In Western Europe , once a year there comes a timewhen the ECo-C becomes… completely unnecessary. That time is, of course,Christmas (or the “festive season” as political correctness sometimes demandsit be called). During Christmastime, people seem to operate as though with asingle will: there is hence no need to teach them teamwork, since they allagree on their shared desire to have a good time, move on from the past,forgive wrongs, and exchange presents. Preferably nice presents, that is.

Pre-existingconflicts are put often put on a hold, if not outright resolved in the sheerfestive atmosphere and good cheer. Communications are intensified, if onlybecause people have a valid reason to spontaneously engage others, wishing themthe best in their celebrations, for the upcoming year, for the future. And ofcourse, a smiling, honest face, mirroring clearly honest wishes is the besttype of message one could send about one’s self: self-marketing, albeit with nosuch intention. If it were Christmas every day, the ECo-C would have no purposeand would be completely unnecessary.

Sadly,that is not so. Christmas is a moment in time, special, and a herald of changesthat will come about once we essentially snap out of it. This was mentioned inour previous article concerning the strategy meeting that was to (and did) takeplace on December 10^th, at the same time as the ECo-C social event.And as to how it went? Well, of course, people who participated in the meetingcame away speaking of a “fruitful” discussion, one that included “potential forfuture expansion”, “annual reviews” and “a brainstorming session on the ECo-CAdvanced”. All of these signals are interesting, encouraging, and designed tomake us wait with bated breath for further details… which are not likely toemerge before next year! Luckily that is not all that long anymore! While weawait said details from that quarter, permit us to wish you, dear readers, a jollyfestive season and an even better upcoming year.