No matter how long you've been in business, how many people you've got working for you, or what your business produces, New Year's is a great time of year to strip of all the accumulated clutter of the past year and ask yourself, "Where's the beef?"

Remember that Wendy's commercial where the old lady was always asking this question? It's a question that gets right at the heart of your business-and you! It goes straight to the relationship between you and your business: what your business does for you and what you do for your business.

Google, ezines, virtual conferences … these things have made it possible for us to learn more about how to run our businesses than ever before. But now is a good time to ask whether all of this "stuff" that we've learned about running our business is serving us? Or our business? Or has it just taught us how to play buzzword bingo so that we can spout off words like empowerment, proactive, and matrix management?

This past year we've talked to a lot of business owners about our book "The Art of Business." Many people remark on the business savvy and strategy that's in the book, but a lot more people talk about the inspiration that they get from reading the stories in the book. Each person we've talked to is inspired by something different in the book - some by Grameen Bank founder Professor Yunus' blithe passion for ending poverty and others by Michael Dell's youthful proclamation that his aim was to beat IBM.

At the end of the day what all of these conversations have shown us is that strategy can and must always come second to the Tao of business - the meaning and soul of business. We talk to people constantly about how to "do the right thing" for their businesses but we never say the same thing twice. Doing the right thing isn't a formula, except meaning has come first - the business has to be more than just a way to make a buck. If you've lost touch with your personal "why" for being in business then nothing else matters - not business ethics, how you treat employees, strategy, or even whether you take a long lunch.

So maybe today is a good day to take a long lunch and consider whether the "why" of your business is still intact and whether it still creates strong meaning in your daily efforts. Drop the business plan blinders for a moment and forget all about strategy and tactics. Fall in love with the poetry of your "why" again. Fall in the love with the way you were when you started your business or fall in love with a new "why." Happy early Valentine's Day!