It’s certainly been a while.
And it will be a while again until I post on this blog again.
The Big News
So…
It’s obvious to those who work with me that most of my blog posts are related to (or at least inspired by) thinks going on in my day job. For the past few months, my day job as been growing as a frustration for me. I absolutely love the people I work with, but I’ve made a career out of being a change-agent and driving huge changes across companies…and working somewhere that really didn’t want to change. I was able to do the things I do within my own org - and have more influence across orgs than a lot of people thought was possible, but there were a lot of dead ends.
I often repeat a line from Leadership On The Line.
Leadership is disappointing people at a level they can absorb.
I disappointed a lot of people at a level they could not absorb.
My last day at NBCU was April 4.
The Bigger News
I do not have a next job. I will not be looking for a next job - at least in the short term.
For many, many years, a bucket list item of mine was to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington. I will start this long trek on April 20.
I’ve done enough (relatively) long backpacking trips where I feel prepared. Long walks are my happy place, and I’m looking forward to walking and thinking. A lot of walking and thinking…
What’s Next
This blog is essentially on hold until at least mid-September (when I plan to finish - that’s about as accurate is predicting 5-month ship-cycle).
But…I may blog (a little) on another platform - stay tuned here for updates on that.
And I’m going to try to document the hike with some very short videos - both on Instagram (https://instagram.com/a.weasel) and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@WeaselHikes-h3n). Both are painfully empty right now, and it will probably be a week after I start before anything shows up on either of them…but trust me.
And Then What…
I’m not going to worry about it for a while, but after a few weeks of post-hike recovery, I plan to do what linked in tells me is one of the most painful things a person in tech can do right now.
I will be looking for a new job. More on that in about 4-5 months.
Until then, happy trails
-Alan
Enjoy the journey... Alan!
Best of luck on the journey!