What Breakfast Revealed To Me Today…

Tristan Jackson
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

I was fortunate to have breakfast with an old mentor of mine and it was just what I needed. What was it that I needed? I didn’t know until after the our breakfast…

Here’s what I can say about this guy… he is insanely smart… like ten moves ahead smart… and he knows it. Yet he comes at you with a ton of humility and he’s sincere about helping you with whatever you may be facing.

Today I was given a different perspective on my termination. And it helped me think about my personal learns from this overall experience.

Now I’m not going to get into all of them but I’m going to list at least one…

I came in to battle and not neutral…

(What the heck does that mean Tristan!?)

When I was recruited to a new company, I felt like I had the opportunity to make drastic changes. Changes that I felt were essential for the company. I came in hot… aggressive and cocky…and man did I get my teeth kicked in, but in such a great way.

Bottom line… I came to battle with the way my new company was executing sales enablement and I should have approached my new venture with a open mindset and a willingness to follow direction. I should have approached my peers better, asked my leaders for direction and approach anyone else with humility, sincerity and empathy…

Why? Cause my ideas won’t always be the best ones, my direction won’t always be the best direction… I need to let my people drive the car. Cause at the end of day… it’s their vehicle.

What will I take from these experiences

Overall I’m still learning, still processing some things, but know these few take sways can be helpful for anyone who is still reading this.

1. You got to stay humble and patient.

I wasn’t willing to play the long game and just because I had some success with some previous companies doesn’t mean I have “made it”… sure you can have confidence, but there’s a difference from having confidence and being cocky.

2. You need to utilize the ingredients you have.

You can’t just erase the plan that’s already in place and you can’t just do away with people. You need to use your talent and consider making a few tweaks but nothing that’s too drastic.

3.Once everyone is all on board… execute, execute, execute

You may have a strategy and a plan, but you still need mindshare. Once you get that… execute, execute, execute.

Thank you for reading, more to come and please leave a comment or pay this forward to someone who could use this advice…

Grace and Peace

Tristan

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