Rockstar Experiences

The day I realized I was going to kick off a professional services company was the day I successfully coined the term “Rockstar Box” for our demo platform, and got everyone saying it in short time. I had just finished The Professional Services Firm 50 and was jazzed and ready to go. Life became a swirl of connections and experiences that worked in rapid succession to make me jazzed to do this. But on my own terms.

I’ve noticed a huge CULTURAL gap going on. There are some great minds and wonderful people out there who are nearing the end of their career. They have “grown up” in the big business world. They have “departmental thinking” boiled into them. (Disclaimer: I started my professional career in a big company, and have been department-boy for a long time.) It’s not working well for folks who are growing up in the post-bubble, Web 2.0, culture of participation community that’s out there.

Old Ways

• Use lots of words. Make more buttons. Get lots of people to buy off. Stay within the lines. Report up the chain of command. Desk-time = work.

New Ways

• Simple. Simple. Brief. Collaborate. Lines? Get it done. Work=work.

And, of course, it goes a little deeper than this, too. It’s the same hurdle I will find myself at probably in the next 20 years at some point. I will be thinking, “Hmm, you should scale horizontally, take advantage of open source, make things simple,” and some kid will say, “Scale? There are no boundaries. Open? Oh! You mean back when there were software-only companies? Simple, old man? It’s simple.”

I like using over-the-top words. I bit into the apple Tom Peters handed out. I’m there. To that end, here is the mission for Grasshopper Professional Services:

We grow your capabilities.

That’s the mission. How? By creating “rockstar experiences” for individuals and organizations. Over the course of this blog, I’ll talk more about my experiences with creating a professional services firm, starting up a business, and everything else that seems to go along with this.

Open for business: I’d love to collaborate with you on self-improvement or organizational-improvement strategies. As for products, I’m currently offering presentations on productivity, self-development, technology for small and medium businesses, and offer lots more. We can talk about your needs and ideas.

Watch this space for conversations around self-improvement, development, professional services, start-ups, technology in small and medium organizations.

And welcome!

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