It’s the New Year, and from your new-found perch on the StairMaster, you are reading a gazillion articles and blog posts about the 10 ways to succeed in business in the New Year. Some read like self-help books while others reiterate the life-affirming value of writing a marketing plan.

But eventually it all sounds like the adults on a Charlie Brown cartoon special. Those Charlie Brown characters can’t hear the adults because the adults aren’t clued in to their real concerns.