If You Do These 5 Things, 2016 Will Be Unbelievable.

You want a great 2016? I'm here to make it happen.If you own a business, work for an organization, or are in transition, these five things will make 2016 shine:

#1 — Take small steps in 2016.

Everyone wants to make big changes in their life — it's built into our genes and personality. We all want to evolve into something better. More money, beautiful body, better health, more clients, or a big promotion. Unfortunately, most of the time, it doesn't happen because we want it to happen NOW.

Instead of making that huge long jump towards our goals, why not break it down into smaller tasks, activities, or steps? Going for that big promotion? What can you do right now — today — to help your boss, your team, or your department grow? What new thing do you need to do? What old thing do you need to stop? Small steps quickly build into major gains and people will notice quickly. Read this.

#2 — Your schedule is your life in 2016.

You can never add more time to your life — we only have 24 hours each day. So instead of trying to 'trick' more time into your life, try to stick to a solid schedule and track the more important events that do make a difference in our career and business.

Try to cut 10% of your lower-level activities every day and stop wasting time with surfing, chatting, useless meetings and less industrious activities. If you cut just 10%, you will garner almost an hour back into each workday. Just think if you had an extra hour to do some really cool stuff for your boss or clients! Read this.

#3 — Get out and meet lots of people in 2016.

Stop cocooning yourself at your desk behind your monitor. Make a firm commitment to get out (at least) once a week to connect with people outside of your current social circle.

Why? The more people you meet = the more friends you make = the more open you are to opportunities = the more success you will see. If you do this once a week, you will add 52 new friends to your contact list. I want you to make a list of FIVE people who you need to meet in the next five weeks. Get out there! Read this.

#4 — Work on yourself in 2016.

Mentally and physically. You can always get better — more knowledgable, more in-tune with the times, more healthy and active, more connected to what's really happening in 2016. I'm a boomer/millennial and it drives me nuts to see people my age who don't know how to work their technology, don't listen to important podcasts, or keep up on what's happening outside of their workplace.

Make a firm commitment to grow your brain and body. Join a gym, hire a personal trainer, go back to school, listen to podcasts, read a book, try a series of courses on the web, or just start stretching (your body and mind). I want you out for a 10 minute walk at 3 PM every day. And Watch this. (one of my favorite videos - by Casey Neistat - it gets me going!).

#5 — Be grateful for what you have in 2016.

When we are in building mode during the first few weeks of the new year — we tend to forget how lucky we all are. That we have a strong roof over our heads, we are never hungry, we have our health, we have people who love us — this list can go on and on.

Make a point each day to get up and write down three things you are grateful for each day. It could even be a beautiful sunrise, a bird on a tree, or getting to work in the snow without mishap. The more grateful you are, the more you will appreciate your life, your family, and friends. And they will appreciate you. Read this and this.

ALSO - Check out The Five Minute Journal — I have one and it has made an incredible impact on my life. 

#6 — EXTRA CREDIT: Start hugging TODAY.

Get out there and hug people! If you see someone you haven't seen in a long while — give them a great big bear hug! I know I might be venturing into the edges of 'sexual harassment' at work territory, but on a personal note — start hugging everyone. Not only will you love it — they will appreciate it! Read this.

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The Extraordinary Power Of Teamwork.

Yesterday morning, a good friend of mine, Bill Erickson, told a very powerful story that hit me right in the heart.  This week, a Japanese woman was rescued from being squashed by a train after she did what we all fear and fell down the gap. Dozens of passengers were quick to react and together pushed the 32-ton train carriage away from the woman in her 30s, and she was able to get away with minor injuries.

With the right people, focused on a single strategy, can do almost anything. I hear so often about dysfuntional teams and people who are unable to get anything accomplished. The real truth is — it's the manager. They haven't done the requisite work to get their team motivated and focused. That's why they are dysfunctional. So let's break down why the actions of the people at the train worked:

They were focused.

They had a common interest and all pushed at the same time to allow the woman to wiggle free. Are your people focused? Do they get distracted easily? How do you keep them on target — how to you regularly ensure they stay on target? Too often, team members are distracted by actions by others or management's changing priorities. Ultimately, they either don't deliver or miss deadlines regularly. Get them focused and keep them on track with regular updates.

They were committed.

They had a life or death situation to deal with and nothing was going to let them fail. They were all in and every little bit of their hearts, souls, and minds were determined to MOVE THAT TRAIN. Have you captured the hearts and minds of your team? As inconsequential as your work may seem, you need to light a fire under your team and keep them committed and motivated to do the extra-ordinary.

Everyone on your team needs to know and understand what is at stake if they fail and for you to show them how to succeed in a spectacular fashion. Most managers don't do this. They deliver the work and just expect their people to deliver. Show them how to WOW you. Give them the tools, direction, and resources to deliver in a powerful way.

They were energized.

The passengers demonstrated extraordinary strength to move a 32 ton train. These weren't bodybuilders or Olympic weightlifters, they were people just like you and me. What gets each of your team members fired up? Are they fired up right now?

Good managers know exactly the right motivators to push at the right times to get super-human strength, endurance, experience, and performance from their people. All by just using words. Find out what fires up each of your people and ensure you regularly make the same circumstances occur on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a compliment, a positive email, or a pat on the back.

Why Leaders Can't Coach.

"All coaching is, is taking a player where he can't take himself." - Bill McCartney When executives coach, they commonly make the mistake of downplaying their role as the boss. Confusion occurs with the associate and coaching fails.

To be clear, a boss is the one who holds people accountable for results. A coach helps people increase their skills to achieve the results.

When executives coach, they usually downplay their team's accountability for results because as a coach, they want to develop their skills. They use coaching to get them to do what they want. That's wrong.

Coaching is not a substitute for performance management. You have to do both and develop clarity with each endeavor. Ensure each team member understands their performance expectations AND coach them to accomplish those performance expectations. It's a dual role — don't mix them up.

Communicate your expectations and ensure you get full commitment.

1. Make sure they understand their goals. Get them to break down each goal and to identify the Who, What, Where, When and Why. This process will allow the How to appear. Steer them when they go off-course and ensure they will deliver EXACTLY what you expect.

2. Get them to mentally commit to their goals. Ownership is key — if they see these goals as yours and not theirs, all will fail. Impart clear accountability — if goals fail, it's their head, If the goals succeed, they get the accolades. It's that simple. If they are stuck or don't know how to do this, I show them how I do it.

3. Give them space to take initiative to reach their goals. Now be a good boss, step back, and give them space. This is a critical time where bosses tend to crowd their team members — give them adequate real estate to reach their goal.

Coach to keep them focused, on track, and to increase their performance.

1. Put yourself in their place and understand their challenges. Each team member has their own strengths and weaknesses. It's your job to understand what they are and where the possible road hazards might occur along the process. Once this is done, you will know approximately where each tipping point will occur and be available to coach them through it.

2. Work with the associate so they can plan all their steps. Get each associate to come up with a process comfortable to them to easily track their progress. The process of planning together allows you to step out of your 'boss' role and to help guide their progress as a coach. Remember it's their plan, not yours.

3. Actively coach them through the process. Develop regular meetings to discuss issues, concerns and opportunities along the way. If they are getting frustrated, help them solve each obstacle by asking questions. Do not attempt to help — this will only move the responsibility from the associate to you. Provide regular tracking to measure where they are and how much farther they have to go. Finally, help break bad behavior patterns along the way — this will help them accelerate and grow during the process.

How do you coach your team?