Some Reflections

Raise?your hand if?you’ve?undertaken some form of reflection about where you are in your life.?It’s a?natural reaction when?facing?a?challenge?that?may require you to change direction?away from?your comfort zone.??

I?certainly?have.?

As a professional,?part of my reflection?naturally made me consider where I am in my career?as well as?in?my?personal life. Balancing professional goals and family is tricky for everyone.?Weighing?up?whether?I am?in?an advantageous-enough?position to support my family and achieve?my?goals.?

I knew I was going to get fired??

The first 18 years of my career spanned?5 shipping related companies?in UK, Brazil and USA.?Each?position change?was?entirely?under my control?–?it?was my decision?after reflecting on those?new?opportunities.?Then,?16 years ago in USA,?I?just?knew?I was going to get fired.?So?I joined LinkedIn,?spent a couple of months in Peru (Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Nasca etc.)?and?in the process?reflected?on?my?previous?working environments?– what I enjoyed most and where I added most value and came up with a list.??

Starting?to?seek?a new professional?direction?(from an internet café in Cusco)?I managed to?secure?a few interviews.?

New Horizons?

The interview?which resonated?the most?was?when?I?arrived?in Paris from San Francisco, changed at the?hotel,?and went straight to the 10.00am interview above a small brasserie in the 9th?nearby?Opera & Gallerias Lafayette. 2 hours learning the?ins?and?outs?of dry bulk?shipping?voyage calculation, 3 hours/3 bottles of wine at lunch with CEO and Chairman, back to the office for more?general?discussion about?the?shipping space and?the company’s?goals?&?after?5pm?to the bar across the street where the company was holding?its?Christmas Party. Finishing at around 3am?and already feeling part of the family.?

We?have all experienced the lockdowns?

During this?past 18 months,?I have?permanently?reflected?on?my?personal?and?business?life, where we are living and questioning if?the balance?is right??

We?have all experienced the lockdowns, restrictions, frustrations with the distance from loved ones and some have?sadly?lost friends and family – all stressful?and?for those of us fortunate to?still?be here we make the most of it.?

I?realised?most of the?items?from?my reflection?16 years ago?are as valid for me today as they were then.?I’m still?with?AXSMarine?and after?this last?reflection,?I?remain?extremely content.?

A lot has changed, or has it?

While?in?the?USA?I?worked?in?companies born and sold in the early 2000’s.?

AXSMarine?was?born?over 20 years ago?in the dotcom-boom!?and I can identify?a lot of parallels with?today’s business environment,?making?me wonder how things would pan out?for?AXSMarine?if we?had just been formed as a start-up and had to grow?from scratch?and compete?now??

Many things came to mind, SaaS/DaaS?is now mainstream, the internet?is way faster,?securer?and truly global.?Everyone is a?‘software developer’, there are a lot of new ‘original’ ideas [remember?‘The?Internship’?],?expectations are?extremely?high. As the new kid on the block,?we would?need to?make a lot of noise,?arrange?meetings with?everyone, and travel to see?and?entertain?them?(oh!?).?Everyone?is?a potential client and engaging them on trial?to gain feedback?would?be?our primary?objective.?We?would call and call and meet and meet and make social media noise using LinkedIn?mainly,?short of announcing every?single?meeting as a success we would post a lot of ‘successes’.?

The?more people you tell?the same story?to, the more people believe it?

Ideally the?perception?of client uptake we create?becomes?our reality?so?the FOMO factor?can?kick in.?If?we?were able?to onboard?many?clients and?deliver on all our promises?from?the start – then I think we'd have a chance to?achieve?a?comparable?level of success.?

Then I?realized?the?whole?world?has sped up. ROI?expectations?are?way?shorter, client expectations?way?higher,?room for error is smaller,?clients have?already?spent time?implementing?working?SaaS?solutions into their day-to-day?so switching costs are higher for them.?

You can’t buy friendship,?experience,?time, or?invent client?stories?

I (we) have?invested a lot of time and effort on all of this?to the benefit of our loyal customers and users, making many friends along the way.?I always say that our happiest user is our best salesperson which is why we continue to re-invest?heavily?into our business and our?Account facing teams.??

Concluding?that?with these?reflections?I am?incredibly happy?to be part of an amazingly?ambitious, profitable,?progressive, successful?company #AXSMarine?with amazing people?who?continue?to deliver?extremely?innovative?and dare I say 'original' SaaS/DaaS?maritime solutions.??