Last May I was weighing a few things related to my job: was I in a job advancing in accordance with my goals?  Should I leave to start my own business?  Was I willing to take the associated risks, given how our family financials are structured?

As it turns out, as the year went on, I discovered I was in the wrong company.  I did advance in my job, and began to see that the “quirks” I’d seen in my company as a technical contributor were a bit tougher to take in my new role as a spokesperson in the company.  It’s one thing to be in a role where you think the company’s doing things differently than you’d do them; it’s another thing to be one of the folks whose job it is to do those things.  I ended up deciding to leave.

You may notice that someone commented on that post.  That someone turns out to be my new CEO.  We both think we know each other reasonably well, having worked together before.  He knows that I’m a good great addition to his company, and I know that he runs a great company, one that I’m proud to be associated with.  As I interact with some of the people he’s brought into his new company, I’m even more impressed.

John’s comment was that he wasn’t sure if I would actually want to start a company, that I should examine my reasons.   I’ll admit that those reasons have always been of the sort “when I start my company, I’ll do it differently than..”.    I think companies should behave in certain ways, and do certain things…

Behave in certain ways… do certain things… nebulous words worthy of much more than I’m willing to go into here this evening.  Worthy of more explanation for my own sake.  All I’ll say is that the story I keep telling folks about what attracted me to this company is that in my first meeting with the team, before I was interviewing with them, I got into a discussion of business as a ministry opportunity and what that would look like.  That I could have that conversation with that group of people highly impresses me and convinces me I’m in the right place.  If I’m in the right place, though, I need to consider whether the “one [I] might consider” is my destiny.  At the moment, at least, it’s the place I’m delighted to get the opportunity to help grow, and to grow with.