VIEWPOINT | PPC100 August 2020

I write this while we’re still in lockdown with slow signs of coming out of it. Hopefully, by the time you read this, we’ll have regained a bit of normality – whatever that may be!

It is excellent that we are celebrating the 100th edition of PPC magazine, and it is right that we recognise all those who have contributed to its success over the years. There is much to celebrate in this edition, and it’s vital that we pause at times to do just that – celebrate.

For many it seems that there’s been little cause for celebration over the many months of the Covid-19 pandemic. What celebrations there have been were marked in a very different way.

When was the last time you had a real sense of celebration?

I do wonder if we celebrate enough in our world of work. Here at BPCA we pause as a Staff team every Friday morning to reflect on our celebrations for that week. It’s good practice for individuals, groups and whole organisations to do the same. Life is lived at such a fast pace that, too often, the things worth celebrating have passed and we are on to the next thing before we know it.

At BPCA we take celebration seriously and I encourage all our members, regardless of the size of their business, to do the same. It’s great to pause and notice even the smallest success, whether that’s a job well done, a new piece of work picked up or good feedback received.

We want organisations to recognise when individuals, teams and groups of people are successful, and it doesn’t have to be recognition of just the big things. Often the small things are more significant to those involved in achieving them.

We also enjoy celebrating with and for our members, recognising when an individual or member organisation has achieved something. I do not doubt that we miss the opportunity to do this often enough but, whether it is a call, text or email, commenting or sharing on social media, we try to recognise what is happening in our members’ worlds and be alongside them in the highs - as well as the lows!

In these more challenging times, there’s been a lack of celebration and a reserved mindset prevalent in organisations. Celebration doesn’t have to cost money. However, whether you invest time, effort, money or all three, the return on investing in celebrations will pay dividends.

While being able to celebrate in the same room at the same time is not possible in any great numbers as I write this, hopefully by the time you are reading it that will have changed somewhat.

Even when we’ve a real sense of there being little to celebrate, please give some consideration to how we can make our work (and therefore our lives) more celebratory.

And if you have any stories you can share, please do let us know. After all, PPC should be a celebration of all BPCA, its members and our sector.

Ian Andrew
BPCA Chief Executive
ian@bpca.org.uk

Source: PPC100