People may wonder how I came to be President of my company. The short answer is that I was forced to do so because over and over again no one wanted to hire or promote me; so I hired and promoted myself. My GMAT and GPA were 30 points and .1 higher respectively than the averages at my top ten MBA program, and I got just one full time job offer (though was a very good one).
I did that for a while with some success in my first role; unfortunately it wasn't really recognized. Also for years, I tried unsuccessfully to work in executive teams in small businesses because I understood the value that could be created in them if they're managed correctly. I really just wanted to be CFO of an operating company. Fast forward three firings in four years with each job making progressively less money. Following the last one it occurred to me that I had enough to buy my own company and I did it and so far we have done well. Now I have no boss, have independent wealth, and can speak freely. In 14 months I've actually made enough to pay back all of my SBA loan if I want to do so.
The nonreligious leader I most look up to is Ghengis Khan because he didn't care about stupid things like noble bloodlines. If something or someone could move his operation forward, he found a way to make them as productive as possible instead of limiting their productivity by social constraints. For 402 years American culture has limited Black productivity in hundreds of ways and careers are no exception. And I don't say that from a bitter place; it just needs to be collectively acknowledged- especially if you're going to unlock all the value in your companies.
Other companies can put dogs in their leadership before they hire or promote West African people based off some imaginary supremacy of one group over another; any company I own will outproduce theirs because we will put people where they're most productive no matter what they look like and we will have buy-in that makes us better at solving problems.
Last year the USA had to watch Officer Chauvin hold his knee on the neck of a helpless human being for nine minutes. What most don't know is that the two worked together and when Chauvin found a coworker he hated in a bad power dynamic, he killed him in front of other cops in broad daylight on camera with no remorse. From an HR perspective we don't consider how that is a microcosm of what plays out in our organizations and companies. And had he put his knee on the neck of one of these executive dogs for nine minutes what would have happened?
(i) reasons to abandon Corporate America for small -to-medium sized business ownership;
(ii) the potential for wealth creation with search funds;
(iii) increasing diversity in searchers and search operating companies; and
(iv) having a positive social and economic impact in how acquired businesses are operated.
We have such a golden opportunity to get it right with search funds. The only way we can get there, though, is to have a willingness to share experiences -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- and listening to learn.
Thanks for sharing your experience.