#423 – Thanksgiving on Balance

This week, US employees returned to work after the Thanksgiving break.

Thanksgiving is my favorite US holiday. While the true origins of the holiday are often poorly understood by my fellow Americans, I appreciate the modern intent of the holiday to gather together, share a meal, and express gratitude.

Thanksgiving is my favorite US holiday. While the true origins of the holiday are often poorly understood by my fellow Americans, I appreciate the modern intent of the holiday to gather together, share a meal, and express gratitude.

In Season 1, Episode 12 of the iconic T.V. series The Sopranos, Tony’s family shares a quiet meal while a storm rages outside. Tony says he hopes when his children have children of their own, they will remember the little moments like this one, that are seemingly insignificant, but wholesome and good nonetheless. While there are numerous tropes depicting the Thanksgiving table as a stage for playing out political arguments and family drama, my experience has been more wholesome and good. There is little rush and lots of gravy.

Thanksgiving often falls during the busiest stretch of my year. Projects that kicked off after the summer holidays in September are now racing to wrap up before the new year. Yet, like most Americans, I take four full days off to spend time with family and friends.

This year, returning from the Thanksgiving break, I felt an unusually deep connection to gratitude. I’ve been reflecting on the sacrifices my colleagues have made—both this year and in years past—choosing, at times, to prioritize work over moments with loved ones. I’m grateful that I have the choice—that the agency is mine to decide what to do with my time.

Striking the balance between work and the other aspects of our lives is never easy, whether I’m navigating choices for myself or when asking it of others. I’m thankful to all of the people in my community who have given something up for the benefit of working together. My heartfelt hope is that when reflecting on our choices and sacrifices, we feel as though we’ve spent our time well.

Metrics this week are not available. Our data automations that gather our metrics failed. We’ll report on this next week!

…moved to the final round of a competition between Parabol Members for who can author the best Team Insights AI prompt. We’ve been running an internal competition using our teams’ own data for which prompt(s) driving our upcoming Team Insights feature is best. We’re down to 3 finalists!

…onboarded several new U.S. public-sector distribution partners and resellers.

…concluded Shape Up Cycle 5 with a cycle retro.

…begin Shape Up Cycle Cool Down & start planning for Cycle 6, which will kick off next year!