Musings at Altitude

Over the last 2 years while I’ve been serving in a senior staff role I’ve been dreaming of being back in an operational role, meaning back in revenue operations of some fashion.  My dreaming turned into a desperate desire about a year ago, to the point that I talked with my boss and compared being on staff of a billion dollar company after being a subsidiary President to being at the Pentagon when you were a wing commander – the minute you got on the staff you were desperately seeking a return to the mission operations where the real business excitement is.

As my yearning grew, I began consciously wearing clothing attire of operating companies all the time, and I wore one particular jacket much more than any other.  In addition to wearing the jacket, I began visiting that particular business more often and even went as far as to take a picture from the front of the building earlier this year, because I was so impressed with the image that appeared in the picture:

This picture is taken from the front of the building, and my office is behind one of those windows just above the mountains.

Back when I took this picture, I had no clue that I would possibly be back in an operating company and even more specifically I had no dream that I’d be in the very company that I had been wearing their golf sweater and staring at this picture whenever I could.

I’m smiling now in thinking about how this possibility became first a probability and now a reality.  I’m excited to be doing something that I feel is meaningful again, and I’m also incredibly thankful that my prayers have been answered to be back in the revenue operations war again.  When I was in the Air Force, I truly enjoyed my time in leadership positions, and I had the most fun in the toughest mission environments.  In business, I’m finding the exact same thing – I truly enjoy my time in operating company leadership positions, and I have the most fun in the toughest revenue operations environments.  In both cases I really struggled being in staff roles.

As I look back on my military and business carreers, I fully understand the critical importance of having mission leaders rotate onto staff to raise the mission IQ of the team at the staff level.  But I have yet to meet any mission leader that enjoyed any staff position…nor do I!