It's the Year of the Dragon and the team in Hong Kong are energised and enthusiastic.
I have just returned from a lovely two-week break in New Zealand, my first Christmas at home with family in four years – what a treat! I had a wonderful week in the sunshine in Wellington, followed by a week in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds with a bunch of friends. Long summer evenings, barbies, delicious New Zealand food and wine, and family and friends – an unbeatable combo.
With Chinese New Year coming hard on the heels of Christmas, there's not a lot of time to get things done between one round of festivities and the next. That said, things at work have kicked off to a great start, our budgets and our incentives have been set, and there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the office.
And now we are preparing for Chinese New Year, another break… fantastic. This is the Year of the Dragon, said to be the luckiest in the zodiac. Dragons are full of energy and achieve impressive things. They're driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks – qualities that candidates who want to succeed in the current climate would do well to cultivate!
Chinese New Year is the longest and most significant holiday on the Hong Kong calendar. It is a celebration of change and the Chinese people get ready for this by making sure everything in their life is in order, or at least under control. By this I mean the house should be clean, rifts or problems should be resolved, clothes worn should be clean or new – all good lessons for anyone contemplating a career move!
Kung Hei Fat Choy everyone! Here's to the Year of the Dragon… it’s going to be a good one!