Merry Christmas!

The nation’s most festive period is upon us – which means it’s advent time! While children (big and small) open their advent calendars every morning, eating chocolate with their breakfasts, here at Cofinitive we’re taking the chance to reflect on the year almost gone by, in bite-size chunks.

We hope you enjoy joining us on our journey of self-reflection, and there’ll be treats in store if you do. As we look back on 2017 we’ll be sharing lessons and connections with you. And in keeping with this giving time of year, we’ll also be running competitions – on certain days your interaction with our tweets and blog will result in Cofinitive donating money to a well-deserving charity. Our chosen charity is Wintercomfort – a Cambridge-based charity that has been supporting homeless people and those at risk of losing their home in Cambridge, for more than 25 years.

So as the world counts the days until the big one, come by as we celebrate the year that has been 2017 with our #CofinitiveAdvent.

#CofinitiveAdvent No. 1      We can’t say for sure how the world of work will develop and change in time, so it can be difficult for people, especially the next generations coming into the workforce, to know what opportunities and avenues are available to them. Giving people the chance to experience particular worlds of work is invaluable, so at Cofinitive we pride ourselves on offering work experience to people. In 2017 we had the pleasure of Connor and Manon visiting us, the latter of whom went on to become an intern at Cofinitive.

To get involved with work experience and internships where you work, take a look at http://www.timetostepup.co.uk/ an online platform connecting businesses to schools.
#CofinitiveAdvent No. 2  As a flexible and agile team, we offer a BYOT service – that’s Bring Your Own Team! When we work on a project we call in the right team for the occasion, providing the right mix of expertise every time. Back in January the team started growing and it hasn’t stopped since! Welcome Gabrielle, Kevin, Manon and Heidi (and Tilly too) who joined Faye, Rolando and Nicki.

For gift for coming by today is a great TED Talk by Tom Wujec, Build a tower, build a team
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 3 With so many people and organisations out there doing great work, the Pay It Forward community is thriving and offers countless opportunities to get involved. When one such opportunity comes by us at Cofinitive, where we think our skills can really make a difference, we can’t resist offering a helping hand. In 2017 this saw Cofinitive write guest blogs, develop social media and work on a website. The next time you can, contribute to your Pay It Forward community.

As today’s good deed, for everyone who views this blog post*, we’ll donate £5 to our chosen charity Wintercomfort

*On Sunday 3rd December 2017
#CofinitiveAdvent No. 4 Back in March 2017, the Cofinitive team took part in Grant Thornton‘s Vibrant Cambridge session, during which we followed the Appreciative Inquiry methodology to be visionary in our depiction of a future Cambridge.

Inspirational and collaborative, here’s the link to Grant Thornton’s Vibrant Cambridge their video.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 5  In working with the LSCC we brought together academia, businesses and the public sector to discuss matters very important to them, from their own perspectives. Our autumn series of events saw LSCC members gather across the region, in Hertfordshire, Cambridge and Peterborough, to talk about the future of digital connectivity, agriculture and agrifood, as well as growth space.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 6 It ticked all the right boxes. Strong values that align with ours. Pants on fire. A sense of urgency. Impact Women’s Network was quickly gaining pace and we stepped in to help elevate it to that next level. As a group united in raising the public visibility of impactful women and instigating greater change together, Cofinitive couldn’t help but get involved.

Impact Women’s Network hosted #ImpactChat on Twitter on this day 09:30-10:30 GMT on How do we recognise impactful women? Follow the hashtag to see how it went, or reply with your thoughts to each question and get involved!
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 7 People are often so focussed on their work that they forget themselves! Well Cofinitive decided to practise what we preach and had a look at our own ‘shop-window’. The result is the new look on our website so take a look as we are very proud to have won Cambridgeshire Digital Award #CDA17 for it.

It’s a competition day! Like us on Twitter, Google+ and/or Facebook and share a festive photo on our timeline with #CofinitiveAdvent and you’ll be entered into our prize draw*

*Prize draw will take place in the new year with all entries from our #CofinitiveAdvent competition days
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 8 Blowing us away in both March and October, HR Tech World (newly renamed Unleash) is where founder Faye Holland takes to the #HRTWStartup stage as emcee and joins the industry’s up-and-coming HR technology innovators. Meanwhile she dons the role of lead blogger and delivers the startup zone to the masses off stage too.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 9 How we communicate contributes to people’s first impression of others and often sets the tone, and course, for how future communications will go. We help clients communicate effectively and in keeping with their identity, but we also extend our advice to the local community. Earlier this year Cofinitive ran a workshop with some of the local community groups to help them make a greater impact in their respective areas.

Anyone who shares #CofinitiveAdvent today* will see us donating to our Christmas charity Wintercomfort.

*Today Saturday 9th December 2017
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 10 If you visit the Cofinitive office, or speak to one of the team, be prepared for our Cofinitive-isms. While no one wants to be as useful as a chocolate teapot, we’d like everyone to have their pants on fire about something – that’s what really peaks our interest! But if you come across a secret squirrel, you’ll just have to wait and see as we keep those very close to our chests. Not sure what we’re talking about? Take a good look around the website and look out for clues.

It’s a competition day! Share your ‘isms’ with us today* and we’ll enter you into our Christmas draw.

