Resolutions, Business Plans, and Musings: Daring to Dream!
Nga mihi o te tau hou ki a koutou katoa! Hello everyone, and a happy new year to you all.
This is the time of year when, at a personal level, many of us make new-year’s resolutions regarding our behaviour or activities. These are frequently aspirational intentions toward self-improvement objectives, or the achievement of outcomes of whatever nature that we see as being important at the time, and which are better than what we currently enjoy, or endure.
In the commercial world the year-end, or opening of a new year, is frequently a time where business plans are revised and new operational targets are set for the upcoming business period. Frequently these revised targets are equally aspirational but represent the desired position the company would like to attain in a perfect world.
In the not-for-profit sector such as that in which the Friends of Te Papa exists we also sit and muse on our activities for the coming year, and aspire to drive better member outcomes for the Friends, increased patronage, recognition and success for Te Papa (which is central to our existence and activities), and increased contribution toward the development and recognition of the arts and heritage sector overall.
At all levels – personal, commercial, and not for profit – a proportion of these aspirational resolutions, business plans and musings end up, after varying periods of time, “on the cutting room floor”. This is a not-unexpected reality because so many of them are based on a perfect world in which there are no obstacles to, or interference in, their achievement.
Conversely though, and despite those obstacles and interference, a significant number of them bear fruit and drive real improvement and gains.
But the origin of these aspirations – be they personal new year’s resolutions, business plans or not-for-profit musings, and whether or not they have a successful outcome – is common to all: People and organisations are daring to dream how their world could be, based on an underlying optimism that things can be improved, and that we can each play our own part in creating that improvement.
So, even though we do not live in a perfect world that is free of interference and obstacles, may we all be blessed with, and never lose, the optimism that we can improve it.
I wish you all great success in the good things you are planning for 2024.