The start of a new year is always a great opportunity to reflect on the year just passed and to reframe your thoughts for the coming year. I have worked in plant science and agriculture ever since I started my PhD in 1986 and each year I have approached January the same way, recognising that I work in a privileged profession, meeting and working with incredibly interesting people, most of whom are either at the cutting edge of science or somehow involved in the provision of the food on our plates.
People often ask me who I work for and are initially somewhat confused when I muse on the question and then come up with the answer. So last year, I worked with 15 different companies and organisations, including four multinational companies, four smaller companies, two “trade associations”, one research institute, one research park, one “charity” and a government agency.
The work involved communication, public affairs, and change management or a combination of two or three of them. Some of these were short term contracts, others are multi-year support; some involve a significant time outlay, others may involve only a few hours a month.
Many of the organisations that I work with I can and do talk about freely; others for perfectly good reasons would prefer for me to remain in the background.
Most importantly, I have loved working with all of them and look forward to working with many, if not all, of them in 2024.
As I said, I have a very privileged profession.
Julian Little Communications 