Earlier today, I had a very interesting phone call with a bright, highly enthusiastic (fire-in-the-belly) new business development executive. His familiarity with the information technology space is excellent. And so too is his skill at staging successful consultative processes and converting his multi-million-dollar new business prospects to sale.
What company wouldn’t want to hire this new business sales executive?
Problem is, the executive is burned out on the I/T space and he wants out. He tells me he would like nothing more than to pivot to selling green business products and services; while he has the passion for making the planet a better place to live, he knows he has neither the familiarity nor the contact base in the green space to be successful.
We all know that in this economy, the few hiring managers that have open assignments want spot-on matches to the job spec. Even if this talented sales executive has – several times over – built multi-million-dollar information technology business portfolios from scratch, his having no prior experience in the green business space may be a non-starter…
…or is it?
After listening to this executive’s concerns, I offered up an idea for him to consider:
Right now, there are tens of thousands of entrepreneurs in the world seeking seed-investment capital to start new businesses. And while the venture’s partners may be top-notch no management team completely possesses all of the familiarities an investor wants to see before cutting that first check. So entrepreneurs often mitigate the cavities in their business plans by founding an industry advisory board made up of business leaders – skilled in the art – to counsel the management team on best business practices, alert them to competitive developments or fast-moving opportunities, and help their enterprise establish a strong and unique value proposition and long-term success.
I said to this executive, think of yourself as a new business enterprise. If you know you aren’t fully versed in green business, then why not create your own advisory board to shorten your learning curve, get fully-familiar (faster) with best-practices and next-practices, and help establish the-most solid relationships with potential client-prospects.
If we think of ourselves not as executives but as entrepreneurs, we stand a greater chance of achieving our goals; that is especially the case in difficult economic times such as these. By treating his “pivot” into green business like a new venture, the executive will bridge the all-too-common gap between will and skill.
Whether between jobs or employed in a company or market space that no longer inspires, consider establishing your own advisory board to speed your transition to a career in green business.
These times call for bold action. Go for it!
Dan,
Your remarks here are right on. I would add one more piece. To get a green job, means becoming green yourself and establishing a focal point of learning in health and environment.
Getting into a topic area where you can meet up with others, learn and figure out what is relevant to your own life is what will bring you the network and employment.
Your idea of an advisory board is just that. Another forum is a coach like myself, where you can establish with a coach and define your passion and get connected into an economy that is sustainable in market and job creation.
Thanks, Lavinia!