Tis the Season

Early in my career, say the first 10 years or so which spanned a good 5 companies, I recall December as being a busy time. Sadly, my recollections are primarily of that end of the year push to get product out the door and maximize the revenue number. Of course, there were holiday themed times in the breakroom and around the department area, but the emphasis was on shipping product. Also, there was preparing for the End-of-Year shutdown to perform the annual inventory between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Granted these were all early stage or start-up companies needing to prove themselves, but that was the message being sent from the executive level, get revenues as high as you can.

That sentiment changed over the years, and now even more so now that I am in that “executive level”. With those early years as a reminder, I make sure the breakroom is filled with treats, and more importantly, sign up PlastiCert to participate in the local Sharing Tree event. This year, we increased the number of area youth  we are sponsoring to an even dozen. They signed up asking for gifts for Christmas and we will see to it that there are clothes, toys, and games in their homes on Christmas Day.  

After the management buyout, we wrote up a new company mission statement. Within that statement is the sentiment,” and a recognized responsibility to the community around us”. We take that position seriously at PlastiCert. In addition to the Sharing Tree effort, there is a gift for our Fire/EMS Department (we have yet to call them to PlastiCert thank goodness, but we appreciate their being there for us if we ever do).  We try to buy our holiday items from local vendors, try to have any gatherings at local venues. We recognize that we are not an island. That who we are and what we accomplish is a direct result of being in a small town where we are valued and appreciated.

Enjoy your holiday season. Generating revenues (and meeting due dates) are the necessities of business. Don’t make them the primary purpose for this holiday season. Create an environment around you that shares the sentiment, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men (and Women).