It will soon be that Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
…so sang Andy Williams and who am I to argue with him?
I know this because our daughter has, for several weeks now, been wide-eyed with excitement. She’s even put up her own tree and decorated it, bless her, and is already talking about Santa and presents. She is, I might add, 24 but it proves my point.
The other Wonderful Thing that happens around now is that our Marketing Manager pesters me to write a festive blog. Normally I find a fascinating and, dare I say, captivating way of weaving the obvious magic of Econometrics into a festive theme. I might talk about ‘Guiding Star’ KPIs, or planning a media campaign being just like deciding which baubles to hang on the Christmas tree for maximum effect. There might be a slightly-stretched analogy around Christmas crackers or the ROI of gift-giving.
But it’s been a bit of a year. We as a team here have lost several people very close to us, family and colleagues, and to be honest, we won’t be sorry to see the back of 2022 in many ways. But that’s the good thing about Christmas and New Year, it marks the end of one year and the beginning of the next, a time for reflection and taking stock for many of us.
Whence cometh (wait for it…) the one connection I would make to the season: In Econometrics, as in life, we use the end of the year to look back and review as well as to look forward and plan. It seems that most companies still plan on a calendar year basis, and we have a flurry of activity each New Year of looking back at the year just passed.
So that’s it, farewell 2022. I hope it was a good year for you and, to those of you who know us personally, as well as to those who don’t, let me take this opportunity to wish you and your families a happy and healthy 2023.
Tom
