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New Year’s Eve: the annual event of connecting with friends and family, watching extravagant fireworks displays, and setting resolutions for the ways you’re going to improve, kick bad habits, and make the next 12 months your year.

But be honest, how often do you actually stick to your resolution? Your daily exercise routine quickly becomes weekly at best, or you crack and eat fast food again before it’s even February, or you lose the courage to ask your boss for the promotion you sorely deserve by the time the office reopens.

According to research by McKinsey and Company, the online subscription market, led by giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime, has grown annually by more than 100% percent for the past 5 years. To really put that in context, if the entire market made $100 million in 2014, then this year they made over $3.2 billion. A bit of a leap, right?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED) estimates that 14% of existing jobs could be destroyed as a result of automation within the next two decades.

Employees expect transparency from their employers, especially if the future of the business or their own position is uncertain.

At the beginning of 2019, AIM conducted a study on the State of Australianleadership. One aspect of this study was a survey asking participants to nominate the three most important skills for workplace leaders to have.

To be healthier, to learn a new skill, or to advance my career are just some of the New Year’s resolutions people will make this year. But to follow through on these goals is often much easier said than done.

In a recent AIM survey, 62.7% of people stated that they had made New Year’s resolutions in 2018. However, only 11.1% managed to stick to 100% of them, while 43.2% accomplished no more than half (with 7.0% confessing to have achieved nothing).

As each new year comes around, the time has come to reflect on the year that was and to also look forward to what 2019 will hold. As part of this process, it is tradition to re-evaluate some of our life choices and see where we can make changes or improvements.

Based on a recent AIM survey, nearly 85% of people said they plan on having New Year’s resolutions. So, let’s take a closer look at what will be the top three goals for 2019.

I’m in Sales and I’m really proud of it. I find that most full-time sellers, working for a great company or delivering a great product or service, usually are. However, when you move into the realm of seller-doers, it’s a whole different story. 

But what is a seller-doer? Those that must win the work and deliver the work they win, i.e. Engineers, Architects, Accountants, Consultants. This covers most professional services firms and small business owners, general managers and MDs that do not rely on a full-time sales team to secure business.

Being a leader has moved beyond just giving your staff directions and expecting that the job will get done. If they want to thrive and be the best in today’s fast-paced work environment, leaders must be able to help organisations quickly adapt to change and uncover new opportunities for growth. They need to engage effectively with not only their team but also other departments and external stakeholders to ensure success. 

It works just like the grease that keeps the wheels of your organisation turning. A lack of effective communication between teams, managers, and employees will almost certainly grind your business to a halt.