Titles

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their best wishes and congratulations for my change in roles within AES. My favorite comment was definitely “Mucho Bueno El Presidente!” I just want to take a minute and write my thoughts mostly for myself, but hopefully they are of interest or help you in a small way as you move through your professional journey. 

To be honest, when we first reorganized our company structure, I did not think much about the title. Mark, Zak, and I continue to make most key decisions as a group. I can count on one hand the number of times we have not reached consensus on a tough decision over a quick huddle in almost a decade. Some decisions, of course, need to be slept on and chatted about the next morning. My point is that this is about all of us working as a team, not one person making big decisions alone. It is, and will continue to be, about everyone listening, collecting facts and emotions with regards to a situation and executing as best we can at that moment. 

It will take some time to adjust to the new title. Just the other day I introduced myself as the Operations Manager on purpose. With time and some family events going on, I have started to reflect on it a lot more. Firstly, I am not the Operations Manager anymore. That is Mark's role, and he is going to be outstanding at it. Which means, in turn, Zak's responsibility to the projects in the field will increase. In this sense, we are a typical small to medium business story:

Step one; Take a few hardworking, reasonably smart people and start a company.

Step two; Grow at a prodigious rate, both from a revenue and personal standpoint.

Step three; Through that process, learn a ton on the fly, hurdle most, and hit some challenges head on. Incredibly fun! 

Fast forward almost a decade later: life is extremely busy and everything seems to be about processes and policies more than I ever thought was possible. Now here is the interesting part, the next step is really hard, but worth it and 100% necessary: Let go of many of the tasks and roles that made you successful in the first place.

What my move to the role of president really confirms is that we have grown to a point where there is an opportunity for everyone in the organization to step up to the next level in their personal and professional development. Personally, I am very excited that we have achieved this stage in our growth and I am eager to lead this incredible team as we all continue to grow.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank everyone who has been part of this journey and has supported and taught me so much through the last 20 plus years. Without the lessons, friendships, and sometimes tough feedback, I would not be who I am today. 

Best wishes to your families and in your personal development. 

Thanks, 

Kevin