiring idea! I’ve twittered about it and will post to EnglishCafe about it, and will implement it personally —

    I, too, like alliteration, and so have chosen:

    Delight
    Demonstrate
    Disentangle [I love words; disentangle makes me want to dance — I need more ‘dance’ in my life — movement, joy, hope, exercise, fitness, etc. I also need to disentangle my body from sitting in front of the computer for tooooo long stretches at a time. I need to disentangle myself from the piles and piles and piles of ‘to-do’ lists — sometimes with pragmatism, sometimes with determination and demonstrating “ta-dah! I did it!”, sometimes by letting them go undone.
    Demonstrate reminds me of Ghandi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world.” quote…
    I love the word delight as an outward verb — I usually use it in phrases like “I was delighted” — but what an energizing difference in reminding myself to delight others on a daily basis — love it!
    delight, demonstrate, disentangle. 2009, bring it on!
    Thanks, Chris!

  • http://www.digitalnomads.com bruce eric anderson

    Chris: as always, thought-provoking post. Several years ago when I was running our internal communications function, I employed this approach to all the things we were doing to reach Dell employees.

    Our three words were: Candor, transparency and dialogue.

    It was through the lens of these three words that looked at everything we were doing. If something didn’t hit at least one of those three, it would force us to look at what we were doing more closely.

    So now you’re causing me to consider applying a similar process to my personal/work life. After a bit of thought, my three words are:

    Consistent: I am who I am, whether I’m at work, at home, with my family, friends or executives. I am one person, regardless which of my many hats I’m wearing. This brings a level of transparency to my work. I will be respectful but honest, truthful. Also, this word causes me to consider my life as a marathon, not a sprint. I need to be consistent in every aspect of my life.

    Passion: For those who know me well, I would imagine most of them would not consider me not to be an outwardly passionate person. I am even-keeled. I am cool under pressure. I want to be passionate this year. I will be passionate this year.

    Extend: there are two meanings of this word that I like. First, “to place at full length.” In other words, to “extend” my God-given skills and interests to their fullest. The second (made up of two definitions), “to provide as an offer or grant and to postpone (the payment of a debt) beyond the time originally agreed upon.” This aspect of extend goes beyond me. It is related to how I interact with colleagues, friends and family. I will extend patience and courtesy to my colleagues. I will extend love and friendship to my neighbors. I will extend grace and love to my wife and kids.

    Thanks, Chris, for prompting a quick 2009 planning session this morning. I wasn’t planning on doing this but it was cathartic and fruitful.

    Happy New Year All!

    bruceericatdell

  • http://www.digitalnomads.com bruce eric anderson

    Chris: as always, thought-provoking post. Several years ago when I was running our internal communications function, I employed this approach to all the things we were doing to reach Dell employees.

    Our three words were: Candor, transparency and dialogue.

    It was through the lens of these three words that looked at everything we were doing. If something didn’t hit at least one of those three, it would force us to look at what we were doing more closely.

    So now you’re causing me to consider applying a similar process to my personal/work life. After a bit of thought, my three words are:

    Consistent: I am who I am, whether I’m at work, at home, with my family, friends or executives. I am one person, regardless which of my many hats I’m wearing. This brings a level of transparency to my work. I will be respectful but honest, truthful. Also, this word causes me to consider my life as a marathon, not a sprint. I need to be consistent in every aspect of my life.

    Passion: For those who know me well, I would imagine most of them would not consider me not to be an outwardly passionate person. I am even-keeled. I am cool under pressure. I want to be passionate this year. I will be passionate this year.

    Extend: there are two meanings of this word that I like. First, “to place at full length.” In other words, to “extend” my God-given skills and interests to their fullest. The second (made up of two definitions), “to provide as an offer or grant and to postpone (the payment of a debt) beyond the time originally agreed upon.” This aspect of extend goes beyond me. It is related to how I interact with colleagues, friends and family. I will extend patience and courtesy to my colleagues. I will extend love and friendship to my neighbors. I will extend grace and love to my wife and kids.

    Thanks, Chris, for prompting a quick 2009 planning session this morning. I wasn’t planning on doing this but it was cathartic and fruitful.

    Happy New Year All!

    bruceericatdell

  • http://www.spout.com Christi

    Thanks for the insight. As has been stated previously, my response would indeed be lengthy and therefore requires it’s own blog space. I’ll be sure to post a link if I get that far. thanks again.

  • http://www.spout.com Christi

    Thanks for the insight. As has been stated previously, my response would indeed be lengthy and therefore requires it’s own blog space. I’ll be sure to post a link if I get that far. thanks again.

