It’s amazing the people you meet along the road. Case in point while on Amtrak, I met a guy with the unique title of “Entrepreneur In Residence.” It is a business card I will keep, especially after he explained the job he had for a rising tech company.
Basically his goal is to listen and learn and use the skills he has learned over a career in business (over 30 years, he was a youngish early fifty) to keep a staid legacy of a business fresh. Now there are many titles and words in business…Shelly Palmer had a solid list of those that are now overused here…that you can roll your eyes on, but to have positive entrepreneurial skills and apply them as a mentor and as a leader to those who may be a little younger is pretty valuable. The difference in the company he works at now is that those at the top see value in his skills in growing their business. The ROI is not immediate on sales; it is instant on culture and helping keep a business fresh while invoking change and a different thought. Is it a job that will last years? He laughed and said, he wasn’t sure but added that he was having more fun seeing people be inspired and growing without losing focus on their core.
It made me think about a title I and maybe some others can claim; “Consultant in Residence.” A recent Wall Street Journal article talked about the fact that in the next five to ten years more than 40 percent of the workforce…one that is getting older as well…will be in an area called “consulting.” You have to be able to adapt and help solve problems, balance multiple projects and manage time, and often when that project ends you move on. It is a skill that many find hard to adjust to; routine business can be easier sometimes, but management of one’s time and skills while still learning and staying fresh can be a challenge. Often times I have said this is not something I chose, it chose me 12 years ago and I found a way to make it work, and have tried to help others who have jumped or fell into the pool to do the same. Some get it, some become bitter and discouraged, some thrive. It is not something you can take personally when things don’t work out, but it does give you some freedom if you can get the cadence, to keep growing and staying relevant in the workplace.
And the “In residence” part? It’s less to do with the actual physical location, and more to do with the state of mind. In fact many in the consulting field that I know find the “In residence” to be the place they are at the moment, many times a home office, or in some cases the local coffee place or the library. The beauty of the digital world we are in now gives you the freedom, if disciplined to work effectively from many places while still being locked in to those businesses you contribute mightily to. “The residence” is actually a state of mind. It is where you are focused to accomplish tasks…where your mind and spirit and thought process is vs. where you are sitting.
Now that isn’t to say that there is great value to face time. It is essential to be able to read the room, meet people, and spend time to grow a relationship. However it does not usually have to be 24/7 with that person or company. Many times if you are on the consulting side, being away from the distractions of a place of business gives you the time to really focus on a task assigned and achieve higher goals than those so deep in the weeds. It also gives you the perspective to be able to look elsewhere, to the nontraditional sometimes, for answers. “The residence” of a virtual kind is becoming a more valuable piece of real estate as business continues to shift, be it consulting or entrepreneurial.
No this business life is not for everyone, my friend pointed out. It takes a good amount of grit and discipline and open mindedness and the ability to keep learning and trying new things without silo’ed thinking. It also takes the trust of the leaders to buy in, literally. Some businesses work, some don’t, as style and culture and needs always vary.
However one things doesn’t; people skills. What has been noticed is the ability to work with people; to have empathy, to listen, to hustle, to find ways to solve problems are invaluable no matter whether you are fulltime, partime, interning, volunteering or “in residence” for hours or days or years. Those skills transcend all.
So I wished my new colleague well; he had a cool title and business card that I hoped I would see more of. As for me, my residence continues, be it in New Jersey or on the road solving and helping tell stories. A dozen years in, still putting one foot in front of the other.
