Thankful

I’m really thankful for the year that is ending now. Only this weekend, when we wrote our regular Yearly Letter and put it into snail mail, e-mail and presents, I was fully aware of the fact that I’m so thankful. The tradition of a Yearly Letter — that we adopted from my love’s family — is besides all the other things so wonderful, because it makes me pause a little bit. Pause to rethink the year, to remember the good times and the bad.

All in all, as I said, I am thankful for this year.
Yes, there have been a lot of things that were exhausting. And some things that were not nice at all, of course. And yes, like all families, we had a lot of excitement and change during the year. But I again learned a lot about myself — what I’m really good at and what not so, what I really care for, and much more.

But there are two things that I really need to share, although they didn’t make it into the Yearly Letter. One is about my job. And the other about my engagement.

#1: I’m able to do this — better than ever

Exactly one year ago (until early January, when everything was sorted out finally) I decided to take bottom line responsibility for an agency. And to be honest, I was not sure if I would really be able to deliver on the task. Some of you might know that I had had a tough time for more than one year. I thought my creativity was fading, new business was by far not as successful anymore as it used to be before, and there was this guy that was very clear in adressing he doesn’t think I would be able to be managing director of an agency and driving its creativity. And there I was, being appointed to exactly this.

Looking back, I allow myself to admit: This unsettled me. And the question, if I’m “able to do this”, was something that worried me a bit.

You may imagine how thankful I am now, after the last nine months and all the things I saw and did (and that worked). Mainly because it turned out that I’m more creative than ever before; new business works better than ever; together with my team we turned around an agency that really had some difficult years in Germany. And with all this I’m nearly 12 months ahead of my self set schedule.

Of course this is not only because I am here. Having a process for creativity and being able to implement a creative framework that really helps insight based creativity helped big time. As well as experience and an existing network helped for realizing new business. But it’s really awsome and unexpected how far we have come this year; that I’m already hiring; that we build something new and great.

But for nothing else I’m more thankful than this: That the way I want to lead and drive creativity really works. For the team and with the team. The best compliment I got this year was from one of my leadership team. She said:

Yes, you make us shine.

Wow. *Blush* — This really makes me happy. And to me it shows I’m at the right place to be. I really can add something. Make a difference. And for this I’m very, very thankful indeed.

And the second most awesome compliment I got this year was from someone who is following our industry. I was sending him a note and he wrote back

… that you are and will always be really an exceptional guy in this industry. I will follow your way and your philosophy closely next year as well.

Wow. Someone is noticing what we are doing differently here. That really makes me happy. It shows the extraordinary success we had this year — and lets me look forward to the exciting way we will be going next year.

#2: I was able to string together some lifelines

The so called refugees crisis in itself is nothing to be happy about. Some implications even less so — e.g. the hatred that covers itself as fear, or the nazis that try to disguise themselves as “worried citizens”. But I’m really thankful for the new civil society that rises out of the blue in my neighborhood, that suburb I have been living in as an adolescent already and came back to with my familiy more than ten years ago. A new civil society I had the chance to help building (although the last weeks I didn’t had as much time as before due to the business success, see above).

But I’m more than thankful for this. Especially as it strings together some lifelines — some things from the past (like my engagement in politics and my church, my anti-fascism engagement, my community work) and things I have been doing more recently (like activation programs, moderating, social media and PR). I was helpful, could again add something, make a difference. And it would be really the ice on the cake if re:publica chooses our talk we sent in on this topic to be part of the conference.

This energizes me for next year

Christmas is approaching full speed and without and stop. Like every year. And it’s not over yet, tomorrow, two days before Christmas Eve, we have an important and huge presentation to deliver. But to pause for some minutes and to be thankful, helps me. And energizes me for the things to come. For the ongoing high speed in my job. For the upcoming climax of the refugees crisis when every single refugee that arrives in Hamburg will be passed through my neighborhood. For my family.

This thankfulness and all the good things this year outbalance the other memories. That we did not win every single pitch. That I got attention of nazis in my suburb. That I really miss my oldest son who is at the other end of the world right now. That one of my sons got beaten up by nazis. That one of our horses can’t ride anymore.

Life is not always sunshine — I’m old enough to know this. But when people come up to me to thank me for the work we are doing in Meiendorf for the refugees and civil society (and ask how they could help as well) every single time I do the groceries of join my kids’ sport events; when I make those shine who are in my team; when I’m seen as an example — then I see that’s it worth everything. Then I see that it’s good as it is. All in all.

And for this I’m thankful.