February 12, 20—

Mr. Ryan G. O'Keefe
Vice President
CareerLab
10475 Park Meadows Drive, STE 600
Lone Tree, CO 80124

Dear Ryan,

This has been an especially difficult year for me.  Besides recovering from my mother's death, I've been taking care of my father and his finances, and coping with major changes in our family.  In the meantime, our office move has been all consuming.

I appreciate that during this difficult time for me and for our company, you have stayed focused and concentrated on your work.  You have remained stable, upbeat and easy to live with.  You've given me support, and psychological and emotional space, which helped me.  You have given 110% to developing business and serving clients, and you have done a fantastic job in your role as President of the Human Resources Planning Society.  By being such an effective leader you make us, and yourself, look very good.

As far as the office move goes, you were co operative and helpful, giving some really valuable suggestions when asked.  I felt that if I concentrated on the move, you and Richard could concentrate on productivity—and that seems to have worked pretty well.

The new office is magnificent.  It's not perfect; there are things about it I don't like, as I'm sure there are things you would change; but I believe these will be the most successful years of our careers, partly because of the design of the physical environment.

You and Maureen deserve this vacation you are taking, and you should not feel apprehensive or guilty about being away from the office.  In fact, just the opposite:  You should recognize that down time is absolutely mandatory in a high demand business such as ours.  Big chunks of time are especially restorative.  The problems will still be here when you return—as will the opportunities.

Although it has been a difficult year, it has also been a good one, thanks in large part to you.  Thank you for your efforts for CareerLab, Ryan, and thank you for your friendship.

With best regards,

William S. Frank