In this last post of 2024, I offer a point of reflection. For many people I know, including myself, it’s been a challenging year.

I hit several milestones this year: Episode 100 of the Coffee With Digital Trailblazers, 85+ videos on the Driving Digital Standup, and 1100+ articles – including 700+ on this blog, 200+ on Infoworld, and 60+ on CIO.com. At StarCIO, we rebranded the blog to Drive and are in the process of launching the StarCIO Digital Trailblazer Community.

Even with these milestones, as I look back to 2024, I don’t feel a sense of accomplishment. I can’t explain it. But at this week’s Coffee with StarCIO Digital Trailblazers, I got the sense that I’m not the only one feeling I put more into 2024 than getting out. One speaker shared, “This has been a really tough year for everybody. We as leaders should acknowledge the fact that it’s not just other people it’s happening to; it’s us as well.”

I’m acknowledging it but have not spoken or written about it. Maybe I will in time, but for now, I’m incredibly grateful for the support network that developed from the Coffee Hour events. I want to thank my Experts who are regular speakers at the Coffee Hour With Digital Trailblazers: Joanne Friedman, Joe Puglisi, Martin Davis, Heather May, John Patrick Luethe, and Liz Martinez, and others who have become Advisors in the StarCIO Digital Trailblazer Community: Jay Cohen, Janette Gleyzer, Jennifer Krevitt, Sandy McCarron, Jennifer Speciale, and Rob Stoltz.

At this week’s Coffee Hour, we discussed having the moral courage to do the right thing, a topic suggested by David Morgen, who worked with me at McGraw Hill Construction and StarCIO client Charity Navigator. During the Coffee Hour, I asked speakers to capture notes on a visible whiteboard, and here are some of mine:

• Argue to the point where you arrive at something immaterial.
• RCAAT (remain calm at all times) and avoid Ready, Shoot, Aim.
• The pragmatic voice uses the five whys; the more you ask, the more you get to the root cause.
• Listen without bias.
• Make people smile, take the heat out of the moment, and draw attention away from the stress.

The whiteboard is below, and you can listen to the full episode here.

Expert Digital Trailblazers Hopes for 2025

I wanted to end the episode on a high and forward-looking note, so I asked speakers to share their hopes for 2025. Here are their responses.

• A good year in tech and for all the tech workers.
• Love (empathy and caring for people) drives active listening, tension reduction, and money (success).
• Greater sharing of understanding, a sense of empathy, the reverse of polarization
• Be a better version of myself.
• A return of humanity. Bring back civil discourse – a return to humanistic tendencies.

What was mine? I shared a very simple objective and hope to see more of you in person in 2025. Happy Holidays and New Year.