One thing we like to remind students or job seekers is that sometimes the path chooses us, and we have to be open minded enough to take a risk and go down the road. Sometimes it leads to a dead end, sometimes to an off ramp, sometimes to the yellow brick road. We don’t always know, but unless we try the path, and that does take courage, we will never know.
Case in point was a photo I came across while deleting pictures on my phone coming back from our Montana trip this past week. There on my phone was a random group picture I took in March at the MIT Sloan Analytics Conference.
It was of Jessica Berman, now firmly entrenched as NWSL Commissioner, Sue Bird, Johanna Boynton, who was one of the key owners in The Premier Hockey Federation, Mary Wittenburg, then doing advisory work on properties from volleyball to cycling, and Katlyn Gao, the CEO of the soon to launch League One Volleyball.
Fast forward less than five months. Berman has overseen the unprecedented growth of the NWSL, including tis expansion and new partnerships, Bird has grown her post WNBA career with new business and advisory roles, Boynton was a key figure in a move few saw coming, the merger in many ways of two women’s hockey properties into one, Wittenberg was just named the President of Gotham City FC, and Guo’s work leading the launch of a new property has had its share of changes as well.
While some during that afternoon in Boston could have predicted the continued growth of NWSL into the summer or Bord’s continued career expansion off the court, no one really could have seen a presidency for one of those leading businesspeople or a dramatic shift towards consolidation for another, while the volleyball business is also just taking shape.
The path all five have taken in the few months had some moves that may have been predicted, but for the most part where they all are today is not exactly where they probably would have guessed not that long ago. All five take risks, assess challenges, build consensus, voice and engage opinion, have strong support groups and take on challenge, each one disruptive and risky in their own way.
While each has had challenges current and going forward, many of which have been unforeseen, all have forged much deeper and unique career paths that probably were not fully clear even a few months ago. However none backed down, all took the path that came up and figured it out.
It was quite striking to think of what we know now and didn’t know then in the careers of these five executives and entrepreneurs, all great examples of taking a walk that may have risk, and finding out how to turn that risk into reward.
Where that group is in a year when we are back at Sloan will be interesting to see. Needless to say their unpredictable stories will be worth sharing, full of risk and reward, much of which is probably unforeseen but worth the ride.
What a difference a few months can make, if you choose to walk the walk.
