After the dust settled on our exciting news that netlogx has been awarded an IBJ fastest-growing business award (see last blog) I realized, on reflection, this is the culmination of the endeavors of the prior 12 months and the hard work of our team members. The business is certainly beginning to head down a path of independence which has coincided with similar progress for my oldest son who has embarked on Drivers Education classes which is his own path to independence.

Pausing to assess these developments enabled me to recognize the similarities between raising a child and nurturing a business. In the early days neither child nor business did anything that I was not 100 percent aware of, and completely involved in, now both have their own personalities and connections to the community that far exceed my individual reach.

Baby Steps:

Carrying this analogy further I realized that in the early years the business provided many challenges and there were a lot of questions and ideas to evaluate and wrestle over always leaving me wondering if we were doing the right thing. This equates to the fog of sleepless nights with a new baby and checking in with friends, family and books to see what was normal and to be expected.

Toddlers:

However, the baby becomes a toddler and sleepless nights evolve into endless questions and occasional tantrums which with hindsight make the baby years look easy. The company’s toddler years were bringing on the first outside resources, finding ways to meet their expectations, answer their questions and establish processes by which we could all agree to move forward much like the rules for a child.

Teenagers:

So now 14 years on we are firmly in the teenage years. We have rules for the child at home, and policies and procedures for the office to fall back on. There are now many more independent thinkers to constantly challenge the status quo and very occasionally in both cases the tired answer might
be “because I said so!”

Next phase?

As with my children, I can definitely say I am proud to see netlogx take these next steps and I look forward to the subsequent stage in its development.

Backdrop

A book I’m reading for pleasure: Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy’s Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets by Buddy Valastro

A book I’m reading for business: The IBM Data Governance Unified Process: Driving Business Value with IBM Software and Best Practices
by Sunil Soares

What I’m listening to on my ipod: Different Class by Pulp

Relevant quote: “You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety” by Abraham Maslow