By Tim Wenner, Practice Leader/Revenue Cycle Solutions

‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas, when all through the town,
Not a creature was stirring, not even Melissa Brown;
The paychecks were delivered to the bank accounts with care,
In hopes that commissions and referral bonuses soon would be there;

The consultants were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Agile scrums danced in their heads;
And Matt Kuntz in his bandana, and Kent Dicke in his cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,

When out of my Outlook there sounded a beep,
I sprang from the bed to see what broke my sleep.
Down to my home office, I went down three flights,
Put on my basement slippers, and turned on the lights.

My monitors awakened as I moved my mouse to and fro,
They gave off the lustre of a familiar blue light glow,
When, what to my wondering eyes should I see,
But an e-mail marked High Importance, addressed not only to me.

With a big, old, sender, and a name you can’t ignore,
I knew in a moment it must be Rob Mohr.
More friendly than beagles his partners they came,
As he whistled, and shouted, and cc’d them by name;

“Now, CHARLIE! now, KELLY! now, DAVE and DAVE-2!
On, NEWMAN! Yes KIMLINGER! I also need you!
Head to your laptops! HP’s, Macs, and Dell!
Now send away! send away! We’ve got stories to tell!”

As spryly as a bunch of dudes over 50 can go,
they all left determined to make sure we all know.
So into their e-mails and Teams meetings they flew,
With the spreading of joy, and appreciation too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard my Inbox chime,
It’s a less annoying version of “You’ve got mail” that has improved over time.
As I drew in my mouse, and went clicking about,
I opened the message and was about to find out.

It was written in Comic Sans, which I thought was quite bold,
but the words were quite clear, and so we were told.
“It’s been a challenging year, some goals were met and some not,
but we wouldn’t be anywhere without this whole lot.

Our strength is our people, they’re the cream of the crop!
We only want the best, the 10% at the top!
So thank you for being here, we can’t say that enough,
You make us all better when the going gets tough;

Our three-circle model, doesn’t work without you,
Between our clients and company, you are the glue;
Here’s to another year, as this one’s near done
To more meaningful work, and more accounts won!”

Their strengths different and unique, they make a good team,
the partners, our leaders, with heads full of steam;
A thought, an idea, an encouraging shove,
They want us to feel well supported, especially from above;

And so all these words, help to validate my work
Knowing I’m appreciated; my boss isn’t a jerk!
As the holidays take place, take some moments to rest,
Reflect on your efforts, enjoy your success!

With one final thought, I’ll leave you all be
(if you’re still actually reading this, nobody’s more surprised than me).
For all of my peers putting up the good fight,
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!