1. Are you serving your customers even better, by looking at all problems as challenges/opportunities for you to learn and to develop your products, service, procedures, policies and processes? When the great W. Clement Stone was confronted with a problem, especially one he did not expect or that was unusually hard, he was famous for saying "TERRIFIC!"

2. Time is one of the most valued resources in your business and in your life. Continue to "sharpen the saw" and become an even more proficient expert. (One way to do this is through the "Big 6")

3. Are you creating and strengthening professional alliances, using the combined knowledge and wisdom of other business associates/companies? (NOTE: Often this is one of our most underutilized assets.)

4. Are you watchful for things that have outgrown their usefulness or can be handled more effectively and efficiently in a different way? Consider, not just finances, but also time, communication and people.

5. Are you creating a great working environment where your team members are valued, motivated and rewarded and not just financially!

6. Are you marketing your operations and business regularly and consistently? Too often the task of promoting slips to the bottom of the to-do list in the press of the urgent. Remember, if you want to keep your existing customers and attract new ones, marketing must be a priority.

7. Are you keeping your eyes open for improvement, even small improvements? The direction is often much more important than the size of the improvement.

8. Are you making your planning a frequent event? Planning is vital if you want a healthy, growing operation. Planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn't work. It helps you set new directions or adjust old goals. Set aside time, regularly, to review, adjust, plan and look forward. Experts who have studied this extensively say each one unit ($, time etc...) invested in good planning is paid back 10, 20, 50, 100, sometimes even over 1,000 fold. Not only will this help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on track, but you'll feel more focused and relaxed.

9. Are you learning something new? Learning something new will add to your skills and add a new dimension of interest to your life. Depending on how you choose to learn, you may meet new and interesting people, who may become customers, colleagues, or lifelong friends.

10. Are you giving something back to "your world" and "your community"? There are all kinds of worthy organizations that make a difference in your community. Find a cause that matters to you and give it what you can no matter how small. Make this the year that you serve on a committee, be a mentor, volunteer, or make regular donations to the group(s) in your community that make the place you live a better place.

11. Are you putting time for yourself on your calendar? As a leader, you certainly know how important it is to take the time to recharge and refresh yourself. Do you think those on your team do their best work when they are working so hard they take no time to refresh? All work and no play is a recipe for mental and physical disaster. So if you have trouble freeing up time to do the things you enjoy, write time regularly into your schedule to "meet with yourself" and stick to that commitment. If you won't invest in yourself, who will?

12. Are you dropping what's not working and moving on? All products aren't going to be super sellers. All sales methods aren't going to work for everyone. All suppliers or contractors aren't going to be ideally suited for your business. If a technique or a product or a business relationship isn't working for you, stop using it. This means, don't invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Move on. Something better will turn up.

13. Are you and your team "making do"? Figure out what the best tools are, (or at least improved tools) and go to work on getting them.

14. Are you running powerful meetings? Consider finding a way to make them shorter. Many organizations across our nation have found they have doubled their effectiveness by halving their meeting times.

15. Last and certainly not least, in fact maybe it is the MOST important. Are you writing and setting goals? Setting goals is a very valuable habit - if the goals lead to success rather than distress. Remember, very often the first thing that happens to goals is that new information arrives which often may change or further clarify your goals.