In the warm glow of Christmas lights, I look back on a year coming to a close. I think of my friends, CIOs and other technology leaders that I serve. 

One earned a CIO of the year nominee; another was named CIO of one of our more influential states. A third met a major challenge by year’s end, and a fourth emerged from the pandemic in heroic proportions.

The list grows, as does the admiration in my heart. They all share one thing in common; they made some incredible comebacks. 

As have you.

Comebacks are a curious thing. They certainly inspire us. I’m writing a few days removed from when the Minnesota Vikings made NFL history by overcoming a 33 point deficit to win their football game. Elation. Disbelief. For a brief moment, the sports world was reminded of how anything is possible. 

The Vikings pulled off a first, but it’s hardly the comeback of the year. That belongs to you.

In an unprecedented moment of history, work and how we worked was turned upside down. Matters we had long contended for as technology leaders rushed to the surface.

Digital transformation was accelerated out of necessity. The CIO was ushered into the room and given prominence on the agenda. Money was redirected to your budgets. 

So much happens in our technology world, it almost seems like long ago. We conquer a pandemic only to face a global economic crisis; we change the way we work only to face even more work.

Comebacks are inspirational. 

The best line of all the great lines in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is when Clark Griswold, after a series of unmitigated disasters, gets his Christmas wish and ends the movie with three simple words: “I did it.”

So did you.

Comebacks are also insightful. There is something in you. 

You won’t quit, you don’t give up or let up. You see what others can’t see and so potential disaster becomes a great possibility and you are undaunted in the stare down of an imposing opponent. 

You remain fixed, your attention focused, your efforts undiverted and your energy inexhaustible. Others go back and you stay put. You can do no other for you see no other. You accept your great responsibility, and you press into your great reservoir of intelligence and intuition. 

What is it that is in you that refuses anything less than victory?

Dignity. I’ve seen that in my friends.

Nobility. One doesn’t quit on a calling.

Humanity. That might be my favorite. The insistence to be the best we were designed to be. 

I close each year with an article such as this, one of reflection. Looking back on the year, I could think about the growth of my own company. I am grateful. I could also think of the loss of my mom. I am still so deeply moved by her.

Instead, my thoughts have pulled to you, to what I have seen in you, to what I admire about you. As I wonder why, when I opened my laptop and searched for thoughts and it was you that came to mind, I already know the answer: One does not forget the unforgettable. 

Which is what you who I know have become to me, and what you whom I have not met are to others. 

I know that you are not recognized enough; I know that you are not as highly regarded as you should be; I know that you are not rewarded as richly as you could be. But in the wake of that, I want to encourage you with one thing that you are: You are remembered. 

You entered a year full of questions and gave people the answers that they needed. You entered a year of mystery and turned it into a year of victory. 

You have laid the foundation for greater revolution. 

Which leads me to a final reflection. I recently watched one of my favorite horse races. When the race starts, the #2 horse stumbles out of the gate. He falls several lengths behind the rest of the horses. At the midpoint, he is still far behind.

I’ve watched this race so many times, and yet I still think there is no way he can come back and win. At the turn, he has closed the distance but still trails six horses. But I can hear the announcer's voice raise in excitement and disbelief. I can hear him call the name of the #2 horse as he bolts past the leaders and win in the most remarkable fashion. 

The name of the horse? Far From Over.

Indeed, it is. Bring on 2023.

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