My December has been very busy. I hope yours has been busy, and pleasant. As the year ends - happy new year, everyone! May your worst day in 2009 be better than your best day in 2008.

The podcast is going gangbusters. The site receives thousands of hits each month from the Apple iTunes browser, which speaks to the nearly 1,000 subscribers we’ve accumulated since starting the audio podcast in March. We’re still learning about video, but the sessions are getting more interesting as we’re trying more interesting things. Next year we’ll start two person interviews and group discussions, in addition to the giant talking head of Dana.

Work is fascinating, and as the economic news for governments and private sector clients gets more grim, we’re finding great opportunity to inject value into our discussions. Our consulting method has always been a little weird - less focused on the ornate process and more focused on surgical precision. Our way is what doctors call triage - a hard-nosed, pull-no-punches approach to setting, managing and completing priorities.  The traditional way is more like a full physical exam - it takes a lot longer, the information is presented more kindly, and a lot of decisions about importance and prioritization are left to the patient.

Though arguments about “the company knows best what their priorities should be” have some validity, the company went looking for outside advice and consultation. What they don’t want to hear is “the answer is inside you!”

Faith’s proving to be a knitting fiend. She made the Jayne hat I wear in one of the podcasts, but don’t let that fool you -- she’s knitted a variety of amazing things. Sweaters, socks, throws, hats...even fingerless gloves (I guess Polish burglar gloves is impolite today, isn’t it?) for a friend who works outdoors.

She’s also helping a lot on the podcast production side.  Too much to do, and we’re accelerating!

So looking back at my blog, it occurred to me that I’d been spreading doom and gloom a bit. So, no doom. No gloom. Just happy holidays.

But damn, did you see the stock market performance since November?