As we wrap up a year of political, social and business turmoil, a post about thanks might be seen as the ultimate Pollyanna gesture. But I believe that gratitude is what unlocks possibility and excellence. So I hope that you will indulge me and read on.
- I'm grateful that the response to so much awfulness has been a steady current toward social justice and gender equity. More please.
- I give thanks that the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs in today's world remain so low. Starting businesses and pursuing ideas used to be what only the wealthy could do.
- Thanks to the dozens of CROs who trusted me with their teams this year.
- And to the sellers in those workshops who suspended disbelief and allowed that something good and even transformative might happen for them.
- I'm so thankful for Sharon, my amazing wife and partner who's still laughing and drinking coffee with me 30 years later.
- I'm grateful that I've gotten the chance to build a business through friendships and friendships through great work together.
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- I'm grateful that the problems we all complain about in this industry are all about abundance and growth. Don't look now but this is the 20th straight year of growth and there's no end in sight.
- I'm thankful that you and a few thousand other people in our business are reading this post and the dozens of others that I've written this year. I know how little time and attention you have to spend.
- For the sponsors, advisors, hosts and - most of all - the participants in Seller Forum, who have been coming together to prove the wisdom of the crowd for over 15 years. So grateful it works and still amazed.
- I'm grateful that of the 300+ professionals I interview on the phone each year, the overwhelming majority are good, caring people who genuinely want to help their customers.
- For Tamara Clarke and Liza McCabe who do so much to make our customers feel special and who completely share in the success of this business.
- For Scot McLernon and Lisa Milgram who both represent and embody the ideals of the company and treat it like they own it themselves.
- I'm grateful for the people in our extended network of professionals who never really make us feel like they have any other clients: Monty Markow, Sheila Kellerman, Cara Nelson, Karen Branon and Jude Domski.
- Thank you to the State of California for having such a generous public education system in the 1970s so that I could go to college. And thank you to all the employers in our industry who are saying no to educational exclusionism.
- I'm thankful that the digital marketing tent is big enough to include both amazing technologists and intensely creative storytellers and that the lines between the two are blurring.
- I'm so grateful for my daughters Lucy and Madeline who each in her own way are creating non-traditional lives for themselves around the things they love.
- I'm delighted, amazed and so very grateful that my company, Upstream Group, is celebrating its 20th birthday and that we continue to contribute positively to the business I love. More please!
To you and all you love and care for, Happy Thanksgiving.
