One of the most infuriating answers I ever received to any question is a simple one. Years after I first heard it, I became a consultant… and then I began to use these words (pretty frequently, I admit) to answer the questions I was now being asked.

A little-known fact about me is that I am a HUGE R&B music fan, with a special love of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s variety. If you are as well, chances are you just finished this blog title with a tune in your head from Tony Toni Tone’s “It’s Your Anniversary”. To be sure, listening to this genre of music makes me smile, breathe a little easier, and sing along with joy.

Just a few weeks ago we “celebrated” the one-year anniversary of the day when much of America was forced to shut down. Where in 2008 came the Great Recession, 2020 offered the Great Pause… where much of the United States closed down operations for days, weeks, and months in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The months and year that followed included social unrest and a presidential election that felt like it was dividing us one neighbor, friend and family member at a time.

Do you remember how you felt this time last year? At the beginning of 2020, for me the possibilities seemed well… possible and hope seemed a reasonable assumption. But perhaps – if you’re like me – you’re starting THIS new year a little differently. Hesitantly and with caution, maybe? Hopeful but with trepidation, possibly?  Optimistic but cynical?