What I Did Over Summer Vacation

With the start of a new school year, we all wonder where summer vacation went. It goes by so quickly. Time to take a pause and reflect at where we started in May and where we ended up as of Labor Day weekend, 2012. It’s all about professional development, being a life-long learner, and collaborating with others.

We’ve come a long way, together. While you read my list, start creating one of your own. As we go into the end of Q3, I guarantee you will realize how much you have already achieved.

Here’s my list of what I accomplished over summer vacation 2012. And it doesn’t have a thing to do about meeting sales quotas or generating revenue. Yes, that’s part of the equation, too. In the end, however, we aren’t our bottom lines. We are our core ethics and values, which impact the kind of people we meet along the way, the nature of business relationships we create and nurture, and the types of people we are.

I published a book.
I’m writing an e-book on entrepreneurship.
I joined several C-level peer business groups and we met in person as well as maintaining a vibrant and creative collaborative relationship online.
I became a mentor for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program (I-Corps).
I mentored a team at TechArb8, Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Michigan.
I created a webinar series.
I gave a seminar on technical selling and pitching to venture capital firms at the University of Michigan.
I conducted a CEO roundtable for Renaissance Executive Forums.
I made three major pivots in my business model.
I participated in the Sales Shebang think tank summit in Boston.
I realized I can do a far better job marketing and selling myself than anyone else can.
I engaged the services of a brilliant web designer who increased the level of engagement across all my sites and is a super sounding board for me.
I realized that technical entrepreneurs do, indeed, engage in social media.
I’m starting my webinar series next week.
I took risks and made decisions that needed to be made.
I drew my personal line in the professional sand. Again.
I figured out that regardless of how famous people are, they are first and foremost people and it’s up to me to decide whether they are a good fit, or not.
I’m enjoying all the new friends I’ve made, in person and via social media, who are engaging, have great personalities, and are willing to collaborate.
Once again, I see each day that communication is the hallmark of humanity.
My personal core values have always been, and remain: ethical behavior, respect, integrity and trustworthiness.