It may sound trite, but 2021 absolutely hurtled by. In such times, a little perspective can help highlight what you were able to accomplish in the blur of activity. If this exercise was good enough for the Man in Black, who am I to demur? So here goes.
To me, a few milestones sum up our year.
The company more than doubled in size. We are ending the year a completely different company than when we started. After years in which we hired one person at a time, the floodgates opened as client demand surged and their needs shifted. In all, we added 19 people. We are now a full-service content marketing company, offering everything from content strategy and development to web development and social media strategy and support. As important, we have built the infrastructure to allow us to continue our growth trajectory—ensuring the coming year will be both exciting and challenging.
We put structure around our DEI efforts. Before this year, we hadn’t achieved the outcomes we wanted from our DEI efforts. Acknowledging this spurred us to revamp our approach, including rewriting job descriptions to be more inclusive and casting a wider net. While we have more work to do, the initial results have made the company much more effective in serving clients, collaborating, and living our values. And this year we established a stand-alone HR function, which will help us continue to make progress in the years ahead.
The holiday party returned. A gathering in June, during the brief window when it seemed the pandemic was going way, reminded us that we work with fun, three-dimensional people. A subsequent design summit in August was postponed due to the emergence of the Delta variant, and it felt like we were settling back into a prolonged limbo with no end in sight. But our decision to throw a proper holiday party, enabled by proof of vaccination for all guests, gave us a much-needed return to almost normal. We had 55 people in one place to eat, drink, and unwind together, and there were no subsequent infections—offering a path to continued gatherings.
We recognized the hard work of our employees. We are fortunate to serve exceptional clients—including Fortune 500 companies and leading global firms. The only way to meet their high expectations is to assemble an exceptional team. Numerous times this year, I saw the dedication of my colleagues to do whatever is necessary for high-profile client projects. And I’m constantly reminded that in this line of work, no one succeeds on their own; we rely on one another. That’s why we gave each of our colleagues a year-end bonus—sending a strong signal that this company is successful only because of our collective efforts and talents. Since everyone contributes, everyone should be rewarded at an exceptional level.
To all our clients—a heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to serve you.
To my colleagues here—thanks for all your dedication and hard work.
Happy holidays, and all the best for the year ahead.
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