Happy New Year to all my readers, family, friends and Facebook friends. This years tarts a new decade, a new set of expectations, and a need to move forward, out of this recession and uncertainty. We have the potential of going through three different presidential administrations over the next 10 years, or we could follow the previous 16 years of presidencies and keep the same knobs in office with no real competition. I hope we’ve learned over the last decade that the government is not going to save us, and we can have lofty goals but we need to focus on the steps toward those goals.

For 2010, I propose to look for ways to help each other get to the next positive step in each other’s lives.

Small businesses are organizations of people working toward the same goal. Even your shareholders are part of this collective of individuals who want to make things better for themselves. It is not bad to be selfish in business; that personal drive is important to keep yourself going. But it should be a collective selfishness, a notion that what really matters is the people in your organization. Whether that means, “What’s best for my employees is to do what is best for the customer,” or, “In whatever we do, our people have to have time to be involved with their families,” you should adopt a social mission within your company. This should be separate but related to your overall mission statement, more for HR to pass out as a commitment to the team.

Also consider ways small businesses can help each other. There is no harm in sharing the market, or joining forces for projects. In fact, consider switching from a product-oriented structure to a project-driven structure. Think of each sale to your clients as a project, with a timeline, manageable resources and a scope. Perhaps you pull in other small businesses with products that complement your offerings. Put a little risk in your business model and see what positive consequences result.

And consider what you can do to make a social impact this year, something that will last the decade. Does that mean you start donating money? Organize your people to volunteer? Expand your current social impact? Or maybe this means you launch your dream non-profit venture this year. Find a way to give back.

Our country was founded on families and compassionate individuals who worked together to prosper. They didn’t rely on a formal government to survive, or they would have simply let the monarchy rule. Our ancestors gathered together for the common good and fought against their shared adversity. We should do no less.