Looking Back- and Forward
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have found 2008 to be a very interesting year. The year started with my decision to return to consulting after a multi year hiatus. Even more interesting I decided to spend part of it recapturing my "roots" in the Southwest.
I decided in returning to consulting I also wanted to look at a different model- focus on creating engaged organizations and what it takes to build them and sustain them rather than just the usual projects.
I wrote and published my first book- people tell me that is a significant accomplishment. I tell them it took me thirty years to write the book, it took me several months to write it down.
The year also caused me to seek out and create connections with people all over the world through the use of social/business networking sites like LinkedIn and others. I have to tell you I have "met" some amazing people and created relationships that I will value for years to come. The value to me isn't necessarily commercial, it is the opportunity to engage with and exchange ideas with people from all over the world. I know I am much richer for it, I hope they are as well.
The current economic situation has definitely given us pause and hopefully motivation for introspection. We have seen this "coming" for some time and chosen to participate in collective cognitive dissonance, just pretend it wasn't there.
Maybe I had just been buried, but it also seems to me that 2008 has brought a profound resurgence of interest in employee engagement. Everybody seems to be talking about it and how to get it and keep it. I guess that is one of the ironies. In this time of crisis we are willing to do almost anything to re-stimulate the economy, even communicate with and engage our employees as partners rather than as just a cost of doing business. Technology and systems don't build and sustain long term success, relationships and people do.
We elected an African American president and saw a woman on the ticket for the Republican party, both historical firsts. We saw a female presidential candidate achieve another historical milestone with her candidacy.
2009 brings its challenges. The economic situation is one of the worst in the last 100 years. Being the optimist that I am I hope that it will also create a catalyst for doing things differently. Perhaps we will be willing to examine a new social contract between employer and employed with more appropriate balance in the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Maybe we will recognize that we live in a global economy and be more willing to appreciate and take into consideration what is going on in a global context rather than just our world.
Maybe we will even recognize that issues like health care, financial literacy, education, and other matters will require a collaborative effort between business, government, and individuals to fix.
For some reason I approach 2009 with the audacity of hope. I hope you do as well. Thank you for all of your support in 2008 and best wishes for 2009. It is up to each of us to decide how we apply the lessons of 2008. I hope we do so wisely.
I decided in returning to consulting I also wanted to look at a different model- focus on creating engaged organizations and what it takes to build them and sustain them rather than just the usual projects.
I wrote and published my first book- people tell me that is a significant accomplishment. I tell them it took me thirty years to write the book, it took me several months to write it down.
The year also caused me to seek out and create connections with people all over the world through the use of social/business networking sites like LinkedIn and others. I have to tell you I have "met" some amazing people and created relationships that I will value for years to come. The value to me isn't necessarily commercial, it is the opportunity to engage with and exchange ideas with people from all over the world. I know I am much richer for it, I hope they are as well.
The current economic situation has definitely given us pause and hopefully motivation for introspection. We have seen this "coming" for some time and chosen to participate in collective cognitive dissonance, just pretend it wasn't there.
Maybe I had just been buried, but it also seems to me that 2008 has brought a profound resurgence of interest in employee engagement. Everybody seems to be talking about it and how to get it and keep it. I guess that is one of the ironies. In this time of crisis we are willing to do almost anything to re-stimulate the economy, even communicate with and engage our employees as partners rather than as just a cost of doing business. Technology and systems don't build and sustain long term success, relationships and people do.
We elected an African American president and saw a woman on the ticket for the Republican party, both historical firsts. We saw a female presidential candidate achieve another historical milestone with her candidacy.
2009 brings its challenges. The economic situation is one of the worst in the last 100 years. Being the optimist that I am I hope that it will also create a catalyst for doing things differently. Perhaps we will be willing to examine a new social contract between employer and employed with more appropriate balance in the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Maybe we will recognize that we live in a global economy and be more willing to appreciate and take into consideration what is going on in a global context rather than just our world.
Maybe we will even recognize that issues like health care, financial literacy, education, and other matters will require a collaborative effort between business, government, and individuals to fix.
For some reason I approach 2009 with the audacity of hope. I hope you do as well. Thank you for all of your support in 2008 and best wishes for 2009. It is up to each of us to decide how we apply the lessons of 2008. I hope we do so wisely.
Labels: Change, economy, election, employees, engagement, hope
posted by Mark at New Paradigms LLC at
10:28 AM
2 Comments:
Dear Mark,
Thanks for your new year wishes!
May the Lord bless you and your loved ones,with Peace,Joy,Love and blessings in all your endeavors.
May His light shine up for you ever so brighter each day, and may His favor be with you everywhere you go!
God bless you and wish you a Happy New Year!
Indeed,
JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.
With love and prayers,
God Bless.
Francis, Cheryl and Pamela Appoline
Cellular Phone: (965) 6620 3674
2008 - I imagine in the generations to come it may be spoken of in a whisper conjuring horrific celluloid images of troubles upon troubles.
The historian in me sees it as the great fourth turning from autumn to deep winter. I fear we are on the cusp of forty years of anguish but as surely as spring follows winter this time too will pass. Institutions will fade away, borders will change, the stars themselves may seem to rebel - but I know this too will pass. If I live a hundred years it is but the morning mist, here for a moment and gone. What is eternal, what is true are the relationships I have built, the love I have shared the eternal hope I hold. I want to build myself into others lives, to be a source of blessing and never again a curse.
I am my brother's keeper.
This is what the new year gives to me - a chance for honor, a time for love, an opportunity for redemption. God forbid I lose focus on all that is true and eternal. I am poured out before you oh God of heaven, write on me a new song of hope and peace, gird my loins for the battles that wage but let me never again lose my focus on you.
I choose love, I will walk through every open door with expectant hope and childlike wonder.
My partisanship has been crucified - I am a citizen of heaven, a visitor in this realm. What an incredible opportunity offered the world this new year - to be stripped of temporal blinders, to be given sight to cherish mankind in all his perfect frailty.
May you all be secure in your homes, may deep passionate love bind you to your spouse and children, may joy abound in your hearts every moment of every day this new year.
Cheers, Bob W.
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