ABSTRACT
In case you’re late coming up with your own this year, or need a bright light to guide you through the night, here are ten New Year’s Resolutions designed especially for counseling firm principals. They can be applied at any time during the year. Now is not too soon or too late.
I resolve not to lose my head when all around me are losing theirs and when, in reality, all seems lost. Instead, I will step into the hall, blow a mighty blast on the police whistle I keep in my desk for such occasions, and yell “Stop the Presses” at the top of my lungs. (A lady account supervisor at Ketchum PR in Pittsburgh used to do just this. Seemed to work fine for her.)
I resolve to take no more lip than absolutely necessary from crabby clients. Instead, I will subsidize their treatment in an attitude adjustment class. Or, if that fails, I will insist that we do such good work and provide such excellent service to every one of our clients that they will all become sugar tongued and will no longer beat up on their account executives and other fragile souls.
I resolve to be kind to freelance writers, photographers, artists, and all other vendors and suppliers; to always give them careful and complete instructions and plenty of time in which to complete assignments; and to, always, always pay them promptly (within ten days, if possible).
I resolve to hold technology close to my heart and checkbook; to spend the bread to buy good cutting-edge hardware and sophisticated software that combines timekeeping, accounting, billing, budgeting, profitability, and productivity tracking and pumps out an information-packed plethora of reports. I will retain one typewriter to address an occasional envelope and as a reminder that once upon a time “cut and paste” could not be accomplished with a couple key strokes.
I resolve to pay attention to all the little things that motivate employees and make them eager to come to work. This includes such niceties as (A) saying “Thanks,” “Great job,” and “The client loves you”; (B) walking the halls frequently with a smile on my lips and a spark in my eyes; (C) letting people know exactly where they stand through regular candid and comprehensive performance reviews; (D) not forcing people to ask for a raise, but making sure that everyone knows what our compensation policies are; and (E) remembering that my replacement may be among my junior staff today.
I resolve to challenge and inspire employees by providing the training they need to grow; by encouraging them to become involved in professional organizations and activities; and by pushing them to climb mountains that they may believe are too steep and treacherous.
I resolve to remember that there is life outside the agency business and that people, especially younger members of the staff, may not be as fervently devoted to the health and future of this agency as I am.
I resolve to remember that not everyone can or will write or perform tasks exactly the way I do or would and that this is not necessarily bad. I resolve to delegate both responsibility and authority to competent people; and to be patient and learn to tell the difference between an employee’s approach to a task that is merely different from mine and one that is a threat to the agency.
I resolve to encourage people, particularly younger staff members, to have the judgment and confidence in their own ability to stop work on a project before they have invested more time than the client will be willing to pay for. And to remember that clients deserve and are very willing to pay for excellence but they are not willing to pay for perfection.
I resolve to remember that excellent client service is vital to this firm’s success. But that, for the firm to truly succeed, I must be as good a business executive as I am a public relations counselor.
