My "GIFT" approach to move forward.

This article, is not just a "Goodbye and Thank you" note, it's mostly an approach to see a silver lining in every cloud, it's an approach to seek stillness, getting clarity, manifest what we really want and with a structured way to make it happen.

31/5 was my last day at Microsoft,?yet I intentionally chose?to post today because I wanted to reflect on what's next, so instead of getting messages from recruiters and C-level executives to join in their unicorns, soonicorns etc, I wanted to avoid spam and block out the noise so I can have clarity on mind to?redefine my "3-5-10" years plan,?while producing academic research and discussing with investors and strategic partners on how we move forward with my second startup (I already had a successful?exit in the past Cyclefi ). All these by living in between Athens and Bucharest.

Hence these months helped me to get clarity, hit refresh and redefine my purpose as a person and as a professional.?I have worked since my 18 years old with an only a pause of 1,5 year during my MBA full-time studies at 西班牙Esade商学院 where I had to be fully committed. I was sure that I would find something great soon, but I needed a bit of ‘’headspace".

The way, I approached this 5 month period was literally as a GIFT, which also stands for Gratitude, Inspiration, Focus and Tenacity.

G for Gratitude: I have?been lucky enough to work in the industry I love and in one of the leading companies. 微软 has shaped a big part of my life and has helped me grow both as an individual and a professional. I couldn't be more grateful for all the things I learnt and the great people I worked with. I?would like to extend the warmest thanks to all of my Microsoft peers both in Romania and in CEE over the past several years and I will always be grateful for the moments we lived together.

I for Inspiration. ?People who have known me for many years know how I am trying ways to find inspiration from my childhood memories, academic experiences, startups, books, movies, friends' discussions and spontaneous moments. Being a son of a dad with disabilities for 17+ years?(he passed away many years ago) and witnessing my mom growing old has made me realize the significance of technology to people like them. Working in the Public Sector and being also in a customer experience role galvanized the way I think and execute. Being customer-obsessed and citizen-centric are not only core attributes of my management approach but also my main sources of inspiration.

F for Focus. As I said the past months?helped me to double-click on the very important things that are aligned with my 3-5-10 years plan. One of them is my PhD thesis (finalizing the model and choose the way I will conduct my research as well selecting the audience, while looking for relevant conferences to apply).? Moreover, speaking with the investors and my startup team members, we?have decided on how to procced?(sorry but that’s a confidential info).? Having already a successful?exit with a startup can make you arrogant, so it's essential?to be humble and understand fully the particularities of each and every entrepreneurial venture you have made, not to have ego and move forward. So getting a bit of traction and putting in order my academic life and my entrepreneurial side-hustle helped me to understand what I want to do, professionally.?

T for Tenacity. In everything, I do I?put meraki?(in Greek is? when you?doing something with soul, creativity, love & passion; not necessarily in the same order) and hard work ?so I can reach a long-term goal, despite all obstacles. The path to find?a great job that you would love to do within a top-tier company is neither easy nor linear; so it’s prerequisite to have emotional resilience to deal with rejections (if any).

Then the next area to focus was to find the company to join in. My approach was a structured one and let me walk you through it. (My MTP, Industry, Country, Company, Function).

My MTP: Peter H. Diamandis put it perfectly when he spoke about Massive?Transformative Purpose (MTP) which is what is?your clear personal statement that guides, empowers, and inspires you. My very own MTP is : "To inspire organizations adopting new technologies and to ensure that the access to technology is fully democratized and it has measurable positive impact to people’s everyday lives’’.

Industry: First of all, I had to decide to which industry I see myself. Taking into consideration, my Massive Transformation Purpose, there are 3 industries that fit in perfectly: Government, Tech and Healthcare. Yet, being actively involved in the recent elections in Greece, I realized that I do not fit in politics and thereby the option to work in Greece as a Government official was eliminated, so I was between Tech and Healthcare.

Country: Then, by living in two European cities (Athens, Bucharest) for the past months, I had to discuss with my wife to which city we would live for the next years. Putting all the pros and cons for both cities, we decided that the best city to live with my family is Bucharest. ?

Company: Then the mission, the size and the scope of the company have been important parameters and having being entrepreneur twice, worked in family business and multinationals I knew what I really wanted; namely a company which has a mission that speaks to my soul and strong focus in sustainability, accessibility,?and substantial investments in Artificial Intelligence.

Function: I wanted to move from marketing role (customer experience) back to sales (nothing can be compared with the rush and adrenaline of making a deal and see the value you bring to the customers).

So once you know what you really want, you do manifest it, you can channel all your energy and brainpower to make it happen.

Onwards and Upwards. ?The best yet to come. Life is a GIFT, when things go wrong (or you may think go wrong), apply my GIFT approach to reinvent yourself.

Enjoy a restful Sunday along with your loved ones.

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