To All Our Dear Subscribers, Clients and Friends…
Our Team, the board members at Associated Senior Executives, want to send you some personal thoughts and hopes for the coming year, 2021…
FLETCH KEATING: The first 6 months of Covid were all about disbelief, fear and uncertainty. I think that as we all reflect on what has happened, we realized that although Covid was certainly a worldwide disrupter and killer it was also an agent for changes in our society that will be permanent ….at least for a while. There will be many opportunities as new norms unfold. Work and living habits will not be the same. Travel will change. Societal needs will to change. The entrepreneurs who embrace the ‘new norms’ and venture out ahead of the changes will be very successful. 2020 has been fraught with pain….perhaps 2021 and 2022 will be loaded with opportunity. I hope so!
JIM WILSON: This has been a very different year for all of us. Notwithstanding the many hurdles that every business has experienced, it is remarkable how so many have adapted to provide online services, often where none existed before. For many, this new service will continue as a regular part of their customer focus long after we return to whatever our new normal will look like. This is a wonderful example of how adaptable entrepreneurs create lemonade when confronted with difficult challenges.
Now let us turn our attention to the New Year ahead. Be well and keep safe.
DOREEN LEVITZ: It has been a very trying year. We have been fighting a real war battle: Covid 19…some in our personal lives, some in our business lives and many more in both. With the excitement of vaccines, we can all get back on track or start a new track in life and in business. For those of you who have reinvented your business, as we have here at ASE, it is just the beginning. When this is over, we will be hard at work moving forward and seeing new opportunities at every turn. New opportunities and changes will be the new world we live in, whether things have remained intact, changed direction, or started over. Let’s all be positive! Let’s keep an eye on moving forward. Leonard Cohen said it best, ‘There is a crack in everything…that’s where the light gets in!’ Sincerely wishing all a much much better 2021.
MARY RUIJS: We know that change is constant; whether at home or in business, everyday something changes. But, when the WHO declared the world pandemic everything changed, at home and in business. On hearing the declaration some of us just stopped and paused, others panicked. We, at the ASE, saw our clients demonstrate ingenuity, courage and a willingness to adapt. While they may have
paused or panicked, we saw them accept the challenge and manage the changes to their businesses. In addition to complying with guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19 and navigating the requirements of government programs, these business owners found new ways of providing their goods and services with success! To the extent we, at the ASE, contributed to the success, we appreciated the opportunity and the vote of confidence. To the extent we can continue to contribute, we look forward to doing so.
SHISHIR LAKHANI: They say you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain. Well, year 2020 has been torrential. Does that help build character? …. Absolutely! One thing stands out – Our caring generous spirit of ASE did not falter, it merely gained greater depth. We encountered a head on collision with our dormant imagination. Yes, we the Associates, may be amateurs at technology but it has ignited the buried curiosity, creativity and the pliancy among all of us. Now at ASE, we guide, encourage, and ‘zoom’ to success a multitude of Entrepreneurs … nay I misspeak… they are ultimately our dear friends. In so doing, I am most grateful and appreciative that we, as a team at ASE, have forged an even deeper camaraderie. Dare I say this task is not entirely selfless… we continue to learn and gain a lot of self-pride and self-worth as well. In business they say it is a ‘WIN WIN’!
JAN WALLACE: 2020 has undoubtedly been a difficult year for business owners who were forced to embrace uncertainty more so than ever. There was no playbook to guide your actions and decisions in finding your ‘new normal’. I’ve often heard a client say “I hate to bother you with this issue”. Never hesitate to come to us with any issues, concerns and questions. That’s why we’re here. I know I speak for all ASE Canada Associates when I say “we get back as much as we give”. Wishing you the Best of the Holidays and look forward to working together in 2021!
ERIC KELDAY: My overall view of the past year is that hopefully a pandemic like this one comes only once every 100 years! The pandemic has had a devastating effect on many businesses. Personally, I am amazed at how well we all have adapted to working from home and participating in virtual conferences. These behavioural changes, and many others brought about by the pandemic, may well become permanent in our business and social environments.
HANS BERGER: The COVID-19 pandemic is the most disruptive force impacting the world during my lifetime. Having spend 23 years living and working in Europe, spending time there with our friends has been a key part of our lifestyle. Suddenly travel stopped and borders closed. Over the summer, my wife Karen broke her wrist requiring surgery and kept us from doing outdoor activities we enjoy doing together like cycling and golf. Like others, we spent too much time locked inside instead of with family and friends. On the positive side, Karen did convince me to join her in yoga, and this is now part of my daily morning routine. ASE was quick to adapt to the COVID challenges by moving to the video conferencing format. I get great personal pleasure and benefit from participating in the meetings with our clients and very encouraged by their entrepreneurial spirit and determination to succeed.
CLAUDE BAGLEY: Congratulations to our clients who have ‘survived’ 2020. Now, as you begin 2021, our goal at ASE is to assist you in going forward, taking a rigorous, creative and revitalized look at your business. We will look at how this new environment will have an impact on you, your staff, your customers/suppliers and your bankers, namely those issues that keep you up at night. We will work together to review your organization’s internal Strengths & Weaknesses as well as the external Opportunities and Threats, and to develop a re-focused strategy that will adapt to your business model for success over the coming years. Your ASE team members have collectively (and successively) weathered many existential storms and we are here to help you analyze what the new ‘normal’ is in your market space. We will work with you in regular ZOOM meetings to figure out how and where to reinvest your time and efforts in re-establishing a sustainable and profitable success of your business.
May we all look forward to a happier new year in 2021.