*Today Sunday 10th December 2017
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 11  Cofinitive founder Faye Holland has had a busy year as finalist for multiple awards:

Employee Engagement Awards – Unsung Hero

Business Weekly Awards – Women Entrepreneur of the Year

SME Cambridgeshire Awards – Business Person of the Year

SME Cambridgeshire Awards – Entrepreneur of the Year

developHER – Inspiration Award

Congratulations Faye!
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 12 2017 has been a year of monumental growth for Cofinitive. It’s hard to narrow it down with so many sides to what we do, but everyone likes statistics don’t they? Compared to 2016, Cofinitive has had over 12x more engagements and more than 8x the number of impressions on Twitter alone! To all those new faces we say, welcome to Cofinitive.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 13 Events in our day and age are as much online as they are offline (in many cases!) so while we can only be in so many places at once, physically, this doesn’t stop us lending our support to events and initiatives digitally. This year we’ve engaged with events from afar via social media and supported them online with blogs like this one.

So as we consider the support we’ve lent events this year, here’s a TED Talk from Adam Grant – Are you a giver or a taker?
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 14 2017 has seen Cofinitive develop its relationship with existing clients and has seen exponential growth with new clients too. We wouldn’t be able to complete the excellent work we do without them, so thank you! Our clients share our values of passion, integrity and inclusion, and we help them with the clarity.

As today’s good deed, for everyone who views this blog post*, we’ll donate £5 to our chosen charity Wintercomfort

*On Thursday 14th December 2017
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 15 Amidst Cofinitive’s range of client work, founder Faye was nominated and elected a board member of Cambridge Wireless earlier this year. In taking on the position Faye utilises her skill set and delivers valuable contributions for the member organisation. One such deliverable was Faye’s involvement in Cambridge Wireless’ Inclusive Innovation event, for which she worked very closely with the team to provide members with an array of sessions during the event.

Find out more about Cambridge Wireless via their website here.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 16 Having bided our time, Cofinitive took the plunge and we had our first company outing at Venturefest East in September 2017. Faye, Gabrielle and Nicki manned the stand, but if you didn’t see them you probably did see our water bottles! We were rehydrating people and communications that day as our Cofinitive blue infiltrated all corners of the event.

It’s a competition day! Follow us on Twitter (here) and tell us what your favourite thing about Christmas with the hashtag #CofinitiveAdvent and you’ll be entered into our festive prize draw*

*Prize draw will take place in the new year with all entries from our #CofinitiveAdvent competition days
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 17 Making it their goal to open students’ eyes to the wide range of opportunities available here in our region, Form the Future is a social enterprise that has been making a real impact in Cambridgeshire this year. Amongst an ever-growing cohort, Cofinitive founder Faye has volunteered her time with Form the Future to broaden and diversify young people’s view of the world of work.

No matter the industry, you have experiences and stories to share and the young people of our region would love to hear them. Get involved and reach out to Form the Future via their website on Twitter or Facebook.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 18 While you’ll hear us talking about the many plates we have spinning here at Cofinitive, the most you’ll hear about our secret squirrel projects is just that. That they’re secret squirrel projects. These happen behind our closed doors, being discreetly worked on until they’re finally ready for unveiling, if that’s the ultimate goal. Secret squirrels are a mystery to most and fantastic to the few in the know.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 19 As a strong, feisty female herself, Faye takes opportunities to support fellow women in business, and creates opportunities to do so too. The Cofinitive team joins Faye in her conviction to work on gender issues in business and the work place, and shares this mentality with our wider network too, with 2017 being no exception.

Help us support our chosen charity Wintercomfort today by sharing #CofinitiveAdvent and for every mention of it today we’ll donate £5.

*Today Tuesday 19th December 2017
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 20 Always on the lookout for opportunity, when Cofinitive spotted the Cambridgeshire Digital Awards 2017 we saw the chance to submit our new website. Initially entered in the Marketing & Creative category, the Cofinitive website went on to be awarded silver in the overall website category which included every entry, regardless of category. If that’s what we can do in 2017, bring on 2018!

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 21 The Cambridge ecosystem is a bustling hub of activity. Look closely enough and you’ll see plenty of overlap and connections you wouldn’t have imagined. Cofinitive likes being in the thick of it, particularly with founder Faye as chair of the Cambridge Ahead Digital Connectivity group, a board member of CW. You’ll often see us being active in the Cambridge business community and as they say, it’s not what you know but who you know.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 22 Like parents we’re not supposed to have favourites but one of our clients epitomises everything right about developing businesses today. SmithsonHill‘s objective is to support and enhance Cambridge’s global reputation for innovation by combining land, innovation and development expertise, whilst enhancing the thriving Cambridge community. Their focus on doing the right thing for the community in which they work and live is inspirational and we are honoured to be part of their journey.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 23 25 of the city’s prominent business people were selected from a pool of nominees to receive the accolade Cambridge’s Most Influential Business People (Cambridge MIP), and we were so pleased to see Cofinitive founder Faye Holland on the list alongside other emerging and ongoing talent. It seems that Faye received numerous nominations from clients, business people and peers alike, and she is keen to leverage this position to encourage more rising stars in the region, as well as more females, to step up to be on the list in future.

 
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 24 Cofinitive has grown on a strong foundation of values, which the team lives and works by. In identifying and giving these values names, like the pants on fire effect, it’s easier for us to share them with our network, clients and our team as it expands.

We wish you all a merry Christmas and happy festive period!

If you’re looking for some inspiration during the holidays, as Simon Sinek says, start with the why.