As anyone who reads these weekly meanderings from the NH beach where I live, the Boston office where I work, the Tufts classroom where I learn or the general store in the town of Winhall, VT (pop. 769), seven days a week, I'm 95% focused on the mechanics, the math, the processes, the embedded exciting technologies, and...of course...the people of the sciences of Sales and Marketing!   

I love what I do, and yes, I am a bit obsessive about it. In fact, for 10 years, I've used the 769 person VT, stat, but this morning I thought I would ask my buddy, Claude, who corrected me, and...as usual...the math always wins out.  Looking at this graph subjectively, one would think that the spike in 2020 came from Covid-Era city folk escaping to Vermont.  In fact, in 2020, there was an annual census which had not been done for 10 years.

But all of that is terribly unimportant on this magical morning of Christmas Eve.  What is critically important to your life, to your happiness and to how you face every business day, is to take time during this break to...

1. Hug your family in celebrating the power of what it means to be a family! 

In business, all the time, we verbalize the word "team", while we should really be thinking of the real essence of what it means to be not just a team, but to be a family of single-minded people who come together in their work and actively embrace the culture of their company and actually love what they do. In those businesses where that culture exists, which we see in some of our companies, the results are always above the norm.

2.  focus on those objectives where you can personally make a difference! 

We live in complex times, and it's easy to become personally distracted by the political and economic events that constantly surround all of us. If you believe that your voice can personally make a difference in those external factors, then go ahead and do it.  But don't do it quietly! Command a loud voice!  For example, you could build your own podcast or blog or consistent social media post in 2026 signing up 5,000 subscribers by this time next year which could be an outlet for your politics or for your personal convictions outside work.  

But if you don't want to do that, then use those hours to focus your time, your energy, your creative intellect and your passion directly on those areas of your work where only you can make an impact!  Just don't waste your time and become distracted.  

3. focus on your health and the health of those around you!

In my interwoven worlds of consulting in strategy and sales and marketing along with teaching and mentoring, everything has metrics and timelines.  I also realize that there is an expiration date to what I do so the criticality of being healthy and doing healthy things should always be at the top of my list even though I failed that test this AM when the no-caffeine herbal tea was accompanied with a bite or two of the overly tempting Christmas cookies. 

Today, more than ever before, we have extraordinary access to the best healthcare in the world.  Yes, I clearly understand the problems of inequities in healthcare and the personal challenges of certain diseases, but I also know that there are large segments of us who are either pre-diabetic (count me in) or way overweight.  Think about taking a few hours during this holiday break to map out a better health plan beyond the normal New Year's Resolutions.

Please enjoy your break and time away from work this week.  Wishing you a warm and wonderful holiday!  

Jack 

-Sales-Marketing Productivity
-Tactical Business Planning
Derby Management Site
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Professor of the Practice Tufts University
Founder, Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts
Call:  617-504-4222