“Dad, I’ve Got this!”

Over the Christmas holidays, my granddaughter, 3 years old, received a small bike with training wheels as a gift. The bike reminded me of those years long ago when I was teaching my own daughters to ride a bike. For my eldest, the process was typical– practice with training wheels, hold her upright by the seat as she learned to balance, and finally releasing her to pedal a few yards before the ultimate crash. Within days, she was navigating the sidewalks with fewer and fewer falls.

For my youngest daughter, the process was very different.  She spent a few weeks with training wheels, though she consistently lobbied to remove them. When I finally took the training wheels off, she was anxious to jump on the bike and head down the road with her sister. I worked with her for a bit, but soon her impatience took over. While pedaling down the driveway with me holding her upright, she turned in my direction and said, “Dad, don’t worry.  I’ve got this.” Indeed, she did have it – for about 10 yards. The inevitable fall occurred.  She got up with the prerequisite tears and scrapes.  However, she immediately climbed back on the bike and went at it again.  It wasn’t long before she was riding through the neighborhood with her sister.

When I think of SIGMA in 2023, I see a company with many tenured, experienced folks in a variety of roles. However, I also see a lot of new hires and younger teammates growing into new roles and responsibilities. The knowledge of our experienced personnel is invaluable. However, the younger folks are bringing fresh ideas, innovation, enthusiasm and energy to our team. The ‘next generation’ is building confidence in SIGMA’s future and creating excitement and opportunity in 2023 and beyond.  It’s almost as if I hear them saying “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”

By the way, my granddaughter is still cautiously eyeing her bike, hesitant to ride even with training wheels. Hopefully, one day soon I’ll help her ride down the driveway too.