Personal Growth Resolutions for Executives

Early in the last year, senior executives and managers foresaw a future of business growth and by year-end the optimism continued, with about three-quarters of them seeing employment increasing or staying the same during 2006.

The majority of business leaders also are optimistic about economic conditions for the next year, with the majority positive about both the economy and business growth.

The biggest challenges to maintaining levels of business are competition, business growth, finding qualified people and workload, based on NFI Research nationwide surveys.

To bring business to the next level, the majority of executives and managers see finding qualified people as the biggest challenge.

So, based on our surveys of executives and managers over the last year, here are some thoughts for resolutions as we prepare for the year ahead.

• Take more vacation. By the end of the year, 96 percent of senior executives were entitled to three weeks or more of vacation, though only 66 percent expected to have taken it. While 79 percent of them were entitled to four weeks or more, only 37 percent planned to take it. And of the third of executives and managers who are entitled to five or more weeks, only 10 percent expect to take it.

• Get the CEO out. The majority of executives and managers say the chief executive is spending too much time focusing internally and on investors, and not enough time with customers or clients.

• Cut down on office politics. The top annoyance to the majority of executives and managers is office politics. Time to focus more on the customers and the business and less on internal issues that don’t move the business forward.
• Increase respect for other people’s time. The overwhelming majority of executives and managers say that conducting business would be easier if more people would respect other people’s time.

• Curtail loud cell phone usage. Again, one of the top annoyances to people at work and on the road is over-the-top cell phone usage. Everyone can relate to this one.

• Run meetings efficiently. Also near the top of the list for what would make conducting business easier. Also helps to show appreciation for people’s time.
• Give someone a second chance. The majority of business leaders say they wish they had been given a second chance one or more times in their career.
• Cut down on interruptions. The majority of senior executives and managers are most often interrupted 11 to 40 times during a typical workday, with three quarters of them having the longest stretch of uninterrupted time of less than an hour. People need time to think.
• Tap into your greatest strengths. About three fourths of executives and managers say their department or organization does not tap into their greatest strengths extremely well. Time to highlight those strengths that the business may not know exist.

No matter what resolutions (if any) you select for the next 12 months. We wish you all a safe, prosperous and healthy New Year!