Making a Change

Transitions in jobs — as in writing specifically and as in life generally — can be of several varieties.  Some are abrupt.  Others are meticulously planned.  Some are welcome, even a relief.  Others not.  But all bring about some level of disruption and change.

Millions of words have been spilled discussing change.  And, who knew, change management is a valuable business offering by top consultants.  But I don’t really want to add much more to the pile, to mix metaphors.  Suffice to say that change has been on my mind a lot these past couple of months, as I move from being a longtime, in-house CMO to launching my own business.   It’s not my first foray into the world of small business and consultancy, and my plan is for it not to be a temporary bridge between in-house jobs (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  I’m in this for the long haul.

Change is opportunity and loss, inexorably tied.  Launching my new business (Glencoe Media Group Inc. — website coming soon) serves up an enticing and apprehensive amount of freedom and opportunity to pursue engagements and clients in the same way that I have coached a multitude of professionals over the years.  I’m putting my money where my mouth is, as they say.  At the same time, I have abandoned the in-house safety net, such as it is for law firm CMOs, that delivered a daily stream of steady work and a bi-monthly source of reliable income.  No small loss, there.

Change is exciting and scary, mostly contemporaneously.  Even before any “official” announcement of my new venture, the response from family, friends, colleagues and professional acquaintances upon hearing my plans has been overwhelmingly positive, even effusively so.  This speaks volumes to the value of meticulously nurturing and tending to relationships over the years, not to mention the personal “brand” that we all have in our chosen marketplace.  But, in the end, a successful business comes down to closing deals and delivering the goods.

Change is here, now, and down the road, later.  While I continue to offer the best of my experience in journalism and writing, marketing and communications, and law and business, my audience has broadened, and possibly sharpened.  Clients will be more diverse and deliverables more tangible.  Hands-on has a whole new meaning when you run your own business.  Balancing quality, time, efficiency and cost isn’t a new concept for me — finally something that hasn’t changed!  But no business is the same as it was when it started, and that’s something I’m happily anticipating.  Expanding and refining are definitely in the plan.  As is improving and innovating.

So, while Billy Joel preached, “Don’t go changing,” I’ve become more a fan of David Bowie’s thoughts on the matter.

Here I go.  Ready… And not.