Within my first month of arriving in the states, I had begun to lay the foundation for a life with no boundaries. In addition to securing a great deal on an apartment, to my delight my application for a sales position for a top online marketing firm had been accepted! Last thing on my list was to send my partner home on a plane back to London for failing to find employment – or his genitals for that matter (which BTW, I later found in my purse)! I was now settled, I was employed, and I was completely solo – just the way I liked it!

Looking back, I now realize that even though I had an impressive background in sales, bundles of determination, and never short of confidence – I had no idea what was in store for me, or whether I would make the cut. New country, new job, new industry, and a whole new language – TEXAN! Yikes!

Admittedly this was rather overwhelming and a little intimidating. However, I channeled these early feelings of anxiety into a determination to succeed. I got my head down, got to work and managed to continuously exceed the average quota of my fellow co-workers.  Succeed I did, in that regard. But my ultimate goal was to excel!

Evidently, this chapter of my journey was by far the least challenging. As emphasized before, my intent of becoming the highest performer out of the group was hardly unknown territory. I could sell anything if I truly believed in what I was selling. Confidence was far from lacking. So far, this was child’s play!

It was now time to step up and fast forward my learning. At this stage of the journey, I knew I must leave my comfort zone and stretch my capabilities and substantially increase my knowledge. As unsurprisingly, it appeared that I didn’t know everything after all! In fact, at this stage of the game – I knew absolutely nothing!

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A few weeks ago we unveiled the some ideas for the new Westchase Technology Center. We’re still interested in your thoughts on opening a Coffee Groundz location plus a co-working space in the Westchase District, so leave your comments there or here.

Over the past few weeks, a dedicated team here at the Labs have worked on the new website for the building. We’re proud to announce the new site is up and running! Check it out at www.westchase-techcenter.com. If you’re interested in leasing information for the Westchase Technology Center please contact us via the website.

We look forward to expanding the technology hub in our area and hope you all enjoy the new website.

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During my last three years in the Army Reserves, which were post 9/11, I learned a valuable lesson in staying flexible. Not, contorting my body in awkward positions, but always adapting to change. In those three years my unit was always on the verge of being deployed overseas; mainly rumors and internal rumblings, though. Our Commander would always say to us, “Stay Flexible”.

No organization can truly survive without changes. We are no different here. Over the last few months and even weeks, we’ve seen dramatic changes. It can be scary, exciting and overwhelming at times. The thing to remember is, like our Commander said, to be flexible.

If you’re fortunate in these times to still have a place of employment, that means not resorting to the lame “that’s not my job” excuse. If you’re a recent graduate or looking for employment, that means that the job you’re seeking or applying for isn’t the only job you will most likely be doing.

Over the years I’ve had one primary job title, website designer & developer. That of course means I design websites and code them out for the web. Is that all I do? Heck no. There are plenty of people in our organization and in yours that wear multiple hats, nothing new about that; it’s reality. One hour you’re coding a website the next you’re helping your co-worker with some desktop support issue(s). It’s basic teamwork. It’s the same thing in the military. You pick your primary MOS (job) but you’re tasked out to do multiple jobs.

Chris Brogan recently posted on his Overnight Success series about The Competition. “No one ever won a race by looking sideways. They look ahead…” I can add to this, with respect to organizational change, that you can’t make successful transitions in your organization if you’re looking back.

I was reading Jillian’s blog the other day when I saw a quote from Walt Disney. This same quote was the basis for the movie Meet The Robinsons. It’s a great piece of advise if you want to get ahead.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We’re always exploring and experimenting.”

So Keep Moving Forward everyone!

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