I recently saw a LinkedIn post from a newly appointed female CEO which started with the sentence: “This year wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.”

I loved the straightforward honesty. And it was so refreshing, set among the sickly sweet cheerleading and celebratory vibe we often see in our social feeds. The CEO’s post felt real and authentic.

It made me think about the highs and lows of my own year. There were definitely some lows:

- Receiving a call in the middle of a Zoom to let me know a set of keys had been accidentally dropped into a drain by a courier on their way to meet our client’s mother-in-law arriving in from Hong Kong

- The ‘couldn’t make it up’ drama to navigate when a council contractor severed our client’s broadband cable at a crucial moment of international negotiations

- The shipping agent who failed to ask one simple question, which meant a 3 month project to deliver conference materials to Berlin failed because the shipment couldn’t go through customs

But then also many highs:

- More than 50 amazing new clients this year

- A lovely client who we worked with in 2006 making contact again after all this time, having returned back to the UK after a long stint aboard

- A flurry of wonderful new PAs on the team who love working with us and deliver outstanding results for our clients

- Ending 2023 with lots of opportunity in the pipeline

I’m sure every business owner has their own version of this roller coaster re-cap, showing there is never a dull moment. (And that’s partly why we do it.)

Reflecting on 2023 also brought into sharp focus that the love, sweat and tears behind all of the hard work we do brings tangible and life-enhancing outcomes for our clients.

Having us on their side to ease the day to day pressure allows them to progress to Partner, be with their children, find old friends, support elderly parents, focus on their health, be there for their significant others, to have a life…

And this is why as a team we work as hard as we do, taking the knocks and bruises along the way. This is what it is really all about for us.

I can’t wait to find out what the next 12 months has in store.

Sue’s Reflections on 2023: