Thermoforming Report

Celebrating Milestones

Celebrations, parties, and recognition due to hitting key milestones. Are they worth the time, money, and resources? Do they matter? 

The answer is a resounding, “YES!” It applies to the personal and professional, to your career and to your organization. As I hit my own major milestone (10 years in the recruiting business!), it makes sense to reflect and think through this topic in more detail. 

Organizational Anniversaries

I fondly remember, as a newly minted leader in Kimberly-Clark (promoted from a Senior Process Engineer into an Operations Manager role), I became part of the site leadership team and began my leadership journey. I recall in those early phases the plant was hitting a major timing milestone… and candidly, I don’t even remember which one (25-year maybe?). 

Whichever year it was, there was a significant hubbub that ensued. Resources were freed up to tend to so many different things – both people and money. The lobby was fully renovated. New signage was installed. A lot of time and energy were spent all over the plant on this event because the CEO and his entourage were coming to mark the occasion.   

And I didn’t get it. The money spent certainly could have been put to better use (in my opinion). The amount of time it took for engineers to design and implement the projects around the plant definitely could have been used for more tangible work. 

The celebration went very well. The CEO was pleased, as was the Plant Manager. Lots of pride. Lots of shaking hands.  Steaks were grilled for the entire plant (of which the leadership team cooked across all four shifts in the 24/7, 12-hour shift operation in support).  And after the dust settled, I asked my manager point blank: “Was all this worth it?”  And what he shared was one of my first leadership lessons. 

Here’s how I recall my manager replied: “We look back in order to look forward. It informs our future. It allows us to pause and celebrate our wins. And the investments in the plant will last for years to come. They weren’t just for this one event, but a lasting reminder of the achievement. Recognizing milestones enables us to get past the daily grind and realize what we’ve accomplished together.”

As a clarification, this was 25 years ago! To say that landed on me heavily is an understatement!

Many truths are timeless. A more than 10-year-old Harvard Business Review article, Anniversaries are Not to be Wasted (11/2012), discussed this very thing. A couple of key excerpts: 

“An anniversary… is an opportunity not to be wasted. The pride and unity it inspires makes it an ideal time to ask people to think together about why their work matters and how it should move forward.” 

“Recognizing trends through your history helps you anticipate new challenges you will face.” 

“…don’t just celebrate. Imbue your commemoration with the understanding that looking back can be more than mere nostalgia for the past. It can inform a whole body of work for the future.” 

Harvard Business Review

Professional Anniversaries

If a company should celebrate, what about you and your career? Yep. The same principle applies. 

Reflecting on what you’ve accomplished helps you in many different ways. Work is tough. Things worth doing tend to be hard. You have responsibilities and commitments. You face significant challenges – some of your own doing and some that are dumped on you. Yet, successfully completing key deliverables is very satisfying!

When your anniversary ends in a zero, it tends to make you take a pause. Yes, you’ve had tough years and delivered and were recognized. But, as that date turns over and the years go from 9 to 10 or 19 to 20 or even from 29 to 30 (so very rare these days!), take some time to reflect. 

Yes, it may only be the next day, but it allows you to look back on all your successes and failures as a body of work. It’s a lot.  And it is worth thinking through… and celebrating!

We found several articles highlighting this topic, as would be expected. Here are a few: 

• Psychology Today, 9/22/23, 5 Ways to Celebrate Success and Reaching Your Goals at Work 
• Candor, 5/16/24, Congratulations on Your Promotion: A Guide to Celebrating Your Career Milestone 

One that I liked is from an article from Medium, 8/1/23, The Significance of Celebrating Milestones in your Career Journey. This article is filled with great insights; I’ve shared only a couple below. 

“Humans thrive on a sense of accomplishment. Celebrating milestones allows you to reflect on the hard work, determination, and sacrifices that brought you to this point.” 

“Celebrating milestones acts as a bridge between past achievements and future aspirations.” 

Medium

More to Come!

As stated at the outset, I have a key milestone to celebrate.  And uniquely, it applies both to my professional career and to the small business I started 10 years ago. I will save that rumination for June’s blog coming up later this month. 

The takeaway is simple: invest time, energy, and resources into celebrating and recognizing you and/or your organization’s key milestones! And use them as the jumping-off point for the next major chapter! 

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