I started this when I was in a place of not so fun hell. The company I was with at the time was going through massive layoffs. Me, never one to be a cog in the system, went from a promising "consultant" to the senior management team to the dreaded cog. It was a fun ride up - not so much on the way down.
So, I quit. No gig lined up. No idea where to go next. I just leaped. It was an amazing experience. I am fortunate to have a wife that makes more than me, so financials were of little concern. And, I was confident I would land in due time.
I took the time to understand what I wanted next and where I wanted to be. I have never been happy with my job. In politics, I hated the hours. Managing my own firm, I missed the opportunity to learn from above. And in the corporate world, the sludge that political bullshit brings to the system stifles even the most creative and ambitious of souls.
And so I landed back in DC. Its great to be back in among friends. I am also in a startup. Not sure where it will lead, but I am definitely learning.
Learning what is my question. Many talk about creating a "brand" for yourself - one that helps quickly define you and your skills to others. In b-school, they preach heavily the idea of squeezing your background and experiences into one of 3 areas - finance, marketing, or operations. I tried. I couldn't. So I stopped.
I decided that I needed to develop my own brand, outside the pretense of "business". But what is that brand? What do I enjoy? What do I do well? After about 6 months of thought and effort, I still don't know. But its a hell of a lot more fun...
