Happy New Year! As we usher in another year, the sappy and nostalgic optimist within me can’t help but escape. 2009 was tough. Personally. Professionally. Individually. Collectively.

Certainly many challenges lie ahead, but I can’t help but be warmed with optimism as I look at another opportunity for a fresh beginning. As I reflect on the past year and my personal and professional growth, and look forward to what 2010 might hold, the reflection becomes the catalyst for New Year’s resolutions.

We all recognize resolutions, as those promises we make at the beginning of the year that quickly become a forgotten pledge. To lose 10 pounds. Get in better shape. Slow down our lives etc. But don’t let past experience discourage you. In fact, challenge yourself, your department and your company to set professional resolutions.

Embrace the beginning of the New Year as an opportunity to look back on how your marketing department or your company has grown. Where have you succeeded and where is it that you fall short? In the hustle and bustle of completing daily activities, what professional growth or big picture ideas have fallen by the wayside?

In the New Year, resolve to give those items the attention they deserve. Work with your team and your management to set some goals for the upcoming year. Type them up. Post them in the break room and revisit them frequently. Commit to yourself and the entire company to take on those tasks in 2010. Maybe it’s boosting your public relations program or initiating a social marketing strategy. Maybe it’s challenging the traditional conservative marketing ideas to shake things up with new marketing methods or creative that might push the envelope. Whatever it is, garner the support of your team and tackle it.  Make 2010 your year to create a marketing revolution.