Changing seasons

I don’t mind sharing with you that I am no fan of winter, where in the northern hemisphere we have six months of short days and long dark nights. The colder weather is not the issue, in fact it can be a really cosy season with warm clothes and log fires, all of which I enjoy. But I love daylight and sunlight in particular and there lies the problem with winter for me.

I have got to thinking about this as we are coming towards the end of a long warm summer and the mornings and evenings are getting just that bit cooler and the darkness coming a little earlier each day. I took this photo on my early morning walk with Enzo and could see the mist hanging low over the fields as the sun rose through the trees. One of my preparations for the winter ahead is to make sure I sort through my warmer clothes and send some to the charity shop as well as get the chimney swept and order in the logs.

This also comes at a time when we have reached the end of the first half of our financial year, and many teams have either had their kicks ons for the second half or are about to do so. It’s a great time to take stock on progress, make some adjustments to be even more successful on the road ahead, making sure we are prepared and ready for the next season of the budget plan.

I have spoken to many colleagues about this in recent weeks. Being ‘ready’ for us means we have hired the people we need to help us deliver the budget, got the contractor runners at the level we planned for, have order books filled with new work for the coming months, built up the pipeline of opportunities so that these flow through to billable work, and got ourselves ready with the marketing and promotion plans to bring new candidates and clients to our doors. What we do as we move from one budget ‘season’ to another is very much like how we prepare in our wider lives.

I think we are in good shape as we head off down the road ahead, there are plenty of things for us to work on and we are doing just that to ensure we continue our fantastic track record of sustainable growth. I have been inspired as I spoke to MDs , spoke to newly hired colleagues, interviewed new people to join us, sat with team leaders who shared their growth plans in the past few weeks.

We are also focused on career plans and developing ourselves for the future, recognising success through the promotion of colleagues and looking at the many ways we can support the communities we live and work in. I have seen many teams take on challenges for fantastic causes. Nash Squared has a warm beating heart from colleagues who deeply care.  We are ready for the new season and I can’t wait to see just what we can achieve together. I look forward to seeing you out on the road ahead.

Have a good weekend of rest and relaxation. Keep safe and well.

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