By R. Christopher Haines, President and CEO
If my January blog post is finally written the first week of February, that’s probably a sign. But I’d say a good one. January was much like all of 2019 for us. Busy. And as a result, the time just flew by.
I think awesome is a good word to describe last year. Hard to convey exactly, but the kind of year we could only hope for. It’s somewhat strange to describe it that way because it was the most difficult and intense year I can remember. I’m dedicated to looking for the lesson in even the most challenging situations, and there were times in 2019 in which I really felt the intensity of the situation. But I learned a lot about myself, my teammates, people in general, and society as a whole. I’d say we gained a lot of knowledge, I’m a better person, and we’re a better organization at the end of 2019 than we were at the beginning.
2020 is setting up to be at least as intense as 2019. But I’m not worried. I have the best people I could imagine surrounding me. And we’re ready for anything the world can throw our way. There are countless quotes about this subject and far too many to attribute to just one source, but it’s very helpful to understand it’s more about how you react to things than it is about what actually happens. And the other part of that is understanding it’s never going to be easy, and things are going to continue to happen. So be ready to react and move forward, rather than bellyaching about what has happened. I’ve not always been very good at understanding that, but I’ m really starting to get better about it and to accept it as life.
I’m excited to keep pushing forward and see where this ride continues to take us. If it’s anything like 2019, it should be an adventure. But one I think all of us will be excited to experience.