End of the Season—End of the Quarter—End of the Project

 

Within 10-15 minutes of my home there are three beautiful canyons. Two of them share four different ski resorts: Alta and Snowbird are in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Brighton and Solitude are in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and although there isn't a resort up Millcreek Canyon it is a beautiful place with some of the best hiking and mountain biking around.

Early Saturday morning, I thought I'd shoot up Big Cottonwood Canyon to see the aspens turn before all the leaf-peepers drove up in their cars. It was a pleasant ride with a bit of Fall in the air as the sun was shining through the golden leaves.

Riding home, I couldn't help but think about how the beautiful colors are a fitting end to the summer. We had a wet spring and cooler than usual summer this year in Utah, which makes for beautiful fall colors. Although I'm not real excited for the snow, I know all my friends that ski are chomping at the bit.

Our team also just ended a very successful quarter. Most of the major projects we work on are based upon the physical quarter—this quarter, we finished up a number of projects that we've been working on for quite some time. There's a real sense of accomplishment and satisfaction among the team. Later this week, we'll be holding a public demo of last quarter's work. I like the idea of the public demo. Although we aren't sprinting, I think it's an important part of finishing up a project. It's important to acknowledge accomplishment before you jump right back into the thick of it again.

Sometimes, project teams go from project to project without taking any time to look back. Although I think a retrospective is critical, I think it's just as important to take a few minutes to celebrate victories and successes—much like how I consider fall a celebration of the end of a fun summer.

Although there are probably a lot of people who don't take the time to visit the canyons to enjoy the changing of the seasons, I really enjoy the opportunity to slow down and just enjoy the colors, maybe take a couple of photographs and think about how much fun I've had over the course of the last six months.

What do you do to celebrate your successes at the end of a project?