A few weeks back, I wrote about my process of finding focus and commitment for my path forward. It’s been a quite a journey to learn this lesson and take my next step. The reason for this post is to share some detail about what I will be doing in 2013 and beyond. The punch line in terms of where I go next is at the end of this post (so you can skip ahead). I’ll give you a hint: it’s not doing something new, it’s actually doing fewer things with more focus and intensity.
In the middle of the post is my narrative for how I got here. I’ve done some really good and really silly things in the couple of years. I’m going to share some highlights in case there’s something in there that you can learn from or use as inspiration. If it’s too wordy or too self-serving, my apologies in advance. This is my last post on this blog–ever–so I hope you will extend me a little slack.
Over the past twenty months since I parted ways with my last corporate HR job, I’ve tried to juggle a lot of balls. First, I went through a brand development process to fuel the creation of this website, www.JasonLauritsen.com, and to promote my individual speaking, writing and consulting. At the same time, I was working with my long time friend and mentor, Cy Wakeman, to develop and take to market a revolutionary new employee engagement survey tool that incorporated the concepts of personal accountability. This also included working with her to create a new company, Bulletproof Talent, to market and sell that tool. During the same time, the one constant was my work with Talent Anarchy–speaking at conferences all over the country, publishing a book, and continuing to develop new ideas with my co-conspirator, Joe Gerstandt.
That’s a lot of work represented in that paragraph. But, when I read through it, it sounds a little crazy and confusing. As I would see people out on the road at conferences, they would ask me “so, which hat are you wearing today?” or “what exactly are you doing these days?” Despite working really hard, I wasn’t making the progress I expected and it seemed that the more I tried to do, the less clear people were about what I was doing and how to do business with me.
I had made the classic new entrepreneur mistake, believing that the more things I tried to do, the more opportunity I would expose myself too. When, in fact, what I was doing was confusing the market of people who I wanted to do business with, and diluting my focus from any particular business. The result felt a lot like treading water. I was tired and while I wasn’t drowning, I was also not really going anywhere in regards to building a sustainable and valuable business. Thankfully, I have a great team of mentors looking out for me. Their message was consistent and clear. I had to make some choices. I had to focus.
The thought of taking things off of my plate scared me at first. But, I knew I needed to chose one path, one brand, one body of work to commit to with every bit of energy I had. To make that choice required a lot of self-reflection. But, the answer became clear to me pretty quickly. The work of Talent Anarchy is where my passion lies. We had been getting some signals that there was greater opportunity to expand Talent Anarchy and I was really excited by that prospect.
So, Joe and I sat down last fall and talked about it. The result, after a lot of conversation was, “let’s do it.” If you’d like to read more about what this means, you can jump over to the Talent Anarchy blog for the rest of the story. In short, Talent Anarchy is expanding to become a training and development company that works with ambitious organizations and leaders to unlock greater potential for speed and innovation through talent.
Burning the Boats
So, starting in January of 2013, I am going full Anarchist. One brand, one business card, one story to tell about what I do for a living. While at first, this was scary, it now feels incredibly liberating and energizing. My time will be fully focused on build Talent Anarchy as a training and development company in order to guide organizations to discover powerful new ways to drive great results through talent.
This transition means that most of this website beyond my blog archives will soon disappear. When you see my name, it will be next to a Talent Anarchy logo and fireball. Talent Anarchy will do some collaborative work with Cy and Bulletproof Talent as business partners where it makes sense for our clients. Talent Anarchy will also look to form other partnerships as well in the future to help bring great solutions to our clients so that we can do what we do best and have partners who can provide the rest.
So, here ends my last post on this blog. I am so honored by your readership and support. My intention (assuming that I can figure it out technically) for email subscribers is to move you over to the Talent Anarchy blog so you won’t have to take any action. If you want to be safe, you can jump over there and subscribe. All of my blogging going forward will be on the Talent Anarchy blog. Please come join me there.
And now another new chapter begins. I am excited to write it and I hope that you will be part of the story with me.
Thank you.