2022 and all that - it’s the people, stupid

A few years ago I wrote a summary of 2020 - I thought I’d do the same again this year, a year that has gone a little faster than I expected. My guess is that as things raced back to normal, the packed diary meant that there were less days merging into one, more memories being created, hence the speed. Welcome back. Then again, we had our (rearranged) work Christmas party in March so maybe that’s why it all feels so quick.?

In Jan and Feb I was on a short sabbatical from Watch Me Think, walking the hills of Surrey, the South West Coast Path and the South Downs Way, joined by the occasional friend to put the world to rights (and boy did it need it this year), enjoying the more than occasional pub lunch. 677 miles later, I stopped walking and went back to work clear headed, and ready for the next chapter.?

On one of the walks in the Shropshire Hills, I was joined by my co-founders, one of whom was over from Australia and who I hadn’t seen in person for a long time, the other from the slightly closer Manchester. It was so foggy I’m not sure we saw any hills, but we did walk a lot. The time we spent together was a joy, reminding us why we did this in the first place, even if they did go to bed earlier than my 11 year old son does.?

It was a year full of returning to do things that I have always done. I got to see Mark Rylance in my favourite ever play, Jerusalem; David Tennant in Good (and he was more than good); the comedians Liz Kingsman and Joanne McNally - both awesome, both very different. I took my daughter to see Dear Evan Hansen (after we were supposed to see it back in May 2020), Macbeth, and Susie Dent (her favourite person). Not forgetting the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She’s 16 now - I have to remember these moments. I took full advantage of living close to London, doing two walking tours - the legal tour of London (seeing inside the Royal Courts and the Old Bailey) and one on the Tudors - both excellent. Me and the boy did a couple of day trips being full on tourists - the Eye, a Horrible Histories boat trip, Westminster Abbey (which we didn’t know would be used quite so soon after our visit), and all the iconic landmarks we could fit in. We all went to York on the train for the weekend which was lovely, and a few weeks later all danced to Bananarama with a picnic in a park. It was brilliant. The boy won Player’s Player in his football awards - he was so happy.?

It was also amazing to be back at full stadiums? - like Lords for the first test of the summer (and what a day that was), or Twickenham for England against Wales in the Six Nations and then South Africa more recently. And Old Trafford with great friends for England vs. South Africa in the cricket, though due to the weather it was more of an all dayer than a one dayer. The sporting highlight of the year was being at Wembley to see Forest beat Huddersfield and win promotion to the Premier League after 23 years outside it. If you could bottle the happiness of the 45,000 odd Forest fans there that day…wow.?

It was the 20th anniversary of a golf tournament I play in where the same eight people, me included, get together once a year and have done since 2002. It’s very special that it’s still going. The golf is rubbish, but spending the day and evening with the group is what makes it so ace. 7 very special people.?

Google tells me I spent a lot of time in Europe this year - Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia - and I had new experiences like e-foil boarding (utterly addictive) and zip wiring (strangely calming, apart from when your son gets launched across a ravine 200m in the air - see picture that accompanies these words). I went to Sitges again with my friends for the first time since 2019 (2020 and 2021 got postponed for obvious reasons). It was, as always, superb, and we left with a belly full of good wine, good food and great memories. And to Majorca for the first time which was incredibly relaxing and involved a lot of books and the beach - we were lucky with the weather. I read a lot of books this year - I can’t call a favourite, but if you pushed me, perhaps November Road by Lou Berney. My Spotify Wrapped tells me my most listened to song was by Elton John (Take me to the Pilot) which is because it featured in a scene in Escape from Dannemora that really got to me so I listened to it about 40 times on repeat. It was one of my favourite shows of the year, that and Euphoria. And White Lotus.??

We took the whole Watch Me Think team (from Australia, the US and the UK) to Tuscany for 4 days to say thanks for being great (as they all are). We did bits of work here and there, but we did far more getting to know each other after such a long time apart. I was worried before - what if people don’t get on, what if the food is rubbish, what if the flights get cancelled - I don’t always look on the bright side of life, but I’m fixing that. I needn’t have worried - it all went smoother than we could have imagined and we all have memories that will last forever. I was the happiest on the trip when one long standing team member who thought they wouldn’t be able to make it, turned up for the last two days to make it a full house - that was epic. I’m not sure we can beat it, but we will try. I’ve written about the trip here , but it’s worth saying again that I am so deeply proud of what a phenomenal bunch of people work with us. They amaze me with their tenacity, their love of the company, the work they produce, everything. They are very special people and it may sound twee, but we all get on. Everyone. It’s amazing. Seeing the team grow, seeing people succeed, hearing the feedback from clients about work they’ve received from the team, seeing them all enjoying each other's company is so selfishly rewarding. They have worked so hard and some of that new work will be seen next year (and it’s amazing). The future of the company is in good hands.?

Business has been great, and I am eternally grateful for that. Clients have embraced the new things we’re offering. We’ve welcomed back lots of clients again and again, and we’re working with new logos we’ve worked hard to win (never easy, this new business lark). We are fully aware the road ahead may be bumpy, that the cost of living crisis, the energy crisis, the recession, all may have an impact, but for now we’re good. And we are all very thankful for that. Who knows what’s next, but in the present, where we should be, we’re good and we should be proud of that (even though, as I have said before, sometimes it is hard to say that out loud).?

But 2022 wasn’t all sunshine and flowers. In April I was shaken off my axis quite severely when a very close friend of mine died suddenly. He lived in Cornwall, so I didn’t see him as often as I wanted to, but we spoke pretty much every week about rugby, families etc. It hit me harder than I was expecting, so much so that it had knock on effects across many aspects of my life, leading me to wake up to a lot of things, and understand I had to get them sorted. So I started on that path and I’m still on it. But it’s good, and I’m a better person for it. Nicer I think. Less angry. Kinder perhaps. I don’t cry very often but I did a lot after Nigel died. I noticed people look at you funny when you’re crying and driving. The funeral was huge - he was loved by all who encountered him and was an integral part of the community down there. It made me appreciate more the value of people, of friends. I miss you Nigel.?

I continued to do regular walks with a great friend who has been an incredible support to me - one who has been through his own shit. I cherish these walks. His clarity of thought, his ability to frame up a problem, and how he has come out the other side of what he went through is humbling in the extreme. More of these next year. And other walks with another great friend - he always makes himself available and always has sage advice which I lap up - I’m not sure what I bring to either of these people, considering everything they do for me, but that’s friendship I guess.?

On a similar note, three of my closest friends really stepped up this year when I needed them most and for that I will be eternally grateful - men aren’t the best at talking about things, but when I needed them they were there with bells on. Whether it was lunch, a beer, a call, a text, a shoulder, whatever. I can’t explain what that means to me, but I have tried to tell them. I think they know I would do the same for them. They have a lot of chips to cash in at some point. One friend who lives in Australia sent me two postcards this year - I miss him.? I’m sad that one old friend who I haven’t spoken to for almost three years now still hasn’t been in touch - I think I just have to accept that now. It’s the way it goes sometimes.?

I now spend much more time thinking about others. I take time to reply to people properly, to ask them questions about themselves, and listen. Things I should have been doing but had either forgotten or let slip. It wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t good enough, but I’m getting better at it now. I listen now to how I talk to people and have changed my tone - I didn’t realise the impact it was having on some people. I’ve got better relationships with people who are the most important to me as a result. I’ve become more patient, not worrying about things that are out of my control. Most importantly, this year reaffirmed to me what’s important, something I probably knew already, but just didn’t think about enough… ‘It’s the people, stupid’.

I wish you all the best for 2023.