  • Pingback: Happy New Year 2009! « Natasha’s Art Candy

  • Pingback: Worcester County Freedom Trail » Blog Archive » Happy New Year! 3 Words for 2009

  • http://www.dogwalkblog.com Rufus

    Mine are:
    Walk, Poop, Blog
    Hey, I’m a dog people. Cut me some slack :-)

  • Pingback: What’s Working in Marketing » Happy New Year! 3 Words for 2009

  • http://www.dogwalkblog.com Rufus

    Mine are:
    Walk, Poop, Blog
    Hey, I’m a dog people. Cut me some slack :-)

  • Pingback: Want to Be a Better Blogger? Treat it Like the Job it Is at Personal PR

  • http://www.annbadillo.com Ann Badillo

    Swim–the current, in projects and revenue
    Grace–patience and compassion with family and friends
    Lands–see new lands, 5th decade, open space,new territory, new geos, new eyes

  • http://www.annbadillo.com Ann Badillo

    Swim–the current, in projects and revenue
    Grace–patience and compassion with family and friends
    Lands–see new lands, 5th decade, open space,new territory, new geos, new eyes

  • Pingback: 3 Words Sum It Up for 2009 « Beautiful Broken Glass

  • Erin Weed

    Yesterday I wrote on my blog (http://erinweed.com) about things I learned in ’08…today I wanted to figure out my personal vision for ’09 and your post landed in my inbox. So thanks Chris, for always writing such great stuff. My 3 words:

    1. Replicate (Train speakers to give my Girls Fight Back seminar around the world)
    2. Mobilize (Ditch my office and overhead expenses to get lean, mean and mobile)
    3. Family (Thinking about having kids…or does that fall under replicate? ha ha)

  • http://erinweed.com,http://girlsfightback.com Erin Weed

    Yesterday I wrote on my blog (http://erinweed.com) about things I learned in ’08…today I wanted to figure out my personal vision for ’09 and your post landed in my inbox. So thanks Chris, for always writing such great stuff. My 3 words:

    1. Replicate (Train speakers to give my Girls Fight Back seminar around the world)
    2. Mobilize (Ditch my office and overhead expenses to get lean, mean and mobile)
    3. Family (Thinking about having kids…or does that fall under replicate? ha ha)

  • http://www.carolshockley.wordpress.com Carol Shockley

    Okay, I’ve done it. I took my list and broke it out into 3 words well really items. I included just a few words to express what these items mean.

    1. Rubber Band: I want to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Expand my heart in serving others. Mission/LifeGroup/Women Relationships

    2. Paper Clip: Time Mgmt – Write/Share – Finances

    3. Target: Daily Silence – Go Green — Weekly Dates

  • http://www.carolshockley.wordpress.com Carol Shockley

    Okay, I’ve done it. I took my list and broke it out into 3 words well really items. I included just a few words to express what these items mean.

    1. Rubber Band: I want to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Expand my heart in serving others. Mission/LifeGroup/Women Relationships

    2. Paper Clip: Time Mgmt – Write/Share – Finances

    3. Target: Daily Silence – Go Green — Weekly Dates

  • Pingback: Making Things Happen | Sui Generis

  • http://www.girlfridayservicesofmaine.com Marie a/k/a Girl Friday Maine

    Three words for 2009
    Exploration (to explore all that I can accomplish through law of attraction, smart (not hard) work, belief and faith.)

    Connection (to connect with others using social media, connect with others using local networking oppotunities, to connect with myself and be true to myself)

    Alignment (to align my actions with my desires, to align my virtual assistant services with my clients needs, to align all facets of my being – material, emotional, spirtual).

    Great blog post!

  • http://www.girlfridayservicesofmaine.com Marie a/k/a Girl Friday Maine

    Three words for 2009
    Exploration (to explore all that I can accomplish through law of attraction, smart (not hard) work, belief and faith.)

    Connection (to connect with others using social media, connect with others using local networking oppotunities, to connect with myself and be true to myself)

    Alignment (to align my actions with my desires, to align my virtual assistant services with my clients needs, to align all facets of my being – material, emotional, spirtual).

    Great blog post!

  • http://www.ransomthoughts.com Carey

    Present – be present in the moment with whatever I’m doing and the people I’m with at that time.
    Purpose – make sure I know why I’m doing things and committing time, attention and resource to them.
    Positive – appreciate all the tremendous blessings I have, focus on opportunity and remain optimistic, even in the midst of all the uncertainty around us.

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
GetSocial