Pursu Growth 101

When starting college, I never had a clear professional vision. Quite the opposite, I quickly learned to narrow my focus to “academic survival mode” finding ways to get through each quarter successfully to accumulate the required credits to graduate engineering school. This simple yet effective approach helped me realize my goal.

While spending my days slogging away in the classroom, I was active on the rugby pitch during evenings and weekends learning the value of team. I discovered success in sport is not possible without supporting your teammates and taking full responsibility for your performance as it relates to position on the field and role on the team. I embraced these lessons to grow on the field of play and at the time did not realize the real benefit of these philosophies in life.

Fast forward 4 years (ok, 5 years!) I received an engineering degree while concluding a respectable D-I collegiate rugby career. This education and values I developed in the process served as a platform for accelerated professional development and achievement that was further enabled by wonderful mentors. Coincidentally, following nearly two decades of managing organizations and businesses, I realized the parallels of these early adult life learnings with the fundamental methodologies that create successful companies.

Chunk it down

Much like my scrappy approach to navigate undergraduate school, breaking your company’s vision down to the daily activity to realize targeted results that connect to strategic objectives is how you advance an organization. Although simplistic in theory, there are many distractions and (perceived) conflicting priorities that arise in business daily. Through years of leadership, I have refined my approach to chunking it down and now work with partners to focus on what matters most on a regular basis as defined by specific standards we establish together that are tied to prescriptive goals. Timely course correction and weekly goal setting keeps the business moving in the right direction.

Take care of your people

Like supporting team members on the playing field, this adage was shared with me as a young leader and goes beyond the topic of compensation and incentives. It is an all-encompassing principle related to how to treat others. Built on a foundation of respect, engagement, and trust, this maxim underscores my belief in servant leadership, which is how I approach partnership with clients helping them any way I can to ensure desired outcomes are achieved. Success is not possible without teamwork and teamwork is not possible without genuine personal connection.

You must do it

I learned I was responsible in college for developing the habits to pass coursework while competing in athletics. This concept is easy to grasp as an individual contributor transitioning from student athlete to young professional. However, somewhere in the hierarchy and organizational design of business, this sense of ownership is lost in most. To re-instill this principle, the phrase “you must do it” was repeated to me by one influential leader throughout my tenure with a company where I held various key leadership roles. Although initially met with frustration by my Ego, this messaging did not skirt their responsibility as a manager, but quite the contrary, urging me to continue to explore different ways to influence the outcome and not wait for someone else to act. This extreme ownership principle truly galvanizes team while developing individual grit, which are both integral to business success. This philosophy fuels my partnership approach. My client challenges are my challenges, and I am committed to persevere together.

Ironically, after managing many teams, factories, and companies, I certainly have not “graduated” from the game of business and continue to learn more about what I don’t know than the knowledge gained through these professional experiences. This keen awareness only feeds my thirst and excitement for learning more from everyone I connect with including partners and clients.

If you are open to the concept that business is truly a continuous education and growth journey, I am confident you will realize the reward and returns to make your vision a reality. I welcome the opportunity to share my unique approach and experiences while learning from you to Pursu Growth together!

-Ted