Two months into my new job and I have finally found my feet – my balance. It’s not been the easiest transition, I must say. The Power that Is sent some terrific challenges my way personally, knocking me off balance just when I was most precariously perched. I’ve shed some tears the past couple months and I’ve exercised my faith…’tain’t been easy! It has, however, grown me as I so like to grow. And now, with my feet firmly grounded, I’m ready to feel the sun shine on my face as I start in a new direction.

One of my favorite things about my new boss is his voracious appetite for learning. He will learn from anything-or-one he’s the opportunity to learn from. He reflects on the way he builds his company, his business and his community impact. He encourages me to do the same. Due in part to a leadership podcast he’s turned me on to, an idea he has I think’s worth building and my thoughtful hubby’s cautionary reminder I don’t loose sight of my dreams, I find myself pulled in a new direction and I want to share it with you.

I recently thought hard about what I’m good at, what I believe in and what brings me joy. I reflected on these things in an effort to boil my professional aspirations down to a one sentence job description; something on which I can focus when I start to “spin”. What I landed on has excited me and I find my mind racing with ways to make it happen.

I want to encourage and inspire people to do business mindfully.

I want people to go out into the business world with ideas that encourage generosity of the spirit and collaborative thinking. I want to broadcast awesome resources/ideas like TED and Netweaving to influence anyone I can reach. And (this is where the joy comes in;)), I want to do this by written word. I want to learn and reflect on my learnings in such a way as they might inspire others to their own reflections.

It just so happens my boss has interest in doing much the same. Jason created a social platform a while back called the Noodlehead Network. Envisioned as a place where business minds can gather and share, it sits empty and waiting…like a carnival in a ghost town:(

So it is here I find myself. An idea rooted in passion and a vehicle for it’s launch. I’m ready to focus my attention and efforts in a new direction and I’m excited to see where this path leads me. I’m going to re-commit myself to regular writing and do the best work I can at the same time.

I worry only about PLM. This blog is so very special to me. It’s very name has become so much a part of how I see myself. If I choose to focus my writing time on Noodlehead Network instead of here I will miss it so…

But we’ll just see what happens, shall we? I hope those of you with an interest in this new project will join the conversation. In fact, I’d love to start it right now.

What ideas/information/people have you been exposed to that/who influence the way you work? The way you build the relationships in your lives? The way you go forth?

When my family returned from our recent visit to South Africa I was bound and determined to find a way for us to spend more time there. In conversation with some of our friends, I’d landed on the idea of trying to do some online marketing work from a distance with the help of my friend Jason and his team at Noodlehead Studios. My company hired Noodlehead about a year ago to redesign our website and help us increase our online presence in social media. A few months into working with them our big boss formally bought into the efforts for not only Builder Specialties but also our sister companies, peeling away most of my daily business responsibilities (such as managing the customer service team) to free me to focus on these projects and manage their growth. I was in my element and I found the perfect team in Noodlehead. Jason and his team are dedicated, creative, good people and I enjoyed working with them. It was natural I’d see them as potential helpmates for my cause.

One thing led to another in my conversation with Jason and he ultimately let me know he’d decided he wanted to hire someone to run the operations for his company so he could get out and drive the business. I was one person he’d considered for the job. My request to team up had come at an opportune moment and over the next few weeks we found a way to make it work. This past Wednesday was my last day with Builder Specialties and today was my first day with Noodlehead Studios.

As I mentioned in my last post, I love change. That said, when it comes around I generally try and plant a few stakes to help me maintain my course. As I embark on the biggest professional change I’ve yet to experience, I’ve identified some rituals I want to incorporate and continue.

• I’ve been attending a Wednesday noon church service as often as possible for the past few years. I will continue to prioritize this worship time.
• At that same church (just up the road from my new offices) the new pastor leads a yoga practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’d like to make at least one of those practices a week to help me center and focus.
• Our offices are around the corner from a park. When the weather gets a bit cooler, I’d like to take one lunch per week in the park – without my phone or computer.

There are other rituals I’ve toyed with but I hesitate to commit to too much right now…I don’t like setting myself up for failure. This feels good and doable – just what I need for now.

This post is more me, me, me than some, but I wanted you to know what’s going on with me in the event that I go MIA every now and again. Actually, I’m thinking this may be a great opportunity for me to stop waxing philosophical for a while and instead give y’all some real nuggets of useful information. So, in that vein:

I’ve stopped using dishwasher detergent. I found a substitution in baking soda with a few drops of liquid dish soap (like Dawn/Sunlight) and it works like a bomb…another Madison Avenue housekeeping solution bites the dust!

Until next time…