Happy New Year, and welcome to the start of a new semester and a new decade. We have all heard of making resolutions at this time of the year and no doubt have made some of our own. Despite starting at a young age, I could cite many examples of failed attempts to make changes via new year’s resolutions. As I matured, I realized that the act of making these resolutions — or setting any goal in your personal life, at work, or for an organization — might seem like the right thing to do, but it is only the first step.
More important than the setting of a goal is the creation of a plan to achieve it. Antoine de Saint Exupery, the French writer, poet, journalist and aviator, said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” When setting a goal, be sure to create a robust and actionable plan to ensure meeting your objective.
Why talk about setting goals and making plans at the start of this new year and new decade? I believe the Polytechnic Institute should declare the decade of 2020 as “Our Decade to Excel.” We have made remarkable progress in advancing our college over the last ten years, to the point of creating a great foundation of excellence.
How do we continue to grow and excel? This is the challenge we should accept. Our resolution for this decade should be to continue being “pioneers of learn-by-doing and use-inspired research.”
