In work and in life, I believe in intentional, purposeful progress. It’s why I take my new year’s resolutions seriously, and strive to surround myself with people that are kinder, and smarter and more successful than me - however success might be defined. It’s why Simon Sinek is one of my celebrity crushes, and why I strive to manage my energy, not my time.
When I left my job several weeks ago, I took the opportunity to step back and reflect, and think purposefully about my next career move. It is a luxury not many can afford at this stage in a career, and I’m really grateful.
I started building a website with the intention of creating a centralized portfolio of work (and learning a few skills in the process), and it provided the perfect mechanism to organize my thoughts, reflect on my career, understand what gives me energy, and think about what I want next. This website is the first iteration of a project I’m not sure I’ll ever consider perfect, but I’m excited to share my MVP -- so to speak.
In wire framing this site and talking to a lot of people over the past few weeks, I gained a lot of perspective and clarity, and I’d like to also take the opportunity to offer a manifesto of sorts in tandem with this launch. I recognize that this is self-indulgent and entirely too long, but this is my blog, so I figure I can make my own rules.
WHO I AM
I am a New England bred, Chicago-based (for now) go-to-market strategist. I am a creative storyteller, an ambassador for powerful ideas, connecter of people and concepts, and an advocate for innovation, impact, and scalability. I geek out on topics in healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship, especially when combined, and I take my core values and resolutions seriously. I am an extrovert in the purest sense of the word, and I identify with the connector persona in Gladwell’s tipping point framework.
INSPIRED BY IMPACT: I’m a sucker for an inspiring mission and a vision for the future that improves quality of life and society as a whole.
RESULTS-DRIVEN: I am focused on outcomes and results,rather than simply being efficient. I want to build cool things and get my thrills from seeing the results of my work in action.
DATA-DRIVEN: I believe in solutions informed by data, collaboration, and customer perspective rather than gut instincts or designs developed in isolation. The lean methodology is my jam.
FAST-PACED: I thrive in fast-paced environments where I have the autonomy and trust to move quickly, measure and test, and learn and iterate.
SCRAPPY: I am an expert google searcher and comfortable hacking together MVP solutions and relying on nontraditional approaches, duct tape, and a bit of luck. I’m used to solving problems by making the most of what I have.
CURIOUS: I’m constantly in search of information, inspiration, and ideas on how to improve and examples in other companies and industries to find patterns and frameworks I can leverage in my own work. I use writing to organize and synthesize my ideas and the information I gather, and help others leverage my findings. While I love educating, and my ego loves feeling like the smartest person in the room, my brain craves feeling like the least creative, the least experienced, and the least connected. I love the idea that each person is the sum of the people we spend the most time with, so I surround myself with people that are better than me in as many ways as possible.
GRITTY: I’m comfortable failing, and expect that my experiments won’t be perfect. I’m used to ‘hitting above my weight class’ and solving problems without a provided game plan or support structure.
ROCKS MANY HATS: I’m interested in solving many different kinds of problems, and I don’t believe in the limitations of a job description or a 9-5 day. In exceptional work environments, one asks not if, but how to help out, especially when a colleague or initiative is struggling, and goes the extra mile to exceed expectations and take ideas to their full potential.
WHAT I DO
I've have been thinking a lot recently about optimizing my productivity by managing my energy rather than my time, and I’ve given some thought to what gives me energy in order to ensure that my passions are aligned with my job description in my next role, and it has been helpful to me to think through my most energizing work in my past roles:
MOST ENERGIZING WORK AT MAXWELL
Community + Conversations - Understanding the technology and insurance landscape, steering conversations and positioning Maxwell at the forefront, connecting with influencers, speaking and writing, sourcing potential distribution and technology partners, planning and attending and speaking at events.
Empowering startups to understand the landscape, align their value prop with their prospects, make a splash in announcing our partnership, and communicate their value internally and through the marketplace.
Empowering established players rethink their brand, positioning, customer pain points and go-to-market strategy, announce our partnership and launch new initiatives.
Building a community around the Maxwell Platform - Partner summit planning and emceeing, helped with the launch of the Maxwell Clubhouse, in-person relationship management with influencers, prospects, current partners, social media management, thought leadership
Building a powerful culture within Maxwell - recruiting / interviewing people, industry ‘best places to work’ awards, mentorship programs, culture committee, onboarding and training interns, project and matrix management
Branding and launching new initiatives - Maxwell Marketplace, Tempo, Maxwell Clubhouse
Learning about healthcare, insurance, HR, fintech, wellness, and entrepreneurship
MOST ENERGIZING WORK AT HEALTHJOY
Pivot to new market - Marketing messaging, design, and positioning overhaul, persona development, influencer introductions and relationship management, funding announcement
Strategy development, launch and iteration - Built channel sales playbooks from the ground up, including: Kickoff (Stakeholder buy-in) | Launch (Partnership announcement, training and pipeline development, salesforce reconfiguration) | Grow (marketing assets, client sales, partner feedback) | Expand ( lead generation, case study development,
Partner enablement - Working closely with partners to help them reframe their value prop in sales and recruiting, win new business, maximize revenue from their current customer relationships, and retain clients.
Learning about AI, machine learning, and healthcare cost containment.
WHAT'S NEXT
I’ve had exciting conversations with larger technology companies looking to align with a new market, startups looking to grow and scale - both within the benefits space and otherwise, and inbound consulting inquiries for contract and freelance work.
Perhaps most exciting to me are the conversations I’ve had with investment firms, accelerators, incubators and consultants. I love the idea of working with entrepreneurs to help them grow. This idea becomes especially enticing to me at scale in the ability to connect with and impact a network of companies and the firms and advisors invested in their success.
Here’s what I’m looking for:
Opportunities to connect a community and develop and scale platform initiatives at innovative, mission-driven, early-stage investment firms.
Opportunities to work directly with entrepreneurs and connect them with ideas, resources, and tools to reach their next stage of growth
Opportunities to leverage my experience sourcing and scaling partnerships
Opportunities to work on hard problems and collaborate with inspiring people at mission-driven organization
I struggle with objectively good problems: I have too many interests and experience that is broadly applicable. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I have identified a few themes that are important to me in my search:
Leveraging niche knowledge: Both the healthcare and B2B technology space have a steep learning curves and there are very few examples that can speak the language of both sectors. Though I could be convinced to step away for the right role, I consider the combination to be a niche strength and I would love to leverage and further develop that experience in my next role. I’m confident I know enough to be dangerous, but the more I learn, the more I realize how much more I have to learn.
Culture: I’m looking to join a mission-driven organization that puts their core values first and integrates their mission and their values in every initiative. I’m looking for a collaborative environment with people inspired by their work and each other and a culture that enables their people and partners to to be their best selves.
Potential for impact: I want my work to make an impact on the people I work with and the company I work for, as well as the industry I work in. I want my ideas to change perspectives, and I want other ideas to inform my own. I want my work to be a force for good.
Scalability: I want to constantly become more efficient, and more effective, and iterate on my initiatives. I want my work to be relevant today, but also as the company grows. I want to build strategies that drive growth, and remain relevant and helpful at every stage.
Learning + growth: I don’t want to operate in a bubble or just iterate on skills I know I can already execute. I want to work on hard problems and collaborate with people smarter and more experienced than me to test new ideas and develop new skills. I want to learn from mentors and a network of companies and founders doing inspiring work.