My 6 most significant moments in 2019

Some of them are professional in nature, some of them are private and some of them are both. I am a firm believer of bringing your whole identity to the table at work and not just a fictional “work self”. A heartfelt thank you to my colleagues who allow me to do just that. There is no particular order to these moments – except for the wife coming first. She has to. Always.

1. My wife successfully pitching her startup ToddlerTunez, a creative babysitting company. There was something powerful, exhilarating, wonderful about witnessing your much better half on stage with gusto and conviction. So much rests on clarity of conviction. A good corporate strategy for example…
2. Wipak launching its CO2 Zero strategy as the first packaging company in the world. Talking about “stretch goals” here – but without a goal there is no direction. Without direction there is no path. And without a path there is no progress. Achieving this particular goal will require a great many things aligning in the world around us in terms of more sustainable, overall economies based on circularity…
3. Moderating the World Circular Economy Forum‘s Plastics Session in June was a personal highlight. Taking the stage for the one cause that matters more than all others in combating climate change was special – and so was the atmosphere created by the people who joined the panel that day. Creativity, passion, ideas and, well, urgency. This moment was years in the making which naturally leads me to 4…
4. The delayed gratification of building something, slowly, deliberately and in the right way, in the form of a growing number of speaker gigs through www.heryhenry.com. I have been on the mic for 16 years and 2019 was when it all started to come together. Must be my newfound gravitas of…
5. Finding out about impending fatherhood: my business thinking has always been long term but I cannot say I have taken the same, careful approach when it comes to myself, neither in terms of body nor mind. A baby on the way completely changes that. You will be the foundation for someone. Which means you have to be better. Stronger. Kinder. Smarter. And with more perspective in terms of priorities…
6. Meeting pure inspiration: while we are on the topic of perspectives, sharing a stage with the only East African who has accepted that I hate Ugali, Prof. Charles G. Kwesiga, was a special highlight. His reasons for hating the dish are much more profound than mine, however. He was imprisoned under Idi Amin and had ugali for a year twice a day – and he maintains, with his trade mark twinkle in the eyes, that it was poorly cooked. I have had the privilege to meet many interesting people in 2019. Prof. Kwesiga made the most powerful impression.

The list of wonderful, not-so-great, flabbergasting, bizarre, funny and defining moments is of course much longer than this. These six are the ones, however, that most saliently resonate in my thoughts and actions at the end of 2019.