I renewed a friendship with a buddy I knew 6-7 years ago when I was working on my start-up company (that was an online marketing services company and a nice business idea, but not funded well enough to really take hold in the market place). CM works at a venture capital firm here in Cincinnati -- I know that he’s well connected to lots of different organizations and that if I wanted to start networking, I needed to involve lots of people who are used to making business connections and introductions across industries. CM, a fellow alumnus from B-school, is a natural networker (his easy-going style is a primer on how to network without even trying).
In particular, I wanted to let CM know that I was interested in a board position (or two) with some of the companies in his venture portfolio. With my entrepreneurial background, I know that I can offer some meaningful help, particularly to some of the early-stage companies they are funding. In terms of my not-for-profit transition, I believe that understanding how to effectively consult on another company’s business will serve me well in couple of ways.
First, all companies and all industries are different. The skills and expertise that I’ve developed in the digital marketing business don’t translate perfectly to any other industry. I want exposure to other businesses so I can see what parts of my experience translate and what parts do not. I think any broadening experience will better equip me for whatever I might face in the not-for-profit arena.
Second, board positions are another powerful way to network. You never know where a good friendship, or a useful business relationship might emerge. By plugging in on a couple of boards, I can better connect with folks that might be able to help me out down the road.
And third, there are some really cool companies in CM’s portfolio. In particular, they have a business centered around dog and cat boarding services that looks great. I’m an animal lover (two dogs), so the opportunity to play a role in a business like that would be a lot of fun for me personally.
I’m not sure where the relationship with CM will take me next. I’ve sent him a bio and we’ll stay in touch over the coming weeks and months to better understand what opportunities might unfold. Look for future updates on this one.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Setting the Table
Many friends have expressed interest in learning more about the career transition I’m making and would like to follow along as I move from the for-profit to the not-for-profit world. I’m happy to have you along and I welcome your thoughts and your help as I go.
Where do things stand right now? Well, I’ve committed to leaving my current job (see my profile for details on that position) and I know that I want to work in the not-for-profit sector. Beyond that, the simplest way I can describe what is driving my decision process is to lay out my three guiding principles.
First, I want to KNOW that what I am doing is having an impact -- I need to have confidence that the work I’m doing is actually making a positive difference. That might mean that I have a significant degree of control (e.g., managing the $ allocation of a fund), but more than likely, it will mean that my efforts will have clear success metrics attached to them. If I can’t tell that I’m having a positive impact, my motivation to continue will drop like a stone.
Second, I want to work on problems where a scalable solution can be implemented. While I admire the hell out of people in the social work field, I’m not personally interested in deeply engaging and helping to solve a single person’s problems. It just doesn’t motivate me. Quite frankly, it drains me. I want to have an impact on 10,000 people, 100,000 people or a million people. I’m far more energized to think about and work on larger societal problems like hunger, health, poverty and education – these problems fascinate and motivate me.
Third, (and correlated with the scale comment above), I’m a strong believer in the principle of “the greatest good for the greatest number”. In the context of my transition to the not-for-profit world, I think about this in the following way – I value a life equally whether its here in the U.S. or somewhere in the far reaches of the globe. I don’t need to know you personally to want to help you. What’s important to me is that my efforts on your behalf will go as far as they possibly can. In other words, if a dollar would improve 1 life here or 3 lives in Africa, I would almost always opt to spend my dollar in Africa. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have some passion for local problems, I do. But I want the switch I’m trying to make here to be as tailored to my truest motivations as is possible.
So those are the principles for finding the new job. Beyond those principles, the full depth of my plan is wrapped up in one word – networking. I want to reach out to lots of people tied into the not-for-profit world and pick their brains. Future posts will likely focus on who I’ve been meeting with and what I’m learning as I go.
I want people who are already experienced in the not-for-profit world to show me how things work and I want/need their help in directing me towards the best possible position for me to chase. If you want to directly help me get there, thank you very much. If you want to just read-along that’s cool too.
Where do things stand right now? Well, I’ve committed to leaving my current job (see my profile for details on that position) and I know that I want to work in the not-for-profit sector. Beyond that, the simplest way I can describe what is driving my decision process is to lay out my three guiding principles.
First, I want to KNOW that what I am doing is having an impact -- I need to have confidence that the work I’m doing is actually making a positive difference. That might mean that I have a significant degree of control (e.g., managing the $ allocation of a fund), but more than likely, it will mean that my efforts will have clear success metrics attached to them. If I can’t tell that I’m having a positive impact, my motivation to continue will drop like a stone.
Second, I want to work on problems where a scalable solution can be implemented. While I admire the hell out of people in the social work field, I’m not personally interested in deeply engaging and helping to solve a single person’s problems. It just doesn’t motivate me. Quite frankly, it drains me. I want to have an impact on 10,000 people, 100,000 people or a million people. I’m far more energized to think about and work on larger societal problems like hunger, health, poverty and education – these problems fascinate and motivate me.
Third, (and correlated with the scale comment above), I’m a strong believer in the principle of “the greatest good for the greatest number”. In the context of my transition to the not-for-profit world, I think about this in the following way – I value a life equally whether its here in the U.S. or somewhere in the far reaches of the globe. I don’t need to know you personally to want to help you. What’s important to me is that my efforts on your behalf will go as far as they possibly can. In other words, if a dollar would improve 1 life here or 3 lives in Africa, I would almost always opt to spend my dollar in Africa. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have some passion for local problems, I do. But I want the switch I’m trying to make here to be as tailored to my truest motivations as is possible.
So those are the principles for finding the new job. Beyond those principles, the full depth of my plan is wrapped up in one word – networking. I want to reach out to lots of people tied into the not-for-profit world and pick their brains. Future posts will likely focus on who I’ve been meeting with and what I’m learning as I go.
I want people who are already experienced in the not-for-profit world to show me how things work and I want/need their help in directing me towards the best possible position for me to chase. If you want to directly help me get there, thank you very much. If you want to just read-along that’s cool too.
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