Start Small. Simplify. Connect and Reconnect in 2010.

New Year’s Resolution?

Personal Upgrade?

Settle Down in 2010?

Retire from Corporate Block?

Start a New Business?

Connect with Outliers?

Transplant and Liposuction?

Go Global?

Dream Big?

There’s nothing wrong about dreaming big. Big LCD TV. Big Bike. Big Car. Big House. Big Boobs. And you need to have a Big Pocket to get all of these.

You may probably be talking to a person who will give you an advice that’s so much pleasing to hear. Some of you from the corporate world are pressured with the envious attack of your other friends who simply enjoy being freelance in a spasmodic work routine and are able to drive their own interests and passion to achieve personal goals.

I admire someone who teaches in pre-school and at the same time starting up slowly to rock the music industry.

Once in a while I look up and remember the words I previously heard from seniors. Some of them didn’t get the college degree but succeeded. Some of them quit from their conventional job and joined the entrepreneurial world.

I finished reading few books this year to add to so many articles I read from the Internet and magazines. At the moment, I’m trying to finish 2 books about the maverick Richard Branson of Virgin companies, Malcolm Gladwell’s “What The Dog Saw”, and the entertaining David Cross’s “I Drink For A Reason”.

And over and over again, I browse my favorite book “10 Lessons from the Future” of Wolfgang Grulke. It’s one of the most important references if you want to understand how the world changes. I bought it in Borders Bookstore in Torrance, California in 2001. For the benefit of the doubt without further need to elaborate, and with my interpretation, Grulke confidently contends the following “10 Lessons from the Future”:

1. Information and ideas fuel the new global economy! Pure knowledge is worthless. Skills and ideas are everything.

2. Biotechnology is the second information revolution! One of my Facebook update status this year is my wanting to learn genetic engineering.

3. It’s the “personal” age! We now have the benefit of working independently for ourselves. Our personal status and photos posted in Facebook and Twitter may influence your network and potential.

4. Leadership can be widely shared! The old-style management diminishes. Some of my old rich friends will surely disagree. With personal empowerment, the rise of learning will uphold organizations.

5. Fractal/non-linear behavior is the norm! The difference among 1930 Great Depression, 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, 2000s U.S. Economic Crisis and Wars is not the different types of chaos. It’s just a biological behavior.

6. The “unknown” is the realm of all possibilities! Let go of the past. Everyday is a new day. Innovate and make yourself open to new possibilities.

7. Eat yourself – become your own worst nightmare! Don’t be too much creative without the disrupting ability. You will only eat the same banana and dance in the same basket.

8. You can no longer learn just from experience! Learn from the future more than learning from experience that will only make you feel old. Wake up!

9. Don’t compete! With the personal empowerment and freedom, look for a free space and learn how to engineer bridges to succeed. It will put you into win-win situation.

10. It’s one world, one mind, one time! With the digital skin of Facebook, Twitter, your own personal blogsite using WordPress, and the dynamics of building relationships through events, nobody can escape to choose to be self-contained and secret keeper.

A prestigious event company that could no longer sustain its mission to brand aid its clients had to say goodbye. The end of the traditional advertising is read and felt but ignored. Hoping the same strategy could be applied to below the line activation, it lived shortly. The foreseen new media that should have been adopted was also ignored. It’s the sign of being afraid to loose from the circle of mainstream advertising experience. But then again, you must learn from the future because at the end of the day, it’s business.

The key to swim with the flow and not against the flow will bring you to the right path. Remember that the waves are bigger and stronger than you can imagine. It must take a quick time and intelligent effort to learn how to surf in the new economy.

If you’re a consultant or freelance, focus on what you are best at. It’s the passport to build your relationships with co-workers and clients. But immerse on what you are very interested in doing next. Never put the kibosh on adapting to new technology and applications. Extend the confidence and show off the new you without being so loud. The next generation of co-workers, clients, and competitors will germinate. By then you are ready.

If you’re managing a small organization and yet the business is slow, look at the mirror and ask yourself if you’re properly wearing the right outfit. Many of these organizations are service-oriented and knowledge-based, I guess, and to project the image of the organization, you have to build a personality. Live with it. A proponent says that those who collect more sneakers are more able to lead the organization successfully.

