My 2006 Resolutions

In a few minutes I'm taking off to bring in the new year but before I hop on to that I figured I'd post my professional New Years resolutions. I'm farly public and up front about almost everything I do so here is what I'll strive to dedicate more time to in 2006. Communication Support & Development 2005 was a big year for me in this respect. My Exchange series of articles covering service packs, small business deployments, instant messaging and so on has been downloaded well over a million times. It has been an unbelievably gratifying experience to help so many people and I thank every one of you that took the moment to tell me how much time I've saved you. It has been my plesure. The 2006 looks to be a very big year in terms of next generation of messaging platforms, mobibility possibilities and how we use computer networks to stay in touch. I hope to help at least twice as many people through my Vladville and SBS Show efforts. Keeping it Real, Honest and Fair Honesty is the cornerstone of our society. Being objective and reasonable in technology choices is a mark of a true IT professional. While it does not universally build friendships with every vendor, I would have no respect for myself or anyone else that blindly follows Microsoft, Linux, MacOS X, or any other thing or diety. I'm going to work a lot harder on keeping an objective technical as well as business-oriented look at everything that is available to make us more productive and less hung up on data-entry details. Not moving to Firefox, MSN Messenger, Google Desktop and RSS Bandit faster has been a personal failing of mine in 2005. In 2006 I will look at more opportunities to make myself better and more efficient when it comes to personal time management and the management of my clients. Hit it Harder In 2006 we're (as in my Own Web Now Corp team) are going to hit small business a lot harder than we ever have before. As I already said, there are so many opportunities out there and I feel that we now have a huge network of professionals that feel the same way. I'm going to dedicate a lot more of my time and a lot more of OWN resources to growing that channel, growing the brainshare in that channel, and making every single individual I deal with a more successful technician, business man.. a true IT Professional. If you thought the initiatives through Vladville, SBS Show, SMB Nation and Orlando IT Pro (not to mention all the other SBS groups I've supported) were something in 2005 you'll really be surprised in 2006. But most of all.. remain positive. Finally, and this is not a promise, I will do my best to be less critical. I take enormous pride in what I do and who I do it with. I never take things personally in business but I'm very aware of my SWOT, ROI, TCO and I re-evaluate it month-to-month, day-to-day, minute-to-minute. In 2006 I hope to take that to the next step and start focusing on the many positives that I've helped generate, not the very few disappointments that came as a side-story.