Into The Abyss

My professional career has had a lot of variety over the last 20 or so years.  From SaaP, to retail, to dot.com startup, to high level staffing consultancy, to for-profit higher education...It has been a journey full of ups and downs and experience gained via mistakes and successes.  Part of me has always had the dream to go out into the world and do something on my own, make my own mark and leave a positive footprint while collaborating with others.  So, I finally am attempting to take that step out into the abyss and go at things on my own.  I am both thrilled and panic-stricken at the same time.

Very recently, I formed The CoLab Group, LLC, a niche business development and brand ambassador consulting firm focused on serving small businesses and startups in Indiana (follow me on twitter @colabgroup2015).  My goal is to help companies capture more revenue generating opportunities while improving their brand viability.  Most small businesses must focus on daily operations and have limited resources when it comes to hiring a full-time biz dev person that can go out, represent their brand/product effectively and identify, qualify and close partnership opportunities.  A recent article by George N. Root III entitled "What Are the Struggles of Small Business Owners?" highlights the issue of time management for small business owners and the difficulties associated with giving attention to every aspect of their business, including sales and marketing activities. It is my goal to be able to provide these services while also improving the overall small business/startup environment of the greater Indianapolis market.   

I don't know where this adventure is going to lead me.  But one thing I do know is that I wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of a fellow entrepreneur, my wife.  Her confidence in me provided me with the spark that I needed to take that giant step into the unknown.  Additionally, Launch Fishers provided me the opportunity to interact with dozens and dozens of other entrepreneurs in a collaborative environment with people all pursuing their own dreams.  There is no lack of inspiration or effort with the people that I get to meet and interact with on a daily basis.  By being around so many inspirational entrepreneurs, the abyss already seems a lot less scary. 

My New Opportunity @TheIronYard

Some of you may know that my two and a half month sabbatical came to an end at the beginning of last week.  I am very excited to announce that I am the campus director for the new The Iron Yard Indianapolis, IN campus.  Before you start worrying that is is going to be an "info-blog" about The Iron Yard, I promise that it won't be...or at least it won't be 100% an info-blog.

For those that aren't familiar with The Iron Yard, it is an immersive coding and developer academy whose aim is to help address the shortage of technology talent and the current broken education system.  By partnering directly with employers within each market, The Iron Yard can drive innovation, develop startup accelerators and co-working spaces in areas that need them most.

OK, so my elevator speech is now over.  So, why was I so passionate about joining this outside-the-box, forward-thinking, edupreneurial organization?  It quite literally represents everything that I have built a passion for throughout my career in the last 10 years:

• The Iron Yard hopes to solve major global talent gaps by partnering with a variety of communities and building long-term relationships within those markets

• The Iron Yard partners directly with community employers to not only hire our graduates, but help evaluate and update curriculum, serve as an advisory board for each local campus, engage with our students as mentors, and provide real-world and real-time feedback as to whether our students are demonstrating the appropriate hard and soft skills

• An immersive experience is one that is much more practical for those going through a career transition, and for those where a four-year traditional experience is not the best fit

• Addressing the labor gap is on the top of every state's agenda in order to attract and retain talent and develop a sense of community.

I truly expect The Iron Yard to have a huge impact not only on #Indianapolis, but the state of Indiana, the U.S. and eventually internationally as well.  The traditional education model is simply not as effective, or affective, as it was 20+ years ago when I went to college.  Here is an opportunity to be on the front end of positive change that can have a tangible impact on the world we live in.  How could I not be excited about something as transformational as this opportunity.  Needless to say, my journey may not have been a direct path, but I am very happy that my path ended at The Iron Yard.

New Year, New Opportunity, New Perspective

So, 2015 is upon us.  For most of us, this means setting resolutions and attempting to follow through on them for at least the first part of the year.  For me, it means searching for a new employment opportunity for the second time since December, 2013.  Not exactly what I thought or hoped I would be doing to celebrate the New Year and my 42nd birthday.  But that being said, maybe this is not only a good thing for me, but a great thing.

In the big picture, I am beyond lucky.  I have an incredible wife whose persistence in running her own successful business while attending to the daily needs or our 7 year old daughter, is quite awe inspiring.  At least for a little while, I will get to spend more time helping out with our daughter, which can only be viewed as a great thing.  Next, I am only 42.  A mentor of mine mentioned to me today that he didn't find his true passion until he was 43, and his career was one of the most inspiring and positively impacting that I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of.  Age is only a state of mind, and I at least already have a pretty good idea of what I want to be and do when I grow up.  Lastly, I have developed an incredible network of friends, mentors and colleagues over the last nearly 20 years of employment experience.  I feel very fortunate to need multiple hands to count the people that I consider friends.

