About a month ago, my colleague, fellow EMC blogger, and frequent collaborator, Steve Todd, swung by my office. "Free for lunch?" He said.
As we finished our salads, and talked about his next book, and my projects, I made a deep sigh and said, "Steve I have something to tell you. It is going to sound really weird."
"Oh, Oh," he said, "What?"
"I had a dream last night I was going to leave EMC. It was going to happen in my 20th year. Steve, that's coming up in a few weeks."
His long, lanky arms hit the table with a thud.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said.
"I know. I know. It sounds crazy in every way. I've had a few of these dreams over the years though, and they've almost always come true." I then gave him a few examples.
FAST FORWARD to last Friday ....
I got an email from Steve around 5:30pm, about some work he is doing for EMC in Russia. I replied, saying, "Are you home from vacation yet? I have news."
"I just got home. What is it?" he wrote.
I told him I was heading to dinner at my husband's restaurant, the 1790, and to meet me there with Katy (his wife), if he wanted, and I could share the news then.
A New Venture
In the back tavern, over some nice red wine, with my husband Kurt sitting next to me, I told Steve & Katy the news. I was leaving EMC, and starting my own venture -- speaking, writing and consulting on The Networked Organization, Employment Branding, Employee Engagement, Workplace of the 21st Century, and the Social Media dynamic on Leadership and Organizations.I smiled at Kurt and Katy and said, "Steve was the only one at EMC who knew this was coming. We had lunch about a month ago and I told him it could happen."
"Your dream," said Steve.
"Huh?" I replied.
"Remember, you had a dream."
I had frankly forgotten all about the actual "dream" part. The memory jolted back. I then smiled a "woman vindicated" smile, and sat back. "Whoa," I said.
So there it is, a dream come true.
... more to come ... stay tuned.
------------ Talk Back ------------
For many of my readers, that might be a bit to digest.
I'll fill in the pieces more in the days and weeks ahead, including how, exactly, it all went down. There will be tips in there for how to make an exit your dream come true as well.
And let me be clear about one thing, this move is not about EMC. EMC has never been a stronger or better company -- look at the blow out earnings we reported just yesterday. This move is about me, and my being ready to take the next move, have a broader platform, help more organizations, and be able leverage the high-speed wired world where I can do my craft at a Lake House in New Hampshire, from my new office in Westborough, MA, or just about anywhere else.
CONTEXT: Jack Mollen, EMC's EVP of HR, shared with me his view (visionary, I think) for the workforce of the future a few years ago. (I think I blogged about it here). I call his vision that of a "Fluid Workforce" -- one that could easily move inside and outside of organizations -- one that leveraged social networks, like LinkedIN, to build those paths that lead to fluidity -- one that enabled seamless shifts for the workers and didn't leave them, or the company, in shock, when the time had come to make a change.
That's it for now -- busy setting up the new office, computer, and all that.
Cheers!
-- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
@PollyPearson on Twitter
pearsonpolly@gmail.com
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