Be Curious. Find Out. Do Something. Never say 'If Only'.

A need for acceptance

Always wanting to be accepted, it took me until I joined the British Army at 16, determined to prove that I could make a difference and seen as someone that could be relied upon in challenging times. Everything was progressing well as I became the youngest physical training instructor in the Army at 17, had undertaken an 18 month active service tour and then experiencing life on the border (fence) as Chinese citizens tried to make their way into Hong Kong . Plus I didn't look to bad wearing a bearskin (I was in the Scots Guards). But things changed. Damage to my spine due to an incident whilst on active service, put me in and out of military hospitals for 18 months. Then I was told you're OUT! You don't (cannot) challenge this ruling.

I then realised it was back to basics and learn something new. 

Computers were enormous (in size) in the mid 80's. To get on the first rung of ladder, I had to convince my first Manager that I may have been disabled out of the Army, but I had more commitment and ability to learn than any of the other applicants. I got the job as a trainee computer operator. I then spent the next 6 years using my experience and commitment moving into different roles, increasing my knowledge and value (not always for more money).

When you have value, you [start to] get noticed. 

In the early 1990's I was asked to join StorageTek as a pre-sales engineer. This was the start of almost a decade at a company that valued its employees. I was able to travel around the world, expand my knowledge across data storage, work as a member of the teams that introduced disruptive technologies and spend time living in Colorado.

But once I had the big corner office, I kept asking myself, 'Can I do all this or am I just good at managing people who do it?'

Well the best place to prove myself was in a startup. Joining Njini and going from the big corner office to a desk the size of what I used at school, meant licking envelopes in the morning and setting the market strategy in the afternoon. It was great. The founders pushed my capability and taught me new skills. Launching this UK company in North America was really fulfilling. 

Now I needed to use those skills elsewhere.

I had built my network and more regular offers to join other companies were coming in. Symantec was my next stop. A European role in product marketing, soon turned into running the team. Never tired of challenging the status quo, we introduced new planning models. That turned into a new role looking after all the insights and competitive intelligence worldwide. Being mentored by the CEO was the icing on the cake.

I'm perfect, but something was wrong, with me.

I have a trait about being a perfectionist. I'd always had the ups and downs of life, but there seemed to be more downs (mentally) due to my trait to strive for perfection and constantly doubting my capability.. I had to step away from the pressures and stress of work  and get treatment. I learnt that talking about mental health concerns helped and having a network of friends who are there to help, was as important as having a network of business colleagues.

I'm damaged goods, would businesses [still] want me?

Mental health issues never go away, you just learn to live with and manage them. Following a very encouraging period as an industry analyst at IDC, I wanted to get back to an environment and grow another company. Clearswift recognised my value to help transition them to a new market and as a team we succeeded. The team worked well together and valued everyones contribution. I saw this as a clear example of leadership and collaboration from the top (CEO).

Why do it for one when you could do it for 14!

Following a rewarding time at Clearswift, the network effect reared its head again. Being asked to build the GTM strategy at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence , would prove if I had acquired the skills to bring together 14 [acquisitions] companies under a single brand and operate with synergy. This was challenging, I learnt about mis-communication, historical barriers to change, multi-generational views of success, individual brand loyalty as well as the need to change, willingness to collaborate, optimism to create and the enthusiasm to be part of a team. We (yes we) succeeded and delivered a GTM strategy to the Managing Director that had the majority of the different business units whole heartedly behind it.

Time out, to go small again.

Launching a new company is fun, but you have all your colleagues relying on you to get it right, its their future. At Berry Technologies (now Noble), the challenge was applying my GTM skills to a technology I had not had previous experience of. Have you ever tried to make sense of the math for a deep learning algorithm? Dealing with private investors was new (I had done VC's and PE's previously), but the willingness to learn ran through the company. Following a successful launch, I challenged myself again, this time with Blockchain. 

Networks are forever, not just now

I joined Gospel Technology because of the confidence in me from two ex-colleagues and friends from StorageTek, that was over 25 years ago. Achieving recognition as one of only three ' Cool Vendors ' worldwide for blockchain, recognised not only my belief in the product but also the approach I took with their GTM strategy. It's also not bad when you are Salesforce.com's first investment in blockchain.

It was time to stop being an Outlier

Having always been risk-adverse, I decided it was time to extend my skills for the benefit of the many not the few, whilst also removing another "If Only" from my aspirations. Over the last couple of decades I have learnt a lot, experienced many downs, been recognised for value from many people I can call friends and revelled in the success as part of many teams. Earlier this year I created ' Synergy Six Degrees ' to provide Go-To-Market services to those that believe in my approach, the way that others have over my career.



Notes

Even after being disabled out of the Army, I have continued being active and have completed 7 marathons, many half marathons, 10k and 5k runs, ultra runs like the Jurassic Coast Challenge including being an active Parkrun participant every Saturday. I still suffer from mental health issues, but with the increase in awareness  and having a support network that starts with my family that help me when the dark clouds come over. Work experience is always priority, but education helps you and others. I have achieved a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (PDipM 2003) and a Masters of Science in Marketing Strategy (MSc distinction 2012). In addition I'm trying to give back to the leaders of the future as a STEM Ambassador helping increase careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.