I have a feeling that 2015 is going to be one of my best years yet...I am sure it will be for you as well.

Reality vs. Sanity

We all operate in our own personal or professional realities.  There are infinite external factors that impact our realities, both positive and negative, which naturally impacts how we deal with others.  At the age of 40, I think I am finally learning that there are only so many things I can do to control my personal reality, and even less things I can do to control my professional reality.  But, I can control my sanity, regardless of the external factors that surround me.

I spent a good deal of my career attempting to positively impact the companies I worked for through process implementation and heavy collaboration.  I still believe and will continue to believe strongly in both of these practices.  However, I now know better that unless others around me have a shared vision of success, it is impossible to achieve a common reality.  This does not mean it is okay to give up on reaching a common goal or lowering the bar in order to make things easier.  It means that your reality requires a lot more effort, communication and evaluation in order to develop and implement a shared outcome.  Which most times does not equate to finding one's own personal sanity or safe zone.  While it is vital that all of us continue to work positively impact our personal and professional realities, it is important to remember that we need to take breaks and find our own sanity as well.  I have read about some companies that require their employees to take paid multiple-month sabbaticals after every several years of work.  Employees' mobile phones, email addresses, laptops and building access credentials are put on lock-down.  Individuals are forced to renew their sanity...which in turn, will make it easier for them to come back and re-create their realities.

Get To vs. Have To

Recently, well the last four months actually, I have been working with an international partner to remedy some implementation plans. The time commitment has been large and the proposed solutions have been many. There has been weekend work and some 16 hours days. My family has seen me frustrated and other times have not seen me at all. Personally at times, I felt like I did in High School taking Mr. Dill's Pre-Calculus class...I wanted to put my head down on my desk and cry. Fortunately, I did not cry at my desk this time. I am not sure the same can be said for me back in Mr. Dill's class however.

For those that know me, I am not naturally the most optimistic person in the world.  So, what changed my perspective from the negative to the positive recently?  A simple comment by my daughter...She waited up for me one of the nights that I was working late to excitedly tell me "Daddy, I get to go to the dentist tomorrow!"  Now, the only person I know who dislikes the dentist more than me is my 5 1/2 year old daughter.  She usually requires restraints to be held into her chair and the entire ordeal leaves the dentist (and my wife) exhausted.  When I asked her why she was so excited, she told me "They are going to check on my loose tooth.  Hopefully it will fall out soon so that the Tooth Fairy will come!”  Her excitement around going to the dentist, a place that has yet to provide any good memories for her, made me realize that it is all about perspective.  I don’t have to continue working on this implementation plan; I get to continue working on this implementation plan.  And beyond that, there may be a Tooth Fairy opportunity for us at the end of this plan.  All the more reason for me to view this as a “get to” instead of a “have to” situation.

Oh, and a side note to my daughter’s tooth situation.  She hasn’t lost the tooth yet, but the dentist did confirm for her that it will be on its way out soon.  My wife and I now have to explain to our daughter that going to the dentist every day will not help the tooth fall out any faster…

Quicksand

I just read one of my favorite bloggers most recent posts Confessions of an Insomniac . As one who struggles with sleep and considers five hours a night to be in excess, I know where Gates is coming from. The frustration sometimes boils over, and it feels like no matter what you do, you can't get the result that you want and so desperately need. And the more you fight it, the deeper in quicksand you sink. In the professional world, sometimes we don't get the results that we want or feel to be "fair." In those instances, it is too easy to become angry and frustrated and let a few misfortunes snowball into an avalanche of defeat. It is when you are your most tired and frustrated that you must persevere the most. Life isn't easy. Winning isn't easy. Success isn't easy. They all take incredibly hard work and the overcoming of tremendous obstacles. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, but finding a way to work yourself out of the quicksand is sometimes a great first step towards success.

Trim the Fat

I have gotten fat. Not fat with a ph, but fat as in out of shape and lazy. Fortunately, I have been working on getting back into shape and am making significant progress. My "fat" clothes are loose and my "regular" clothes are making appearances in my rotation again slowly but surely. Why am I sharing this with you? Well, for me, my lack of activity led to me getting comfortable with complacency. After all, keeping yourself in shape requires effort and daily goals to maintain your appearance. This daily effort is required in your business life as well. It is very easy to get complacent when things are progressing along normally. The true leader and Edupreneur however is always seeking out new ventures and opportunities. The excuses I used about avoiding the gym at the beginning of the year (I'm too busy, I'm traveling too much, I just want to relax) don't cut it in the business and higher education world. We all need to actively work at staying in shape and on the cutting edge. Being complacent will not only have you falling behind your competitors, but it will self-select you out of being a contributor and a game-changer.

So, if you have become complacent with your career, it is time to find your career personal trainer and get back in the game.