For some confused old school buddies, simplify and grow. The process that was effective a decade ago will most likely become weak in the present. Let others follow by becoming simple. A 14-deck keynote presentation is more convincing and provides a room for discussion. An audio-visual presentation that only you can understand is a major turn-off. Set aside the selfish creative interest that only complicates things. Focus on helping how to grow the business.

During the 2008 Christmas party, I said to our staff that it feels big to be in a small organization. Our lean structure of talented individuals is the ideal set-up for economic sensitive clients who expect a high level of implementation. We are small yet we muscle out some big players in the corporate event industry. In this year’s company Christmas party, I once again said that it feels big to be in a small organization of reliable and independent co-workers. What makes us feel big is the heart to work for the company. People may have the passion to work and accomplish and yet have a heart only for personal interests.

If you intend to start a business, diversify to a new avenue, collaborate with a new venture, or amplify new business opportunities, start small. Apple started in a garage. Google started in a dormitory. Many successful service-oriented companies in the Philippines started at home. Countless known and unknown started from riding the public utility jeeps and tricycles and now driving the cars they desire.

In 2010, our company of web+event will begin to experiment new things. We will internally introduce new ideas. Whoever contributes the new idea must be the “project champion”. If it materializes, he gets the bigger credit. If it takes off, he gets the bigger cash. It doesn’t necessarily have to be always a product. I believe that transforming an idea to a process is the next big thing. Needless to say, the idea of connecting to another industry is a potential. One example is our production of Rivermaya’s social media fansite. We’re proud to be starting off being noticed in the music industry.

But not every opportunity is good…

Before the end of the year, I would like to share that there’s 1 client who invited us 8 times to bid for event projects based on my folders. The 9th I declined this month. Out of 8 bids, we only won once and that’s for consumer marketing effort in Q1. The road to knowing the reasons why we lost 7 times is dark. I don’t believe that the lost is due to a bad concept. Or else, we could have lost if not all, the majority of the projects from different clients we implemented this year. Since this prestigious client restructured the process of bidding, it separates us blindly from knowing what their marketing (and HR) departments really want. There’s no opportunity to present our concept and explain how we will execute it. I am now looking at another angle for 2010, we will try to adhere to the other side of competition.

If you can’t find the hotspot, it’s time to build the surfboards and prepare for the new tsunami.

Aside from your ability to implement your genius plans, what will help you succeed is by connecting yourself to others without necessarily have the intention of mentioning a business. Get wired! Be personal. I smile and like it when a friend invites me for a drink or coffee. The advantage of having a nimble mind enjoys a company of a sensible conversation. I try to read more not only to feel good. More importantly, the window of opportunity to share what I read and learn is open. New ideas pop out on this occasion. At the same time, both parties are becoming transparent. It’s an instant gratification from working overtime.

Reconnecting yourself to high school batchmates, relatives and friends abroad, and former colleagues will help you remember the old and juxtapose your new you.

You are probably scribbling your (temporary) New Year’s resolution. I guess the top in your list is to be on time during meetings. Some are able to prioritize their personal upgrade like buying new mobile phones or upgrading their laptops. Many are already planning to take the new challenge in life by getting married, and hopefully not during the typhoon season.

There are others who want to retire from the corporate cubicles and start a new business but don’t know how. Connect with outliers. They can give you an opportunity to corroborate your skills and talent.

Examine yourself. You may win in a jiffy the colossal break but with your limited machineability, you will lose the succeeding chances. Forget about the transplant and liposuction. It will only make you feel ugly and insecure.

I used to aspire to go global until I personally realized to stretch and reach horizontally by going local. Koreans have their own version of social media network. Japanese have their own way of paying through mobile phones. Look first within us. The main beneficiary of all your plans and implementation should be within. You may dream big and may have a lot in mind to do in this coming new year. You may be praying a lot and wait. But I suggest you act while praying so that you will feel the actual guidance.

Begin to use this article as a reference. Start small when branching out from your core strengths. Simplify the process and challenge your creativity which most of the time complicates. Connect and be personal both online and offline. Reconnect to discover what transpired the worst and radiate the best.