Nearly three years into my consulting practice, it’s crystal clear that I was destined to be my own boss. If only I had read the signs along the way, I could have avoided — or at least seriously shortened — the bumpy road I traveled getting here.Ask yourself, does it seem as though you’ve been in the wrong place, living the wrong life?
It sure seemed that way to me. I spent the first 15 years of my career bouncing from one prestigious advertising agency to the next alternately getting big promotions — and even bigger pushes out the door. Though I continually questioned my ability to work for anybody, I still fought the good fight and conceded a life as a company man.
That is until 1998 when I landed at a high-flying (later, crash-and-burn) dot-com populated with scores of Harvard Business School grads 10 years my junior. These young men and women were take-no-prisoner trailblazers ill content with old-school titles, attitudes or operating procedures. They were super-bright, super-confident young professionals who were going to change the world. They weren’t just businesspeople; they were entrepreneurs. And I felt right at home.
Which got me thinking: Were the many supervisors who showed me the door intimidated by my entrepreneurial spirit? Are today’s entrepreneurs simply yesterday’s troublemakers who made waves, broke rules but often succeeded brilliantly? Was I actually an entrepreneur and not just a problem child?
Harold Jarche on October 29th, 2004 at 4:35 pm
In answer to your questions - yes. Been there, done that.