Embracing Change, Discovering Fulfillment

Back in 2009, I decided to make a significant career change. Until then, I’d followed the academic path but decided that wasn’t what really fulfilled me. Looking back, I honestly wasn’t sure what I sought professionally, just that teaching wasn’t enough. By chance, at an American Chemical Society job fair, I received an email from Bill Smith at The Clorox Company inviting me to interview for a position. I thought, “Sure, I’ll take a practice interview.”

I joked with Bill at his retirement a few years ago, apologizing that our relationship started on a lie. The first question that I was asked was, “Are you willing to move to California?” Of course, I responded “yes,” as I was pretty sure the interview wouldn’t last long if I said no. Apparently, I did well enough during the rest of the interview to be invited to Pleasanton for a more extended evaluation, eventually resulting in an offer and a move across the country with my wife and two cats.

Here we are, about 14 years later, on my last day with Clorox. I’ve again been asking myself the same questions as in 2009, trying to understand what fulfills me. Thanks to my experiences in eight roles with thirteen different managers, I’ve grown professionally and am very different from that guy who started as a bleach chemist. I now know that I love broad, strategic problems that require creativity, analytical thinking, and interpersonal empathy to solve.

I just finished the new Michael Lewis book “Going Infinite” on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. While I’m certainly no SBF, there was a quote that perfectly related to my situation. When reflecting on his first job out of college, Sam thought, “What is the likelihood that this job I stumbled into by accident yields my highest value?” Applying the following quote to my situation:

“What is the likelihood that (Clorox) is the best option? Low. But it was pretty clear that I wasn’t going to figure it out at (Clorox). The only way to figure it out was to f*#& around and try some of these things.”

So that’s where you find me today. I’m eager to try new opportunities. After spending the last year evaluating my skills, needs, and ambitions, I’m ready for my next big change. I’m also proud to announce that I’m seeking an opportunity as a strategy/management consultant. Tapping into what’s truly engaged me over the last decade, I love putting myself in new situations, diving deep to understand different businesses, applying strong analytical thinking, and being able to communicate at a variety of levels, from the general public to the upper management of organizations. I look forward to sharing more stories here about my experiences in the coming weeks to share my insights, educate, entertain, and seek my next formal role.

But for today, my message is that our past experiences shape each of us, and often, there’s a simple, opportunistic reason we made significant choices in our lives. Welcome and be grateful for those random chances while always thinking inward about what fulfills us. Think about how to maximize your value (and values). Assess what matters most to you and how to achieve that, setting yourself up for those opportunities.