The Power of Perspective
Perspective changes the way you see things. When something is viewed using a different context, lighting, lens, or time period, it can drastically alter your understanding, reaction, and well...life.
“Looking at life from a different perspective makes you realize that it is not the deer that is crossing the road, rather it is the road that is crossing the forest”
These changes in understanding can be fleeting moments of clarity or they can be a collective experience that lead you on a different path. Humanity is right in the middle of moving down a new path based on the collective experience of continued, historic oppression. It is a moment of pain, pride, confusion, and inspiration. It can be both ugly and beautiful at the same time.
When I was working at a Big 4 consulting firm, I wanted to make Partner. At all costs. My perspective was that if I couldn’t make Partner, I wasn’t good enough. I was promoted to Senior Manager, speaking at conferences, leading engagements, and I started to believe I was on the path. When an opportunity to move to Switzerland for a global lead role came along, I didn’t think twice about leaving my friends, family, car, and condo behind. I was gone in 3 weeks with a planned 2-year term in Europe.
Interlaken
While in Basel, the difference in culture at the client, everyday life challenges like language barriers, and societal norms like no loud talking on Sundays (seriously), had me feeling rather lonely. My daily life was work at the office, head back to the apartment for calls with the US firm until 1am, sleep, and do it again. Basel is a beautiful place with amazing mountains and museums, bordered by France and Germany, and a wonderful place to live and visit. Despite all the amazing new experiences at hand, I felt depressed and lost - this is coming from someone who traveled for pleasure and spent 2.5 years living abroad as a Peace Corps Volunteer. So when the day came (after 5 months) to announce that my client and I decided a local resource worked better, instead of being disappointed, I was relieved. Before facing the reality of the transition back home, I spent some time traveling Europe and checking out Interlaken for some skydiving, canyon jumping, and whitewater rafting.
After some weeks of adventure, I arrived back home with less than the hero’s welcome I had planned. I had to figure out not only how to re-integrate with my teams at work, but also how to terminate the rental contract on my condo (😬). I started to reflect on the series of choices that led me down the path of the Swiss adventure and how I was able to rationalize away life balance for success at a company. I spent some time talking with friends and family who were so eager to finally unleash their concerns about the absentee friend, brother, and uncle they used to be able to enjoy so much more before “company life” took hold. My perspective changed. I finally admitted to myself how much I missed the simple things, like my own bed (some Marriott brands weren’t so bad), daily bike rides, and a full fridge (all you road warrior consultants know the struggle is real). I wanted the professional part of my life to focus only on doing good work for my client (not worrying about firm politics, title, bonuses, utilization), with the freedom to travel when I wanted to (not when it convened the company). So then what?
My passion for helping companies, teams, and people solve problems did not change. I knew I could make a difference as an individual leader / contributor, but did not know how to find a company willing or able to contract with an individual. I did not want to give up margin to a staffing firm, and to be honest, the types of roles available from staffing firms were not those leading high value initiatives. I decided to start my own LLC and make the push on LinkedIn to find contract opportunities. I put in 8-10 hour days applying, messaging, calling, and emailing. After 3 months, I received the long-awaited call to lead a transformation for the ‘close to report’ process at a $6B pre-IPO company: sweet relief!
After 3.5 years of operating on my own, and oftentimes feeling independent and alone, I began working on the concept of an ‘open source consulting model’ that focuses on contributing value rather than billable hours. I founded Tartan Advisory Partners, a company that helps top talent connect and contract with large companies, manage billing and invoicing, and collaborate on winning and delivering work. We help top talent become independent and stay independent.
Just as our society is experiencing a tectonic shift that requires institutional changes, so too are companies. Procurement organizations are engaging with business leaders to form teams that are complemented with external top talent to deliver high value initiatives.
If you want to know more, send us an email at info@tartanadvisory.com.
