As Leaders, We Can Give the Gift of Hope and a Brighter Future This Holiday Season

Happy Holidays! I hope you're able to enjoy what will almost certainly be the strangest holiday season of our lives. For so many in retail, Christmas dominates the entire month of December for shopping, promotions, and trying to close the year out strong in sales. Everything about this year has challenged us to think about our business differently. 

This holiday season, no doubt, has shifted the way many people shop and the year ahead will likely serve to shift more of that. Even with the promise of vaccines on the near horizon now, we will continue to grapple with the effects of a deadly disease that has impacted the entire world. Our businesses will forever be changed by the events of the year. As leaders, we must embrace that change and look ahead for how we bring stability and comfort to those we serve. 

That last sentiment — providing comfort, stability, hope, and shedding light on a path that will take us forward to a more positive place may be the best gift we can provide this holiday season. People have been deeply affected by a year that not only has seen a once on a lifetime pandemic outbreak, social unrest at levels not seen for decades, and a political stage that by itself creates uncertainty, unlike anything we have seen. It is a year when tens of millions of people have been infected, more than a million and a half worldwide have lost their lives, and countless millions more have been impacted by the effects of this year’s events. People need leadership more than ever. We need people who are purveyors of hope or possibilities, of light, not darkness, and a caring hand willing to help.

We tend to think of the holiday season as a gift-giving season. This year we should reflect on what we have experienced and our gift must be to embrace each other, learn more about who we are and who we can be, and work together to build a stronger future where everyone can benefit. That will not come easily. It will not come to those who wait passively by. It will take grit, resilience, and determination to break through challenges we never expected to experience. But that would be a tremendous gift to share with the world over this holiday season.

I hope you can find some joy in the season and most importantly of all — stay safe, stay healthy, and be kind to others. Happy Holidays!

Cheers.

Chris

EffectiveRetailLeader