“Better to lose count
Naming your blessings,
Than to lose your blessings,
By counting your troubles.”

— Maltbie D. Babcock

‘Tis the season for giving thanks, recognizing those around us, and counting our blessings.

‘Tis the season of sharing greetings in all shapes and forms for well wishes and a spirit of generosity and joy.

‘Tis the season to pull projects across the finish line and ready ourselves for a new calendar year filled with new goals, extended goals, and personal and professional commitments. For some, it’s a fresh budget. And for all of us, a chance to turn the page of the calendar year after a month of seasonal celebrations and family gatherings. For all of us, it’s busy and filled with mixed emotions; for others, it’s a struggle of shorter days of daylight and our physical desire to hibernate like our bear buddies.

How is your December?
How is your calendar year coming to a close?
What are you most proud of navigating in 2025?
What are you happy to leave behind?
What about the new year of 2026 gives you positive anticipation?

If you were packing your bags for a metaphorical journey, what would be the most essential values, mindsets, behaviors, and tools you would put into your day pack and carry into the future?

I am a notoriously ‘over-packed’ person. I have something for every situation I might encounter. So, it’s funny that ‘lightening my load’ and ‘shedding’ much of my material possessions should be at the top of my planning list. But they are.

It is the strategy that I am preparing to be my theme for 2026. With it, I can select with clarity the essentials for my day pack.

The first item I am packing was received this week from a favorite former client whose progress I delight in following. We started our businesses in the same year. Grew up together in our learning to grow, lead, and manage. And share similar values and a dedication to organizational well-being, culture, and customer delight.

Their company, Vocon, is led by a brother-sister team, with committed partners, and talented, contributing employees. Vocon creates physical spaces that become the ‘containers’ that capture the mission, values, and work habits of their very cool clients. Their process is dedicated not just to capturing the needed functionality of the workspace, but dives deeper to understand the spirit, culture, and relationships that the physical space will facilitate going forward. They, in partnership with their clients, create a ‘human’ space for working.

I really get behind that mission. If you would like to be inspired, check out www.vocon.com

I also appreciate their attention to every detail. This includes their own working space and the cultural rituals they observe consistently in each of their three offices — Cleveland, New York, and Chicago. This week, their spirit of positive change — that connects to our commitment to stepping into our physical communities of work — showed up in their annual Holiday box. Like their design solutions, Vocon always approaches their work with a sense of curiosity and humor.

A Vocon red box labeled ‘RETURN TO OFFICE SURVIVAL SOCKS’ and decorated with coffee mugs and martini glasses, contained a card and five custom pairs of socks. The card reads, “Return to office. Some people love it, and some, not so much. We think there are so many great things about going back into the office: collaborating with colleagues and clients, building enduring relationships, and let’s not forget the free snacks!

“But let’s face it, there are things about office culture that are challenging….or just plain annoying. Our return to office survival socks can help make going back into the office fun!”

The Vocon Team has created a pair of socks for each day of the week Not only is each pair cozy, comfortable, and cool, but each design helps to navigate the re-entry after the holiday break — or if you and your team have been on a long hybrid or remote working structure. I enthusiastically endorse their coaching for reinvention of the way we relate to our work, our workmates, and our working environments. Rock on Survival Socks.

Thank you Vocon for infusing my December with humor, which will continue into the New Year of 2026 as I travel lighter, with a smile on my face, and a spring in my step, wearing socks that make me feel like a SuperHero! These socks are the first essential being packed into my 2026 day pack!