Gratitude abounds.
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I am struck by just how fast the past year has gone by. While the last few years have made it easy (and more than justified) to lament so much of what we have all been through—and what so many people are still going through—I want to use the inspiration of the month to give thanks.
The EDC team just recently moved into our new offices on the fourth floor of UC San Diego Park & Market in Downtown San Diego. And when you go through a big office move after being in the same place for more than a decade, you find a few reminders of what has made the work so important and special over the years. Through thank you notes from past colleagues, to small gifts and tokens from trade missions and visiting delegations, to photographs of different generations of team members, investors, and partners, the memories come rushing back.
Work, I have always found, can be as important to who we are and who we become as family, friends, education, environment, and the many other factors that help shape our lives. As colleagues, co-workers, supervisors, leaders, and partners, we not only have an opportunity to contribute to organizations, missions, and/or visions that matter to us, we have the opportunity to contribute to the lives of those we cross paths with every day.
As I looked through the thank you, farewell, and congratulations notes I have received (and saved) over the years, I started to recognize a pretty obvious trend: In my 30 years in the workforce, what has mattered the most to others hasn’t been the successes, failures, promotions, achievements, innovations, or inspirations that can often be associated with management and leadership positions and organizational successes. It has been the way we treat each other during the simplest or most challenging of times that matters the most. Almost more than words can express.
To everyone who has played a role in making my days better over the last 10 years at EDC and the last 20 years in San Diego, I am so thankful for your presence in my work and in my life. In the days we have left in 2022, let’s try to take some time to reach out to those who matter most to us and tell them why. Just an e-mail, a voicemail, or a few kind spoken or written words can become such an important treasure to someone around you, that they just might still have them sitting nearby in their (new) office decades later.
Below are some of the ways you can engage with the EDC team and our work in the coming weeks. We’re thankful as always for your investment, partnership, and support that makes it all possible…
Best,
Mark Cafferty
President & CEO
Need tech talent? Attend Advancing San Diego’s upcoming events to strengthen your local talent pipeline:
- November 9 – Preferred Provider Meet & Greet: Cybersecurity & IT
- November 15 – Tech Career Night: Industry Interactive
Plus, join World Trade Center San Diego to grow your international sales:
- November 15 – International Expo
For the latest on EDC, visit our events and news page to stay engaged.