Epiphany #3: The Importance of Joy and Purpose

I’ve recently come to realize/reinforce the importance of staying true to what REALLY ignites my professional passion – through work I’ve been doing with a current client of ours.

Our client is a company who has developed IP/custom business processes that are unique, deliver extreme value to their clients – ultimately that value is delivered through professional services – but that delivery mechanism isn’t very scaleable and it limits their growth potential. They have come to realize that to really crack open the value of their expertise and unleash it to the benefit of their clients, they need to “productize it” and offer it as a SaaS (Software as a Service).

The client isn’t technically savvy – nor should they be, as that hasn’t been a requirement of their business model. They are experts at what they currently do – and developing a product and running a software company aren’t their area of expertise. Making the change from a services-only model to a software + services model requires the development of a viable business plan that factors in both software + services lines of business, a product roadmap, funding justification and ROI, finding funding, identification of distribution channels, a sound marketing strategy, support and operations planning, a robust technical architecture, and the list goes on and on and on… Our ability to help this client achieve their vision is practically limitless. They have needs that we are perfectly aligned and delighted to meet and exceed.

This isn’t the first, second or even third start-up or venture-backed client I’ve worked with under similar circumstances. Nor will they be the last – because I have really rediscovered that for me, the essence of Joy and Purpose, professionally is found in exactly this kind of an opportunity. The convergence of a client’s vision and passion that involves an acute business/technology pain, met by my expertise and experience (and that of my firm and our team), are colliding to create trust, a long term partnership and friendship, and even more importantly, REAL VALUE in a market where there are unmet needs. That’s powerful stuff.

That, for me, is the ultimate in finding “Joy and Purpose”.  I have discovered (or rediscovered) what really makes me (and my firm and team) tick – and this is it!  I challenge anyone reading this post who feels stuck in a rut, uninspired, or simply unfulfilled: take a hard look at what really ignites that sense of “Joy and Purpose” in your life – professionally, personally, spiritually – and go after it like a runner seeking the prize.  http://preview.tinyurl.com/yzdjkp9

Epiphany #2: Device Dependency – Yep, it’s a Problem!

My name is Chris, and I am an addict…

I’m one of many thousands out there who are, simply put, addicted to a gadget. My Blackberry, specifically - so  multi-functional it’s like having my laptop strapped to my hip 24 x 7. It’s my digital Swiss Army Knife that I can hardly remember not having – how’d I manage to function for all those years before they became so mainstream, anyway? While my Blackberry is a necessity for me in my work, if it weren’t already painfully clear to me through the stern looks and occasional word or two from my wife or kids, the misadventures of the past two weeks have clinched for me the severity of my problem.

My Blackberry became unholstered last week while helping my son practice catching and throwing a baseball and met its demise on my driveway. I was one lost puppy for the next day and a half as I awaited the overnight delivery of a replacement, which cost me a mini-mint, as always. After an evening and a morning of struggling through activation and restoring sync with our network at Intellinet, I felt “whole” again, and my endless fiddling with it once again earned me a few comments from home and also my boss in a board meeting (oops)!

Well, here it is a week later, and half of my brand new Blackberry’s touchscreen keypad has stopped functioning – rendering it useless. Again, that vacuum of an empty feeling is creeping  in while I watch email hit my inbox – but I can’t access it to read it. Reminds me of old irony-drenched Howard Jones song from the ’80s, “No One is to Blame”

“You can build a mansion but you just can’t live in it
You’re the fastest runner but you’re not allowed to win
Some break the rules
And live to count the cost
The insecurity is the thing that won’t get lost
And you want her and she wants you
We want everyone
And you want her and she wants you
No one, no one, no one ever is to blame“

Pretty sad state, huh? So, onward to go fight the battle with my mobile carrier about another replacement, THEN resume my battle with device addiction!

Some ideas I’ve had around limiting my use of the Blackberry:

1. Stop checking it at meals, even when I hear the “trumpets heralding the new email arrival”
2. Set it to “stun” and keep it pocketed during meetings
3. Turn off wireless sync at 7:30pm each evening and leave it off until morning – same goes for weekends. (If it’s really that important, call me!)
4. Recognize that if its bad enough that I have to be chastised for it at home or in a meeting, I’d better make sure I’m sticking with 1-3 above!

Anyone out there share the same struggle, and if so what are you doing to get the upper hand?

-CAS

 

Epiphany #1: “Righteous Leverage”

This post is probably more for me than others, it officially being my FIRST!   But here goes…

I have always felt the need to be “on the grid” to make sure things are getting done, to keep all those plates spinning, to out-pace or out-last the competition or the situation. That doesn’t scale at all, and gets really old over time – after 16 years of professional life, blissful marriage, and parenting, I’ve come to understand I need to change my “M.O.”

I‘ve recently committed to being more consistent in creating and cultivating “righteous leverage” – in business, in my personal finances, in taking on causes I believe in, and in getting the upper hand in the battle of work/life balance so I can enjoy the many blessings God has given me.  (Notice I qualified “leverage” with the word “righteous” – we’ve all seen the news and/or experienced the problems associated with “over-leverage”, or abuse within some of our financial systems and institutions – or pyramids and Ponzi schemes).

Webster’s dictionary provides several definitions for the noun “Leverage”, the most relevant being:

  “the use of a small initial investment, credit, or borrowed funds to gain a very high return in relation to one’s investment, to control a much larger investment, or to reduce one’s own liability for any loss.”

From my perspective, truly “righteous leverage” is the art of achieving more – exponentially more – faster, better, more sustainably – with integrity and for the benefit of all involved, not just me.  It’s achieved by making small, targeted investments in the right people; equipping and empowering them to do more than they’ve been expected to do in the past, with the purpose of achieving more meaningful results –  then rewarding  them and charging them with repeating that exact pattern themselves, to achieve the desired multiple effects.  

I expect that both I and those I invest in will make mistakes along the way – the PM and realist in me knows that no plan is infallible. We’ll treat mistakes as “teachable moments”, and will seek to limit failures so that when they happen, they happen quickly and inexpensively. I’ll also use the “4 Rs” as tools for correction of mistakes :

(1.    Reflect – be honest – what really happened and why?

(2.    Recalibrate – make sure the target is still clearly in focus – if not, make on-course adjustments

(3.    Reinforce  - reassure those who’ve failed or fallen short that the goal is worthy of the failures along the way

(4.    Repeat – until success in achieving the desired results becomes routine

Wish me luck – hopefully I’ll start seeing results soon, and I look forward to posting the successes (and “teachable moments”) along the way.

-CAS

About Steel Horse Epiphanies

I’m a follower of Christ, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a business leader - and I see life blurring past like the scenery when I’m on my cruiser - there’s so much to see, to learn, to experience and to pass along.  I’m weary of  the race from point A to point B… This blog’s all about slowing things down a bit, taking in that scenery of life a little more keenly, and learning while I share my own perspectives along the way.

-CAS