"Eat two cookies and call in the morning."

Been running ragged at work (or everywhere), keeping up with multiple business demands, making up for lost time, and feverishly planning for 2011?

When everyday life is crammed with back-to-back meetings, laughable improbable deadlines and same-old-same-old hotels in various snowy or gray cities, it can be such a pleasure to take a few days off to catch our breath for the ones ahead.*

Wishing you happy holidays.

*After you're done shopping, traveling, greeting long-lost relatives and guests, and preparing gifts and food, that is.

Ask yourself for something new

What's more refreshing than a new start?

Here are just ten "to dos" – small and big – any of which you can employ to make 2011 an exciting year, professionally and/or personally. Everything you do to grow in one way likely helps you grow in other ways, too. Or so I've experienced.

In fact, I've done or attempted at least four of these in 2010. Perhaps four more in 2011?

•Question some of your own assumptions. It's harder than it sounds.*

•Take on a challenging project at which you're not confident you'll excel – probably keeping some form of safety net such as associate support or a long-lead deadline, just in case.

•Learn accounting or bookkeeping skills you've always brushed over.

•If you typically drag yourself to work when you are sick, stay home, for heaven's sake (I could use this piece of advice myself).

•Read a "for Dummies" book about a topic that holds some interest for you - (oh, don't scoff, it's a pretty good series).

•Marry him or her, if he or she is the life partner you want.

•Learn some relevant business acronyms: VAR, COGS, MSI... or invent a new one that resonates.

•Make a new friend, find a new mentor, let go of a friendship that no longer works.

•Take a class, in a physical classroom or online.

•Save some (or more) of the money you earn.

Other ideas? Happy holidays. Happy upcoming new year.

*Ask any liberal or conservative.

I hear you want to be a thought leader.

It is easier said than done, of course. But, if you are in a position in business, government or another sphere in which being inspirational or trendsetting is key, it may well be worth the effort. (Plus, some people would rather lead than follow, no matter what.)

A thought leader is somewhat snidely defined by Wikipedia as "business jargon for an entity that is recognized for having innovative ideas." (This link leads, nonetheless, to a good article that is worth a few minutes if you're interested in the topic.)

Being a thought leader goes beyond a few light bulbs of inspiration. It involves having an in-depth understanding of some key aspect (or many key aspects) of your field. These may include the technologies, people, and trends involved, and the direction in which this field may be going. A thought leader also has opinions on which way things should be going, and these are generally (optimistically!) based on more than quick judgments. Typically, a thought leader also knows what others have been saying and feels no compunction to be in lockstep with the other thought leaders, nor to disagree with them. Being a thought leader takes nerve.

There's also (hello? anyone out there??) the issue of being heard over the noise. How can one be a thought leader if one has no followers? If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear... It's pleasant to think that some thought leaders would express their opinions because of a clear intellectual or ethical compunction to do so, even if no one or hardly anyone is listening. Even if there will be no book sales. Or speaker fees. But most leaders want followers. Being a true thought leader eventually demands that you have (although not so formally named) "thought  followers".

There is also the question of forum. A thought leader can start small. She can be the manager of a group. She can give seminars, write articles, give speeches to small groups. She can blog. Being a thought leader demands that you find a medium or multiple media in which to express your insights.

But most of all, the thought leader needs insights. Vision. Education. Breadth. The person most likely to become a thought leader has all these. The thought leader also enjoys a clarity of thought process that, while not an infallible defense against errors in tactics, strategy or advice delivered, allows cool reassessments and logical course changes when required. Generally, that clarity of thought will also inhibit the leader from speaking about an opinion until he is PRETTY SURE that opinion is valid. This is not always the case. Take Pat Robertson's many quotes.

A thought leader need not always be followed. Should not always be followed. That alone is a reason either to become one or to focus on being an independent thinker, sifting the insights of many, swallowing none of them hook, line and sinker.