On Gratitude

Yesterday, I got this question:

Q: “How are you feeling today after the dust has settled a bit?”

A: “I feel grateful. That’s the best word for it. And surprisingly emotional—in a good way.”

And I am grateful.

Not 20% grateful, not 50/50, but 100% grateful.

Grateful that I get to work with each of you.

Grateful that we get to do our work together in our quirky mix of cross-over, impromptu working groups. (At all-hands, I blamed my emotions on a lack of sleep, but the truth is I was feeling a deep sense of gratitude.)

In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to focus on… what’s not good enough and what’s missing.

Right now, that is inverted.

I’m thinking of how great this week was AND all the conversations, work, and effort that has been done over the years to get us here. I’m thinking of what we already have, who we already are, and what we’ve done together.

We delivered an exceptional conference. And, we did it 48 hours after a magazine deadline. Plus, our team alone delivered 10+ hours of presentations in a 24-hour period. Add to that best-in-class video done over night.

And let’s not forget what we’ve accomplished in the past three months. The new website wasn’t even live just three months ago. We hadn’t begun the Enterprise ABM work. You only needed one hand to count bookclubs; now you need two. Add to that Rooms Central, the special research issue, videos, and much more than I can list here.

It’s tempting to be grateful for the conference, for the event. But really, it’s the conference that makes me recognize the value in our everyday work and relationships.

Soon, we will start talking and planning for the future.

For now, I hope you’ll join me in being grateful and in being content.

We did it. Good work, done well for the right reasons and with an end in mind.

P.S: Sol wasn’t able to join us in person, but her work was visible everywhere and at every turn. Just one example: the office maps she made for Monday made the office experience better and it was the highlight of the conference for many.