Pivots ...

Just coming into my six month at United Transportation and things could not be better. I continue to have the "pinch me" moment as I drive into our logistics center each morning and see the warehouse and trucks lined up at the doors.

Our team has been amazing through the short-term transition. We have a plan to move forward and continue to deliver superior customer service to our existing customers, while onboarding new clients in a seamless manner.

While driving home one evening, I was reflecting on how I got here. 30 years ago, I was getting my promotion from a Help Desk to an Oracle DBA and cutting my teeth on data warehousing, big data (before it was big data), and system/network administration responsibilities. The end goal was to be like my boss, a CIO who wore a suit and carried a laptop briefcase to work every day.

Eventually I became a CTO, managed teams of all sizes, and gained the experience to directly influence an organization through the buildout of new technology. Once achieved, I can remember thinking to myself, "I am done and set for life…." It only took a few roles in different companies to quickly figure out, this is not for me.

Growing up, my Dad had a full-time job with the local energy and gas company. He would be home around 3PM and then begin to dabble in what he loved — thinking of new companies to start. These weren't companies you would ever hear about and came in the forms of a comedy club, a videotape rental store, a trucking company, and a bbq wing restaurant. He just continued to invent and never let the failures hold him back from trying the next idea. That risk taking is embedded deep within me.

I took some time off last year to evaluate what was next and reflect on my professional career. I spent countless hours documenting what I loved, what I disliked, where was I challenged, where was I bored, where I succeeded and where I failed. My end goal in this exercise was to have an open, clear, un-biased mindset on what I want to do next.

In summary, life is about twists and turns. I've always been the one to choose the highest/scariest rollercoaster in the theme park vs the predictable safe ride. Some things have worked, while many things haven't. I don't regret a single decision, as it's allowed me to get to this point to have fun, feel alive, motivated, and excited about the future.