Better Than Resolutions: Three Words for 2011

I was never into the resolutions thing. Resolutions are too restrictive, too negative, and too artificial.

However Chris Brogan’s recent post about picking three words and using them to help focus your (our your businesses') actions for the coming year struck me as practical, positive, and encompassing, promoting self-improvement, growth, forward progress and experimentation.

Here are three words I like personally and professionally for 2011:

Ship – from Seth Godin, became one my favorite verbs of 2010. Write it, learn it, send it, share it, try something new, make a difference to yourself or others. Get it on the air or into the hands of an advertiser or client, move it out the door, just do it, now. Next! Carpe Diem 2011.

Distill – constantly consume pertinent, interesting, relevant and potentially "actionable" material. Extract the "so what" to fix, grow, change, bond, entertain or improve. Make sense out of complexity, clarify cause and effect, use new knowledge to try new things. Net it out, share an opinion, relate, tell don't recite, start with the finish; be interesting, fun, different, addictive and valuable. Make a difference. Matter.

Delight – exceed expectations. Often it's a relatively small distance from meeting to exceeding expectations: a little more thought, value, empathy, effort, perspective or preparation could move someone from satisfied to delighted, from customer/advertiser/listener to evangelist. You know how good it feels when something exceeds your expectations. It feels even better when you're on the giving end.

Impact, compel, engage, empower, achieve, results, grow, consistent, loyalty and happiness are also pretty good one-word guideposts, too.

How about some you’d like to add?