Russell Bedford delivers great heart and hope at its annual 'taking you further' day

December 2020

This year Russell Bedford’s annual taking you further day took place on Friday, 4 December 2020, culminating with a global virtual party.

An important moment in Russell Bedford’s calendar, taking you further day presents an opportunity to take some time for reflection, looking back on the year, while recognising the many achievements and celebrating the network’s successes.

It’s also a time to reflect on the purpose of the Russell Bedford network and the values that are integral to the network’s existence; recognising accountability, integrity, professionalism, excellence, positive impact, and collaboration as the values that guide members, when dealing with clients and representing the Russell Bedford brand.

This year, members around the world dug deep to come up with creative ways of celebrating the day, despite the challenges that Covid restrictions presented them. Russell Bedford Colombia took an environmental stance, getting the entire team involved in making Ecobricks, used for building furniture, walls and even buildings, out of waste plastic.

Kenyan firm, Russell Bedford Alexandra & Associates, dressed in Kitenges, a type of African cloth, for an office party with traditional African music and dance, and showed appreciation to their employees by sharing hampers to take home.

Russell Bedford’s Australian firms joined forces in a ‘virtual’ walk around Australia while raising funds for charity; and Lebanon firm, Bureau Saghir & Associates, adopted a cedar tree, the national emblem of Lebanon, which features on the national flag, naming the tree after Russell Bedford.

Members contributed to Russell Bedford’s World Map, sharing interesting facts about themselves, their hobbies and their countries; and they signed up to the network’s ‘speed dating’ initiative, providing an opportunity to get to know their counterparts around the world.

Addressing why the network celebrates taking you further day, Stephen Hamlet answered:

“It’s much more than just a marketing opportunity; taking you further day was born out of a desire to celebrate our expanding network and the people who work so hard to preserve and uphold our shared values. ‘Taking you further’ is Russell Bedford’s company slogan, but it’s more than just a slogan’ it epitomises our network’s belief system and values. Our members regularly refer to our slogan when talking about their own firm’s vision and objectives – they believe in it.”

He added:

“The enthusiasm from our members throughout the year has been quite astounding. I’m under no illusion that teams within our member firms haven’t faced massive pressures this year. They’ve put in the extra hours to meet their client’s expectations, while juggling a host of other life responsibilities, and often under one roof, with little break from this cycle. Yet; they’ve continued to focus, investing in their network membership and nurturing the important relationships they have formed through Russell Bedford.”

Stephen concluded:

“Because it’s important to our people. They know the value that lies in strong and trustworthy connections. The high achievers in our world rarely reach their level of success alone. They get there by learning from those around them. They ask for help or knowledge from those with specialist expertise and experience. And during this process of reaching out, they build a robust network of trusted connections around them, to call upon when needed. Sometimes a mentor, sometimes an advisor, sometimes a friend. This is at the very core of Russell Bedford; and that’s worth celebrating!”