21 - What Would You Do?

Summary

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

—Jack Welch

Mark had encountered many obstacles during his professional tenure. But the ascent of Kronos, under his guidance, had indeed propelled him to a summit of his own definition. The company became known as much for its welcoming culture as for its commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. Milestone after milestone had been achieved even as the proverbial bar was set and reset higher and higher each year. And Mark had finally became comfortable with realizing that easing away from the daily grind was a destination now loaded into his mental GPS.

But what would he do? What would he do now that he’d achieved a lifelong dream of founding his own company and subsequently guiding it (with help from many teammates) to near-unprecedented levels of success?

Mark's answer was, as was often the case, multitiered. After so many years of six- and seven-day work weeks, he was clearly ready to relax a bit. And he wanted to enjoy his family more. But, amid all that, another spark was heating up inside his gut. There had to be a way he could give back.

Undoubtedly, he believed, there had to be others within a next generation who might consider following a similar entrepreneurial path to his for whom he could provide counsel and inspiration.

Since the dawn of the concept of work, there have been entrepreneurs. From bygone eras, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford come to mind. The names Steve Jobs and Bill Gates would populate more modern lists. But for every idea that came to fruition, there were untold numbers of concepts that died inside someone's head. Most often, it wasn't that an idea lacked merit. Rather, many would-be success stories were doomed due to a lack of direction and support.

Mark's level of success had ensured that he could opt to simply kick back. He could improve his tennis and squash game, attend sporting events in really good seats, or take long walks on the beach with his wife Carolyn. And he committed to doing those things. But he also decided that he would do more. He would find a way to promote the next generation of game changers.