It’s my last blog post of the year (next week we’re going to rerun some older posts) and I’m sitting in my office, in the dark, listening to the rain pound against the windows, trying to decide what to write about.
Yes, rain. I still haven’t gotten my beloved snow a mere five days before Christmas. There wasn’t even any snow in Utah this past weekend. I don’t like Global Warming.
But, as I write, guided only by the light of my laptop, I’m forced to think about this year and what’s to come in 2013.
Compared to last year, this year was a breeze. Geoff Livingston and I had Marketing in the Round come out, we went on book tour, I supplemented that with my regular speaking, the Arment Dietrich business grew 200 percent, I hired some amazingly talented people in Yvette Pistorio, Allen Mireles, and Lindsay Bell, and we began to outline what a performance-based model looks like, which we’re beta testing with two clients next year.
I’ll tell you what: It’s a lot more fun to run a business that is growing and is goal-focused than one that is barely surviving.
Year in Review
Of course, there was a lot that went on online this year.
Pinterest gained in popularity. So did Instagram (and then they changed their terms of service and everyone freaked out – you can watch my video about it here).
Google+ introduced Communities and Twitter shut down its API, preventing the very companies that helped it grow from using the social network (not that I have an opinion on it).
The Cloud gained even more popularity and businesses began to consider virtual workers, even testing it out a couple of times a week.
And, as I’ve traveled the world speaking to different organizations, I’ve seen an amazing thing happen. Business leaders went from, “Oh this social media thing is a fad and I don’t have to worry about it” to “Holy crap! I have to figure this thing out.”
It’s been really fun to watch and even more fun to be a part of their learning.
The Big 2013
Assuming we don’t all die tomorrow, I’m looking forward to doubling our growth and adding at least two more full-time professionals next year.
I also (big drumroll, please) am going to write Spin Sucks, the book.
Patti Knight has promised me I’m only going to make one trip each month (I did 63 this year) and my big goal is to spend a lot more time with my team, mentoring and coaching them toward their very aggressive goals I made them each write.
As for this crazy world we call the web, I wrote my predictions yesterday (though lots of people hope I’m wrong about QR codes). But I also see a big shift toward cloud-based, virtual offices where people use their own technology and companies have to figure out how to support them, keep the organization’s information safe, and remain productive.
Change is happening quickly and it’s everything we can do to keep up. But it’s an exciting time to run a business and I’m more excited for 2013 than I was for 2012.
Here’s to a safe and happy holiday season for each and every one of you. Come back relaxed, refreshed, and ready to kill it next year!
Oh…and…if we all die tomorrow, it sure was a pleasure getting to know some of you through the comments here, your emails, your LinkedIn messages, your Facebook messages, your tweets, your phone calls, and at events.
Happy Holidays!