2020 in review

I was asked to write a review of 2020. An interesting request. Ok. Let me see. How can I avoid talking about COVID-19, working from home and lockdowns? Easy. So here we go...

As some of you may know, I love cycling. This year I had planned to travel to Italy to climb the Stelvio, Mortirolo and Monte Grappo. These are the monster mountain passes of the Italian Alps and Dolomites.

The Stelvio ride is around 22km long, reaching the summit of the second highest pass in the Alps. It's beautiful, covered in snow as you reach the top and steeped in cycling anthology.

Riding the Stelvio or any other mountain is all about pacing yourself. Go too fast, you may blow and struggle to recover. Go to slow, well it will take longer and eat at your morale. It's about finding the right cadence, keeping your momentum, and focusing on the summit. You will make it; all you need to do is keep peddling, keep hydrated and control of your mind.

Kinda like 2020.

The ride like everything this year was put on ice.

I discovered that I could ride these mountains virtually. Yes, on a trainer, following on a screen. Just zoom into the ride, feeling the gradient, riding with a virtual team. Everyone focused on the summit. You get used to the virtualness of it all. Some familiar?

2020, has opened up an array of opportunities. Opportunities to discover more about our capabilities, our threshold, and our resolve. It has uncovered the areas in need of improvement and exposed the areas where we need to overhaul.

For Arekibo, 2020 has treated us better than many other businesses. We are fortunate to be working from home. Fortunate to have great clients. Fortunate to have a great team.

As we end the last few days of this 'unprecedented' year. Sorry I had to use that word, would not be acceptable without it. We just need to keep peddling, at our own pace, and eventually we will all reach the summit.

Thank you for all your support in 2020. Here's to a healthy and happy 2021.

Martin.