Each year many people create a list of resolutions designed to help them improve their lives. As Business Leaders, we also need to take a look at our business lives and find ways to improve ourselves.

Here are 10 resolutions that will help our Business Leaders and Managers move forward.

1. Line up the organizations goals with the goals of the customers (internal or external) Now is a good time to make sure that your goals and objectives for your organization are not only SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Measured) but that they are the RIGHT goals for your organization. Your goals need to be in synch with both your customers needs and requirements, and your companies direction as well. Don't automatically assume that your goals are the right goals. Survey your team members and customers to be 100% confident that your goals are advancing the companies goals as well.

2. Take a two-week vacation with no cell phone, no laptop, and no communications with the office. For some reason, real vacations have lost favor in the last decade. A two-week vacation, away from the office, the cell phone, and your computer will refresh you in ways that you had not thought possible. You will return to the office with a fresh perspective, fresh vigor, and a new outlook that will charge up both you and the people who work for you. One of the keys to a successful two-week vacation is not worrying about the office. And that means a strong "Second In Command" that will allow you to be away and not worry about what you will find when you return.

3. Identify a "Second In Command" and start training them. If you want to be promoted, you need to have your replacement by your side, visible at all levels, and ready to assume your role with no loss in momentum. Being a strong leader means developing a strong team, with quality players all around you and no one is more important to that team than your "Second In Command". Having a strong team member ready to assume your role will not only make you promote able by demonstrating your eye for talent, but will also make your life easier by having someone that you can rely on and delegate significant decisions and work to. Do yourself a favor and find that strong "Second In Command" now!!

4. Read at least one book per month to sharpen your skills. The best way to stay on top of your game and to keep having fresh insights into your business is to continue to "sharpen the saw". Reading a 250 page book is reading 25 pages a day for 10 days. Surely you can make that type of personal investment in yourself. Investing in yourself is the best investment that you can ever make.

5. Put together your own 5-year plan and then start working to make the plan a realityDo you have a 5 year plan for yourself? Or are you living your life day to day hoping that things will work out for you in the end. Success is how you define it, but to achieve that success means focusing your time and efforts on the things that are most important to you. Start by clarifying your dream and then building a 5-year plan to achieve it.

6. Engage the creativity of your organization by encouraging productive debate. Debate in an organization stimulates the thinking of every team member. Many people confuse tranquility in an organization with good teamwork. A team without debate is a team without a soul or deep convictions. Encourage your team to actively debate key issues to stimulate the best ideas.

7. Once each month, ask yourself the following question, "Why should the people working for me trust and believe in me?" Remember how important trust is to your organization and to your team. To be effective, rust must be constantly earned. What have you done to earn your employees trust?

8. Clearly differentiate between blame and accountability in your organization. We all learn from mistakes. But if mistakes in your organization are treated as a pariah where blame must be assigned and then weeded from the organization then your people will never learn from their mistakes because they will never acknowledge any mistakes. Accountability means accepting responsibility for your actions, good or bad. Separate blame from accountability and encourage the thoughtful introspection that goes along with personal growth.

9. Identify the "A" players in your organization and make sure they have long-term plans that meet THEIR needs. Remember to invest time with your "A" players because they are the key to your success. Investing time with them meets not only your needs, but theirs as well. If you aren't thinking about what needs to be done for your best players, then you can expect to lose them. After all, they are your best players for a reason.

10. Say "Thank You" to all of the people who are making you successful. If you are successful in life, remember that you did not get there by yourself. Your staff, your boss, your co-workers, your family, your spouse all played a role in your success. Take the time to thank them for what they did for you.

And here is one last resolution for you to consider. If you read this list and realize that you can't do these things on your own, consider hiring a coach for yourself. Coaching is an investment in yourself that pays dividends in both your personal and professional life.