A Year in Review: Reflections on 2021

It is a rare occasion that I get to watch the news on TV but Iast week I caught an interview with Paddy Conaghan from Arranmore Island in Donegal. Paddy has set off across Ireland to raise money for a local charity by swimming at as many piers across the island as possible.

When asked why he was doing this Paddy simply replied he wanted to do something for somebody before he “kicks the bucket”. And as to why he was doing it at the coldest time of year? If he did this in the summer, Paddy reasoned people would think he was “having a great time” and possibly donate less.

There was something about this interview that stayed with me. There was no pretence, no big campaign or agenda – just a noble cause for a man with clear values.

I wouldn’t dare to try and compare the work we do in ID-Pal to Paddy’s achievement but the simplicity of his goal and clarity of his mission was grounding.

As a CEO your instinct is to broadcast the achievements of your team and business. A tricky act to balance these past two years, when the world around us was in turmoil. In what was a bumper year of big wins for ID-Pal – doubling both our customer base and team in size – there are many successes both internal and external we could celebrate. But at the end of the day like Paddy, we prefer to focus on our mission and goals.

What I have learned from this year is that sticking to these core embedded values of your business, not straying from them as a guiding north star – that is equally something to celebrate from the past 12 months. Staying committed, focused and transparent in what we are building with the ID-Pal platform. To deliver this, I believe it is crucial to surround yourself with the right people. So I’d like to thank each and every employee for their hard work and dedication as well as our customers, valued strategic partners plus our network of advisors and selected vendors.

I take inspiration from all that Paddy shared – except one difference is that while the team are working hard, we do try to be “having a great time” while doing it.

So here’s to a year of celebrating highs and surviving global lows, here’s to staying on track when the storms of uncertainty blow (including real-life storms) and here’s to a fantastic Christmas for you, your team and family and a thank you from all of us here in ID-Pal.

Colum

CEO & Founder, ID-Pal

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