2008 will be much better than 2007.

Has to be.

The girls and I just put together our resolutions for the coming year. It is quite an exercise to explain the concept of “resolutions” to a four-year-old. The nice thing is that going through this process tonight has reminded me of the power of simplicity and the importance of periodically taking stock.

I’ve certainly got a ton of things I can do professionally to make me better at what I do. It’s nice that I’ve just had my annual performance review to give me a clear report card. But, for my youngest, I just needed to boil down the concept to its essence.

“We’re just trying to do something to make ourselves better people, honey.”

That’s it.

The action needed to realize this promise can be large or small, but in the end, we’re aiming for improvement. In many ways, this is a tidy parallel to what we’re doing for our clients. We’re asking customers to do one thing. That’s it. Right?

As I turn the page on ‘07, I am glad to see a fresh slate before me. 365 open blocks of time to clarify and simplify. 12 months to take both large and small actions with a goal of improvement.

2008 will be much better than 2007.

There’s no question in my mind.