_creating cheer
Last year at this time I blogged about all the press my former boss, Bob Parsons, now of GoDaddy fame, got over throwing a $2 million holiday office party. I came out in support of the notion and stand by that support today. Hey, if you’re making money and having fun, you might as well share it. You should share it. Why take the fun away from the guy smart enough to turn web addresses into a commodity…and make money doing it?
Fast forward to today. Amazingly, this December feels a lot like last December. The good news is at least it doesn’t feel like last March. Ugly. Should companies throw an office party this year? Should employers take time to appreciate their employees for sticking with them through these tough economic times? Yes.
My wife and I had that very discussion last night. Given our modest startup mode here at Madbak, my wife asked me if I’d miss our traditional Holiday Office Party? Miss it? Why would I miss it? She then pointed out that I’d have more options this year because it’d be easier to reserve a table than it would be to reserve a banquet room
. And that got me to thinking.
No matter your religion, the Holidays are about giving. Businesses should give back to the very employees who helped them for yet another year, especially a year like we just had. But what about a startup? My wife is right, while Madbak would just barely get hit with a minimum 18% gratuity for the size of our table, we wouldn’t need a dance hall. Still, what about all those people out there that have helped me over the years? What about them? How can I give back to people that no longer work for me? And, then it came to me…
Businesses need people. People need businesses. While our growth path here at Madbak looks bright, it is unlikely I’d hire every great person I’ve ever worked with in 2010. Many? Yes. Most? Eventually. All? I wish. So why not throw a Job Fair Holiday Party right here at Madbak? No reason not to.
This morning I pinged a few local tech leaders to see what they thought. The response has been unanimous. Crazy has been the word used most, i.e. they’d be crazy not to join in… Stay tuned. Oh, and one last thing: Happy Holidays.

