This is normally the time of year where agencies do an “end of year wrap”, celebrating all the achievements of the year gone by and casting an eye on the year ahead….so I thought I’d attempt a one-man-band version from a PragmaTech perspective. But fear not though, dear reader, this won’t be one of those posts that opens with a recap of the impact of Covid…

Instead, I’d like to talk about connections.

Starting PragmaTech this year was a somewhat daunting prospect, but it was made much more enjoyable by the connections I’ve been lucky enough to make over the years. I called them out in my launch day LinkedIn post, and many of them have contributed to an exciting five months or so. And I’ve also been lucky enough to make some great new friends and colleagues along the way too. Big thanks and love to all of you, for helping me get PragmaTech off the ground and into orbit!

2021 will be a fascinating year. As the current health issues slowly recede, the world is not just going to pick up where it left off. Some of the old connections will persist, but as society and industry reshape themselves new connections will need to be formed. Strategies will benefit from shorter horizons, allowing us to explore and pivot in the face of the uncertain near future. This uncertainty is often fertile ground for disruption and opportunity, and just being mindful of the shift can help all of us make better decisions. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I was also reminded the other day about Amy Webb’s perspective. For those who haven’t come across Amy, she’s a futurist who normally unveils her annual ‘tech trends’ report at SXSW each year - I missed her this year because I was stuck in Tennessee of all places, just as you-know-what took hold and SXSW was cancelled. Anyway, Amy likes to emphasise the importance of looking outside your normal field of view, and then giving yourself the time and permission to let your mind wander productively in pursuit of new connections. If the Christmas break isn’t the ideal time to do that, I don’t know when is.

Amy generally presents both an optimistic and pessimistic outlook for each of her trends, and those who know me know that I generally favour an optimistic outlook. So while things are pretty grim out there, and certainly worse for some than for others, I take solace in the positive. Trump lost, science won, and the Australian fires situation is a damn sight better than it was last year. And next year can only get better.

I’d like to wish all of you a Merry and safe Christmas and a Happy New Year - whatever your circumstances. And here’s to making a multitude of positive connections in 2021.