Time for a Course Correction

The definition of course correction is the alteration of a course to get back on track.

Quite often during the summers my family and I love visiting South Haven Michigan. It’s a quaint little town located on the Southwest coast of Lake Michigan. In 2011, the town was named one of the 50 Best Yachting Towns in the world by Yachting Magazine. In the center of town there’s a marina that docks some of the most beautiful sail boats and yachts I’ve ever seen. They come from all over, California, The Bahamas, Florida, and various places around the globe. The yachts travel through the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permit ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

The tricky thing about the St. Lawrence Seaway is navigating through the various locks, narrow channels and canals. Modern ships use global positioning systems to maintain continual information as to their location to navigate the various obstacles and channels. Back in the day they had to use an instrument called a sextant, which was a tool to determine the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of navigating using the stars to determine location. The ship’s navigator would have to constantly use his sextant to determine the ship’s approximate location to avoid any mishaps. Usually they were a bit off course and had to make a minor course correction. Imagine the challenge of having to navigate through the Seaway with just a simple tool and the stars for your guide. We take modern technology for granted.

Too often in our professional lives we get so focused on the “day to day” that we steer off course and lose sight of where we are and where our end point is. We’re so busy chasing our dreams that we don’t take time to check our course to see if we’re going in the right direction or if we’re in the right place. And so it was with my career, I was so focused on what I thought I needed to do that I lost track of why I was going in that direction in the first place. I was chasing another “big win”, trying to find the next startup that would be better than the last one. I never stopped to think if that was really the best course and if it really fit where I was in my life and career today.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a hell of a lot of drive, ambition, energy, and determination left in me, that’s not the point. However, I was so focused on chasing after something that was my dream 10 years ago that I never stopped to think if that dream was still applicable to my life today. Drive is one thing, being driven is another. Over the past three years I’ve gained some perspective on what is really important in my career and in my personal life. With time to reflect, I’ve realized that I’ve already acquired the “Brass Ring”. The cost was great and the risks were high, nonetheless, I’ve attained it. Although a “Brass Ring” could mean something totally different for one person than another, my “Brass Ring” just turned out to be something I already had but didn’t realize it.

I came to the realization that I needed to reflect on where I was in order to determine where I should go. So I broke out the sextant, took a look at where I was and figured out I needed to change course because the direction I was going in was wrought with too many obstacles and challenges that weren’t worth navigating through anymore.

You see, I was on a course that was determined by factors that had been established 10 years ago and not in the present-day. Everything in my life had changed from that time and I failed to reexamine my course based on current data. My advice to anyone who reads this is much like the ship’s navigator through the St. Lawrence Seaway, to check your course regularly, determine where you are and figure out if where you’re headed is the right course for you at the present time.

In order to move forward you need to determine where you are and then figure out where you want to go. It took me some time but I realized that I needed that course change. Things like high risk, long hours, little reward, and ultimate sacrifice for something that requires too many factors to line up for its success aren’t as attractive now as they were 10 years ago. Neither is chasing after something because of your ego. I looked back on my career to the times and places where I had the most reward with the least amount of risk and realized that I could have that again. I searched my soul to determine what truly gave me fulfillment in my career and where my strengths were. So I made a conscious decision to course correct and pursue a leadership opportunity back in recruiting.

I’m sure the startups will be just fine without me. The failure rate won’t go any higher or lower with me choosing to change course. The experience I’ve gained over the past 10 years will certainly come in handy in the future and the memories will always be with me. Yes, there are some risks and yes there will be obstacles, but I possess the maturity, skills, and abilities to mitigate the risks and power through the obstacles. The timing is perfect and I’m truly excited about my new endeavor.

So as I embark on this new course I hope you’ll find some solace in my advice and make a habit of checking your course regularly. Don’t allow your pursuit of a dream from the past take you so off course that you find yourself lost in the present. People evolve so you have to course correct your dreams to fit where you’re at today so you can achieve them tomorrow.