How a Tough Decision Made It Easy To Become An Internet Strategist
by Alex Vermeule posted July 18th, 2009 at 10:49
Remember my last post about change?
It got 15 inspiring reactions, pretty awesome!
The thing about change, as one of the commenters pointed out, you just have to go ahead and do it.
So why do I mention my previous post again? Because last weekend I had an epiphany that led to a change in personal strategy and with this post I like to share that story.
What was the fuss about?
For now, let’s rewind to Friday evening one week ago.
That Friday evening, I started the weekend knowing that I had to make a decision before Monday on whether I would say yes to an assignment to work as an interim manager for an American software company. It was an assignment for 12-18 months where the director asked me to run his support business in Europe.
That was a tough decision.
This was an awesome opportunity, however it was was also something I had done before while working at Microsoft. Although I was honored and tempted to say yes, I noticed that I wasn’t very excited and sure whether I really wanted to do this.
As a coach, I know that you deliver the best results when you are doing something that you just love to do. This is one of the fundamentals of finding pleasure in your work. The trick is to listen yourself and actually find out what you love to do most. Very often you make other drivers (such as money, image, etc) important factors in deciding what kind of work you want to do. However it’s important to pull these drivers out of the equation as much as possible and stay true to yourself while making decisions like these.
Crystal Clear
As you can understand, I didn’t get much sleep during that weekend while thinking about it and discussing it with my girlfriend, friends and family. Two years ago, it would have been a very logical step in my career as I had been managing support (and consultancy) teams at Microsoft for more than six years. However, the past two years running my own business have definitely changed my perspective on why you do things and what’s important to yourself. I even think that I left Microsoft to learn these lessons…
So on that Sunday morning it hit me: while I was rereading my the second right answer of my about page in my head, it became crystal clear that I have been following a path that spelled ‘Internet’ for a long time:
- Have been online since late 1992
- Started my own Internet business in 1995
- Microsoft hired me in 1997 because of my knowledge of the web
- In 2000 I became part of the Web TV team in Mountain View
- While running my own business, I just love working on websites, the content and building online strategies to support the brands
- Today, when speaking to clients, potential customers, friends, we always talk about innovation on the web, social media, how to generate traffic and optimize web pages
- People in my network specifically come to me to talk about how to optimize their online strategy, branding and results
- My work on Alexve.com brought together my passion for the web, technology and innovation. It ignited new passions for WordPress, Personal Branding, Blogging and everything surrounding that.
Steering into a new direction
After this epiphany, it became a lot easier to stay true to my path. It was then that I decided to say no to the interim assignment I mentioned. I also made a commitment to myself to adjust the direction of my current career, even moving away from my CEO work for Team vNext BV.
In the upcoming weeks, I will be focusing on opportunities to provide my services to help you and your business get the most out of the web. I will be looking for ways to combine them with my experience running a consultancy business, managing teams, being a coach and entrepreneur. I know I will have the most fun doing that! In case you are interested in partnering or already see opportunities, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks!!
P.S. If you are a regular visitor, you will probably have noticed some of the updates on the site already that reflect the change in strategy. I will share more about the site updates in the following days.
Have you changed or adjusted your personal strategy lately? I’m curious and love to hear from you via the comments on the site.
Tags: Change, Strategy
Categories: Offtopic
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ABOUT ALEXVE
My name is Alex Vermeule and I am an internet strategist, interim manager, consultant and coach.
Friends call me an innovation addict, a lifehacker and someone that helps you get the most out of the web!
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Sounds like a great decision. good luck.
Hi Alex, really cool that you are sharing this kind of personal thoughts and decisions.. Looking forward to seeing you again and talk about this
Hi Alex, thanks for sharing that and it sounds indeed like a good decision. It also reminds me of something I read recently (not sure where anymore), but it basically said that you should stop “working” as of today. Your work shouldn't feel like work, but should more feel like a hobby or passion. Something you would do even if you weren't paid for it. So if your work, feels like work, stop doing it and find something more inline with the stuff that you really like to do.
Sounds to me you made the right decision.
Andre
Hi mate, it's about being transparent to you and honest to myself
Sharing it via my blog, invites more people to give feedback on the decision which is just great. We'll definately talk more about this on friday @seas 
To chose means to sacrifice… You have chosen wisely Alex as you have chosen for what you believe in. Obviously you could afford this choice, so yes you did the right choice, no doubt about it!
You should get more opportunities in the future, it is never easy to say “no” but it is actually not tougher than to to say “yes” and learn yourself what really matters to you!
Nice exercice to put this thoughts on line, I appreciate your modesty and transparency, I wish I could read more often people with such values!
Hi Andre, you are absolutely right. Also, you deliver the best results when you are doing something that you just love to do. The challenge is to find your 'sweetspot'
Getting feedback and reactions like yours, definitely confirms that this is the right decision. Thanks!
Hi Tristan, thanks very much for your wonderful feedback around this post. I really like your view 'to choose means to sacrifice…' that's so true. Thanks again!
Inspiring, Alex! I have been re-thinking what I call work lately in the same perspective. No conclusions yet, though…
Hi Paul, curious about your thoughts. Ping me if you are looking for a different view that can help put things in perspective. Thx, Alex
Hi Alex,
Great choice! When experiene and passions align, fireworks ignite! Although, I have to say that you should not underestimate the passion you have for doing business and your previous choice was just as sound as this one. Combining these is like setting your compass to the true North.
Good luck and if you ever need advice on running a consulting business, let me know
Hi Rene,
Great to hear from you! I am still very keen on doing business and now also focus on consultancy gigs for myself. Alexve.com is the new 'label' next to Team vNext BV that I created for my work as an independent contractor. The combination of my experience working for Microsoft, managing consultancy teams, running my own services business should come in handy, hehe. Right now, I am looking for 'internet consultancy companies' that have an opportunity to work together and are interested in possible partnerships. I've got some on my radar already and am also lucky to have good friend who work in the Internet business. Ultimately, it is about doing something that you love most so if I can combine all things, I'm a very happy man
.
Hope all is well and would love to hear more about your journey/new experiences in the US. Will ping you soon on MSN for a voice chat.