What does community mean to you?

My family, like many others this past year and a half, found ourselves moving out of the city – in our case to Connecticut. The move for us was bittersweet; our life in the city had become wonderfully enmeshed in our community. Could we find that again??

It turns out that, yes, we could. The apprehension over new neighbors, new schools and new sports teams was swiftly replaced with new friends, new comradery, and a new community. As different as it is from what we knew in the city, our new community shares one singular, and critical quality: people helping each other.

As we close out 2021, I am also reflecting on the communities we've established in our work environments. I am so humbled by how our teams have come together, been there for each other, and remained laser focused on business. Looking forward to 2022, we certainly can expect more of the same uncertainty, disruption –?and, I believe, sense of purpose – that many of us have felt over the past 20 months. It’s this last point that I think defines community. The idea of collectively pulling together as a group of people whose purpose is to support one another.

There is nothing more energizing than coming together as a team, parking your egos at the door, and working on a meaningful and complex problem – especially when the solution to that problem is in service to others. Great teams are built upon the same foundation: all members bringing their unique skills and experience to the table to serve a common goal and mission. Yet more important to these ingredients are the values they bring as individuals, values that include humility, grit, open mindedness, patience, (with oneself and others), a sense of humour, and finally, that burning desire to find solutions to help each other.?

I see these values shining through in our own business here at IBM, as we work to create communities on our platform servicing regulated industries. But we are not doing it alone. We started with eight financial institutions 18 months ago, and now there are 80 organizations actively participating on a platform that they helped to build.

In the year ahead, I look forward to watching that community continue to grow in size and scope, building upon the strong community that we have within IBM – a group of people that care about one another, recognizing that no one individual or no one function can be successful alone.?

Miracles happen when individuals work together toward a common purpose. And when we pull together, as teams with a common purpose, particularly through these very difficult times, we embody the values and character that differentiate us as people, as communities and as stewards of progress.

I wish you all peace, happiness, and good health this holiday season and in the new year.