It's a marathon, not a sprint

All companies have financial years. I suspect not all of them have such clear annual performance evaluation processes. Although I fear that more people will be disappointed this year than usual, the advantage of having such a process is that it helps you keep a clear perspective on things; if you've had a bad year then it's perfectly acceptable to get it finished in August and then start afresh, rather than getting dragged into a negative downward spiral which might happen if we didn't have such a clear break between each 12 month period.

Regardless of my final rating for this year, things are quite clear in my mind; I am in month 11 of 12 and I am waiting impatiently for my 3 week holiday. I am exhausted and looking forward to the break. We are actually in Toulouse this weekend at the house of my sister in law. I slept a full 8 hours last night and have then had two 2 hour siestas during the course of today and I'm about to head to bed now - not a comment on the company I promise you! For the first time in our relationship, I think today is the first time I've slept more than my wife in any given 24 hour period. My wife likes to say "you can't cheap sleep". Maybe she's right but today has certainly served to remind me that longevity in Accenture requires people to be able to recognise that your career is a marathon and not a sprint, that each year you need to take your holidays, and that each (performance) year is a fresh slate.