There are numerous types of management, many of which I have engaged in over the years. There’s project management, risk management, change management, knowledge management, and failure management, among others. Each provides value at various levels of most organizations. Since my retirement in May of 2010, I have been managing a one-man show. In that time I have been through several iterations of a business plan; an attempt to develop an offering that will earn me a modest income while doing something challenging, interesting, and at least moderately important – in my estimation. Each iteration represents a risk, a change, a project, and (damn it!) a failure; a miscalculation in my assessment of the business climate or the value of taking a particular path (ostensibly) forward.

Regardless, I have been able to pick myself up, lick my wounds, and continue on. I’d like to think each of these “failures” has also brought about a modicum of learning and a better assessment of the climate in which I’m operating. Only time will tell. In the meantime I’m also learning how to chronicle what I’m experiencing in this blog. I can’t say it’s been easy, but it most definitely has been interesting and instructive.

When I first retired, I wasn’t really prepared to go but I was happy to leave the organization I was working for and I wasn’t terribly interested in working for a large organization again. I have changed my mind. I am a Knowledge Management professional with years of project and risk management experience. I am a lifelong student of process and change and I am a huge supporter of the concepts of distributed leadership and technology as a tool for greater workplace democracy. I strongly believe a change every bit as powerful, disruptive, and revolutionary as the Industrial Revolution is currently in its formative stages and those organizations and individuals who recognize what is happening − and respond to it intelligently − are best positioned to take advantage and even provide leadership.

Doing so requires being a little bit fearless and a little bit calculating. It requires having a sound strategic approach and a tactical plan that provides for turning on a dime when necessary. If you think you’re ready to take the steps that will move your organization forward, and you need a little coaching and assistance to avoid some of the pitfalls, consider talking to me. As the caption says, above, I have nearly 50 years of experience . . . both in small business and large, international enterprises. You can contact me numerous ways, including by filling out a few fields here.