My girlfriends and I have a "company holiday party" every year. We're all mostly stay at home moms who don't have fancy office parties to go to in December. On year, after all of our husbands' offices held "staff" only holiday parties we began the tradition of starting our own company party. This of course led to an annual review letter detailing our accomplishments as a company that year. I stretched my "corporate language" muscles again this year to write another annual review. It's mostly silly, a little inside jokey, and definitely tongue in cheek. But for four mamas in the trenches of keeping the kids alive and houses running smoothly, it's nice to feel some sense of accomplishment. I give you our 2017 Annual Review.
Memo
To: Board of Directors
From: Director of Communications/Publicity
Date: December 27, 2017
Re: 2017 Annual Year in Review
________________________________________________________________________________
2017 was another banner year for our little company! At our most recent Board of Directors meeting we reflected on all the business has accomplished this year, and let me tell you, there were many highs and only a few lows, (and a lot of poop).
While we did not see any significant growth numbers-wise in 2017, we did find that there were numerous promotions to be celebrated. A few of our longest standing team members found themselves among the ranks of “elementary school aged children” and while these transitions came with their own unique challenges, we are happy to report that all team members are finding success in their new positions. These promotions also helped us to diversify and increase our spheres of influence; each team member reports to one of four different schools in three different communities. Our reach has never been broader, and our team members are making the company proud. Their supervisors report positive attitudes, excellent personal growth and (mostly) stellar focus on the job. Wins all around.
We also saw a few of our newer members gain higher security clearance by moving out of the “diaper wearing” level and into “underwear” levels. Unfortunately those members seem a bit resistant to this new clearance level and have been found, on occasion, to display some unseemly behavior (ie pooping in their pants), in an effort to be demoted. It has not been good for company morale in general but, without dismissing the short-term challenges facing us in this area, it is important to focus on whatever success we can. We are very hopeful that the Accident Free Days counter will only apply to Tommy again soon.
We saw another relocation of the home office again this year. While the move was not far, distance wise, it did require a tremendous amount of work upgrading new systems, expanding into a bigger, better building, and helping that office’s team members to transition well. Changes like that at the corporate level are never easy and we can’t say enough good things about how smoothly it went overall.
There is not too much to report for our third and fourth year team members, they continue to grow and develop, occasionally falling back on bad habits and attitudes. 2017 was a sharp reminder that it’s impossible to predict short-term market movements among these team members; their social and emotional development is a bit of a roller coaster and just when we’re ready to write them off, they show remarkable growth.
Finally, we can’t forget to celebrate the fact that, once again, we hit 100% of our goals of keeping the children alive, fed and (mostly) clothed in 2017. One of our newer members is providing us lots of challenges to overcome with regard to that last goal, but we remain persistent.
While we are devoted to humbly providing the same high level of service to all of our employees, this year has shown us that we are still human. One of our Directors has asked to be taken off the night shift in 2018 so she can better serve her team and also stop living in a fog of broken dreams. She has valiantly served her newest team member 24/7 for a year and it is time for him to begin working independently during the evening shift. We have given him notice of this change in her hours of availability and we are hopeful he will take to the new schedule. We anticipate this investment in sleep for our Director will lead to significant and measurable returns in happiness for the company at large.
As we look ahead to 2018 we see our company on the brink of two more potential transitions, home office wise. One may require a relocation and the other a complete expansion. Both are exciting and nerve-wracking, but our directors in charge of these projects are the best in the business. Our directors are also committed to professional development in 2018, an example of which is the company retreat which will be held at an undisclosed location in February. We predict this level of professional development will serve the culture of our company for years to come.
As we close 2017 we are thankful for our shareholders and partners. We are cautiously optimistic about the continued growth and opportunities for our company in 2018. In the next year we seek to keep the lines of communication open, plan more opportunities for team building activities among the Board and the Shareholders, and continue to lead this company in a positive direction.