"Can't even last one day without your love." - Teena Marie, Can't Last A Day
Seth Godin posted today about what he shipped in 2010 and that seems like a good enough reason for me to look at what I had planned for 2010, what I accomplished (both planned and unplanned), and where I fell short.
This was my overarching strategy for the year:
Broad Strategic Goals
In my career and in my personal life, I will Take More Risks. Creatively and professionally, I will be focused on Telling More Stories. In all things, I will be inclined to Fail Better and Succeed Faster. It is my 35th year on earth this go round and time's a wastin'.
Overall, I think I held true to this. Just off the top of the dome, these are the things I "shipped" this year:
- Got engaged to Tiffany
- Participated in Disney Way 1
- Launched the Producer Toolkit (including 3 successful follow up releases)
- Launched a home page redesign
- Launched three category redesigns
- Launched a new category
- Launched two new product catalogs
- Launched a holiday stunt
- Got promoted
- Helped move Tiffany west
- Two days of volunteer work in New Orleans
- Two trips to New Orleans
- One trip to San Francisco
- Attended the FITC conference
- One trip to Minneapolis
- Set a Wedding Date
- Saved 90% of the original wedding budget target
- Increased my savings contribution by more than 33%
- I increased my blog and tumblr output significantly
All of this falls into taking risks, telling stories, and moving faster. In 2010, I was moving ahead.
Now to the specifics
Health and Wellness
This is where I was weakest. I didn't succeed in any of my goals in this category this year.
Financial
I followed through on all my goals here this year, to my surprise. Personal finance has never been a strong suit but I was able to be more deliberate and focused on this this year without it becoming a burden. I'm actually ahead of where I expected to be.
Career
This was a very strong professional year for me. I participated in Disney Way 1 which was amazing. I embraced product management and it's tenets and saw great success in my work this year, work that I am very much proud of, and it lead to recognition...I got promoted. And, yes, I am taking advantage of alternative work models as well, working away from the office when it merits and pushing on the constraints and challenging the status quo as often as possible.
Creativity and Learning
I totally forgot about these goals but achieved them anyway. I read an awful lot about New Orleans and Los Angeles this year. I took several development classes at work and on my own. I've been very happy with what this blog has turned into and how my tumblr is shaking out. I'm even happy with the lifestream that my facebook profile has become.
Travel
I didn't travel internationally this year but travel was a big part of my year. Read about it here.
Friends & Family
That calling thing just doesn't seem to be in the cards. I did talk with my family more often this year than in the past and email and facebook and texting has helped with my connectivity. There were a whole host of Disneyland trips this year but the great sandwich search and supper club never came to pass.
Love
If y'all don't know what's happened here you just haven't been paying attention. This was a huge year for love and it has ended completely different from where it started. Big wins all around.
We were shipping big time in 2010. Now it's time to think about what's next for 2011.
