Your second chance at a New Year's resolution

The cult of FranklinCovey thinks you stand a decent chance of breaking your New Year's resolutions this week, assuming you haven't done so already. But even if you've failed at weight loss, better money management, or the Great American Novel, you still deserve a second chance to make some new resolutions. And Steve McKee's "suggestions for improving your marketing efforts" are a great place to start. A few highlights:

6. I won't project my media habits on my customers. You may hate country music or subscribe to obscure journals, but chances are many of your customers have different media habits. Just because you never see your ads in a certain place, doesn't mean that they don't.

7. I will be more open to taking risks. If you want to stand out you have to do something different. But doing something different is, by definition, risky. Don't be afraid to take a calculated risk with your advertising, it's your only chance to generate a big return.

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11. I will not let lawyers write my copy. No offense to attorneys, but their job is to help you avoid risk. See No. 7 above.

One note: McKee's list was first published over a year ago, but it's just as relevant today as it was then. More evidence that good ideas have a pretty long shelf life.