The 4th installment of my 8 Lessons in Leadership focuses on “focus” and not taking your eye off the ball. All of us have done it at some time in our past, so don’t feel bad. You’re in good company.
“The best job you ever had is the one you have right now”
About 20 years ago, I left a very promising leadership role at a $2B technology company to chase the elusive “Vice President” title. I had accomplished a lot in my time there, and I had developed a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Like many of us, I thought I deserved that title after everything I’d done for that company. I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t getting that title there anytime soon, so I chased it elsewhere.
I should have been more careful what I wished for. I got that VP title I so desperately wanted at another company……and 6 months later was unemployed because that business was woefully underfunded and went out of business.
Bad move.
The point is this: if you’re always looking for the next best thing, you’ll miss out on the best thing that you’ve already got.
For 5 years from 2019 to 2024, I was the CEO of a national IT services company called NexusTek. From the jump it was challenging, with all kinds of headaches that I had never envisioned when I took the job. It was a combination of 7 different acquired companies with different systems, processes, and cultures. I had to make tough decisions that impacted people’s lives. We closed down offices, let people go, and asked others to pick up a heavy load. Suffice to say, there were plenty of people there who weren’t happy to see me. There were plenty of calls from other suitors, but I told them I wasn’t interested. Oh yeah…..there was that pesky little global pandemic too.
I still viewed it as the best job I ever had.
Despite all those challenges, we built something great. We built a national platform of 1,500 customers and 330 employees, and we created the premiere provider of IT, cloud, and cybersecurity services in the US. There were over 180 people who hung with it for 5 years with me through all the heartache and are still there making happy customers and providing for their families. We produced 80+ graduates of the NexusTek Leadership Academy, and 3 of them have gone on to become C-Level executives (towards our goal of 25). I am truly proud of what we built.
My time came to an end in early 2024, and that provided me the opportunity to create Latitude 40 Leadership, my next “Best Job I Ever Had.” Thank you to Team NexusTek. You are the source of my strength and I will never forget you!