Retooling for the Journey Ahead

The phrase “burning your ships” dates from 1519, when a Spanish expedition led by Hernán Cortés landed in Mexico. Cortés knew his crew was already exhausted after the long sea journey, but he had to motivate them to succeed in the new land. So he ordered the scuttling of the ships they arrived in. The ships burned. The phrase is often used to describe a point of no return, or a moment when the option to do the easy thing is removed, forcing people to do the hard thing. For example, someone might say “burn the ships” to describe resigning from a job to pursue a new career path.

I offer the “burning the ships” information to provide more clarity about where I am professionally in my life. I am not making a wholesale change, but I am being more direct in letting people know that my work has shifted in the last 2 years. In addition, this new path will continue as long as I choose to work.

The reason I share this post is to let people know that my firm no longer provides talent acquisition services. This is old news for some of you, but for others, it may come as a surprise. I started this transition over 2 years ago and I am now over one year past my last search. I will not get into all of the reasons for leaving the search world, but I will share that this now allows me to focus more intently on the talent development and peer group world through my work with Vistage. My Vistage journey is not new, but it now serves as the primary vehicle for my work with individuals and organizations. The Vistage suite of services is wide and deep, working with CEOs, mid-level leaders as well as entry-level leaders. I continue to do work outside the Vistage platform, but all of this work is in the talent development sphere.

If your organization has needs that involve helping develop leaders or setting direction through planning, these are services I handle often. Click here if you would like to set up a time to talk about your needs and ways we could work together.