The New Year is here and along with it come our resolutions which we hope, and I do mean hope, we will keep for at least the next 3-4 weeks.
There is one thing that my current employer, an Army Major Retired, did for me when I first started in his employ, and that was to provide me with a Franklin Planner, much to my objection as I thought I was one of the most organized people going. . I must say that 13 years later my Franklin contains my entire day to day life.
Three different binders and styles have come and gone, but my trusty handwritten planner is never very far from my side, though I am not quite as anal as some who carry a “satellite” where ever they go, my planner has come to be a dependable friend and traveling companion and admittedly at times my memory.
Franklin Covey has many programs that one can buy into intended to make people more productive and goal oriented thus, the marketing program goes, more successful. I am not so sure about the successful part, but, many major companies subscribe to the theory and have installed the Franklin Planner on their firm’s PC’s and purchase Franklin PDAs complete with seminars for their executives.
One of the Franklin tenets is that if humans write tasks and goals down then they are more committed to completing those tasks necessary to reach the goal. Also they espouse the belief that we will remember over 80% of what we write.
Personally I enjoy seeing the little checks rather than X’s or an arrow next to my daily planner entries, so there appears to be some validity in what they say. I should point out that 4 out of 5 of my fellow employees also use company supplied Franklin Planners and one, the retired major, is called by some, in our highly competitive industry, an Executive Search Superstar.
As I updated my planner for 2007 I pondered weather or not the Union County Freeholders were spending the day updating theirs for the New Year as well, that thought lasted all of about ½ a second, what was I thinking?
Though I no longer use all of the tools provided by my planner as my “personal goal” is to get through the day in one piece with my sanity in tact, I do assign my planned activities, both business and personal are intertwined, an A, B or C and an order of importance 1-2-3 and so on.
Planning for the day is akin to making resolutions daily and I am not suggesting that the Freeholders run out and buy Franklins, I am suggesting that perhaps they take a few minutes and make some resolutions for the upcoming year that they can stick to.
May I suggest the following?
Chairwoman Kowalski – please resolve to refrain from calling citizen speakers at the podium by their first names, as your predecessor Mr. Mirabella was in the habit of doing.
Freeholder Holmes – please resolve not to attempt to intimidate the citizens into silence by reminding them that county counsel is sitting on the dais and that their personal attorney’s are not present.
Freeholder Mapp – please resolve to lean on maintenance to get you a microphone that works, as you appear to have a lot to say and those in the back of the room would like to hear you.
Freeholder Sullivan – please resolve to curb your sarcasm as it is most unbecoming for a professional such as your self.
Freeholder Scanlon – please resolve to recuse yourself or to abstain from votes in witch you may have a personal interest, such as the upcoming approval of financial institutions which will be used by the county in 2007.
Freeholder Ward – please resolve to come to a meeting at least giving the appearance of being fully prepared.
Freeholder Estrada – please resolve to do what you know to be the right thing ethically this year, (enough said).
Freeholder Proctor – please resolve to review suggested resolution for Freeholder Estrada bearing in mind.that if the shoe fits etc.
Freeholder Mirabella – please resolve to remember that the citizens are indeed your equal and treat them accordingly; after all they put you where you are.
Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders As the Whole– please resolve to take whatever steps are necessary and not raise taxes this year.
As for me you may be asking just what is she resolving for 2007?
The answer is quite simple really, I publicly resolve to continue to do what I do which is to watch and comment on the activities of county government in Union County. I have already made it an A1 task in my Franklin Planner and intend to see a lot of little check marks this year.
Happy New Year to all of You and Yours!!!
