Switching up my role at 352
I’m shifting from a full-time role as the EVP of Product & Growth at 352 Inc to a part-time one as Product Strategist in Residence. I’ve never been huge on titles, but I know it gives others clarity regarding responsibility and this is what we came up with. Deal with it. I’ll explain my motivations below, but one of the things I feel fortunate about with this shift is I get to continue doing the things that brought me a lot of joy at 352: work with the great teams and their clients on product strategy.
I’ve spent a long time, 10+ years, at one organization and switching roles might seem like a knock on them, but that would be ill-informed. Staying with 352 for over a decade is a testament to the people and leadership. I’ve had a goal for most of my life to run my own business. My father and I would always talk business strategy, why people did certain things or how we might approach running a business differently. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spark: in high school, I sold bootleg CDs, in college, I installed networking equipment for small businesses, I started a web hosting company, I started a web design company, I created an HR tool to gather feedback, etc. The list goes on… everything had varying degrees of success with one consistent element running through each one; it was not my primary focus. It has become increasing clear to me over the last year that starting a business from the ground up and it being my principal focus was crucial for me.
I’ve mentored a few people over the years, and I’ve consistently told them when they are struggling with work that if they are clear on what their ambitions are it will make everything easier. It can make the job that feels like a slog have meaning, or it can make a dream job for one person be something another person leaves.
Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. — Steve Jobs
I love this quote by Steve Jobs; it has always meant a lot to me. Knowing what your ambitions are, makes connecting dots more tangible. It helps me understand what dots are worth focusing on and which can be ignored.
Over the last few years I had grown to help Geoff run 352 but so much of the organization was there years before I joined. That opportunity to create from scratch became something I felt I needed to chase. I had a lot of flexibility at 352, and I’m proud of what the organization has been able to accomplish over the years. We built an unorthodox approach to an agency that is unique.
Couple thoughts on 352 for those that are interested. The fundamental structure of the organization was one of the differentiators. All the staff is organized into teams, fully dedicated to each client, and aren’t assembled for each project. This means the teams are healthy because they move from project to project instead of learning all of a new team’s quirks with each project. The team members are responsible to the team and their own work. The byproduct of the structure we created there fostered some pretty badass talent. Whether it is Google, Amazon, MailChimp, The Home Depot, JWPlayer, Uber, and the list goes on… this little dev shop out of Gainesville, Florida helped produce some top tier people. The flat organizational structure paired with dedicated teams means people got to put both feet in the water but have their team swim with them too. This ends up creating great developers, designers, and marketers who know what it means to deliver great products in a team setting while getting a wide spectrum of industry experience as the projects change.
So what are you going to do with all this new free time?
I’ve been asked a hundred times over the last few weeks, what I’m going to be working on next, and my answer has consistently perplexed. “I’m not sure” or there about has been my answer. I can understand why this has stumped everyone. It is not like me not to have a clear plan. It is what I have been rumored to be good at for the last few years.
I know I want to be more involved with the Atlanta community and I know I want to build for early stage founders. What that looks like and how it evolves will be the fun part. I’ll keep posting on my progress, asking for feedback, and iterating on what is working.
If you are interested in grabbing a drink to keep me company or have an opportunity we should talk about, I’m all ears. Feel free reach out to me on Twitter or Linkedin.
