Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Year’s. These are times that we gather with friends, family and associates. We celebrate, party and feast! We eat (and sometimes drink ;-) ) too much! To those distant, we send warm greetings by phone, mail, text, via Facebook, Twitter or email. FedEx and UPS certainly celebrate all the packages that reflect the love and caring that this season brings. These are for most of us bright, grand days during the seasonal darkness where we Americans live.
This is also a time for reflection.
Many companies and individuals use this time to review what has transpired in the past year. To see where they have been and what direction they have moved. To ponder and advance what has been right, and also to learn what needs to be set right that was wrong. That is an important process. Just as a star once guided the wise during the dark of night, so too there are lights that shine for us during these darker days. IF we are willing to focus on the light of wisdom and follow, then we too may find what we seek…
As part of my personal reflection, let me pause and thank you for being here. It is a privilege to serve.
It is also quite humbling to see who we have shared these pages with at MHMarketingSalesManagement.com (MHMSM.com) in this past year. We have an amazingly dedicated team of fine feature writers! They have shared with you and tens of thousands of others their time and insights on our pages and in our podcasts. The best among us understand the fact that sharing valuable time, insights and experience is a wonderful form of giving back! Many of the best are found right here. My thanks to each of you.
Warm thanks also to those who have written for the Industry Voices Guest Blog and participated in A Cup of Coffee (or Cocoa)… interviews or Industry In Focus interviews with Eric Miller.
We have a great team on the staff of MHMSM.com as well. Unless you work behind the scenes, it is not easy to imagine how much effort it takes to pull off the business daily news and information, monthly feature articles, and weekly blogs and emailed newsletters. Plus the daily business news podcasts, too! My hats off to the fine folks who make MHMSM.com possible through their daily efforts.
Let me share those names with you below.
Joe Adams
George F. Allen
Michael F. B. Barnabas
Rachel Biermann
Beth Monicatti Blank
Jason Boehlert
Chad Carr
Tim Connor
Maria Cucchiara
Congressman Joe Donnelly
Mike DuPure
Dick Ernst
Marc Faulkner
Suzanne Felber
Sue Frost
Danny Ghorbani
Doug Gorman
Nadeen Green
Jamie Hammons
J. D. Harper
Edward ‘Eddie’ Hicks
Dennis Hill
Mike Hourigan
Chrissy Jackson
Congressman Walter Jones
Joe Kelly
Ross Kinzler
Susan Knowles
Steven Lefler
Thayer Long
Bill Matchneer
William P. McCarty
Greg McClanahan
Eric Miller
Mike Moore
Shawn Mullins
Greg O’Berry
George Porter
Dan Rinzema
Kenneth Rishel
Tim Saville
Ray Schmitt
Dave Shanklin
Joanne Stevens
Kent Stichter
Bob Stovall
Congressman Bart Stupak
R. W. Thiemann
John Underwood
Heather Vela
Richard Weinert
Don Westphal
Stephen Wheeler and Marilyn Kuntemeyer
Zig Ziglar
Privacy policies – and space limitations! – prevents us from sharing the names of all those who are our readers. From associations, to government officials, to the “Mom and Pop” firms that are the backbone of this great nation, to the mid, large and giant companies of our Industry – you will find our readers and listeners.
We have all learned from others, and it is by passing along lessons learned and sound insights that society – or an Industry! – can advance. Unless we are willing to adapt and grow, change will pass us by. Thus the importance of a place like MHMSM.com – where minds come together, to share, learn, adapt and grow! Corporate and association meetings are important. So is the meeting place of the mind online or via our podcasts.
As we ponder the deeper meaning of these and other seasonal holidays, let us allow the spirit of giving and receiving well to inspire us to be our best.
You or others readers and listeners like you have shared thoughts in person, by phone or electronically. My sincere thanks for each thought shared. Many of our tips come from you. Some want to be kept anonymous, and that is honored here. In the ideal, we have an exchange, a deeper encounter than may at first be obvious. It is naturally our desire to listen as well as share back with you, and thus the reason we are all here.
No one in their right mind denies the challenges we face. But neither should we let those challenges daunt or deter us! Americans have overcome much greater challenges than we face, so we can do what needs to be done today and tomorrow.
Let us learn and apply those insights we gather from one another to improve and grow personally and corporately, and thus as an Industry.
Let us make 2011 a year for true advancement.
Let us do what it takes to make our better days ahead a reality.
There is a star that shines in the darkness of night. This is a metaphor that can inspire us if we allow it to do so. We have star power on these pages, and we have star power in you and some 35,000 others like you in various parts of this Industry. Together, we can advance and grow.
My thanks to all who visit, read, listen, write, podcast and meet in this modern fashion on our pages. My sincere thanks to you. We hope our work is our gift, symbolized by our e-card above.
Merry Christmas! Let’s catch up with each other again this weekend and we hope to meet with you again next week. # #
