True North: The Story

True North began during a storm.

In September of 2015, I was flying across the country for my grandfather’s funeral. He had just lost a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Somewhere between turbulence and grief, a phrase surfaced and stayed with me: true north.

My grandfather, Charles (Chuck aka Poppop to me) Furlong, grew up in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. He walked on at the University of Maine and became a standout athlete (starting quarterback and defensive back), later building a life defined by family, service, and integrity. He was an outdoorsman, a community leader, and someone whose character never bent with circumstance.

By the end of his life, he had forgotten many things — but he never lost his sense of right and wrong. His compass never failed.

When I landed, my mother told me her funeral remarks would center on the idea of “true north,” and that I would need to deliver them because she couldn’t. The coincidence felt too precise to ignore. Something clicked.

That moment didn’t start my career — it reframed it.

Choosing Direction Over Momentum

I learned early that it’s possible to move fast and still be lost.

Despite my grandfather’sI chose a different path than the one my grandfather walked, leaving behind my own playing ambitions to pursue the business side of sports. From Michigan to Memphis to Washington, D.C., I found myself inside high-pressure environments where performance, competition, and ambition were the norm.

Sports, business, and academia are proving grounds. They push limits — physical, mental, and ethical. I was fortunate to work alongside extraordinary people, learn from legendary organizations, and see what excellence looks like up close.

I also saw the cost of misalignment.

I watched talented people burn out. Organizations drift from their values. Teams optimize for growth while quietly eroding trust. Momentum without direction is a dangerous thing.

Over time, a simple belief formed: life is too short to spend it working with bad people, for hollow goals, driven by toxic motives.

From Experience to Practice

True North exists because of what those years taught me.

I’ve worked across professional sports, media, events, and technology — advising teams, launching businesses, building revenue systems, and helping organizations navigate inflection points. I’ve been in the trenches of early-stage startups and inside some of the most visible brands in sports and entertainment.

I helped turn an wireframed idea into a category-defining business, launching “sponsorship asset management” at scale and despite our self-funded status, generating $10M in lifetime value. Elsewhere, I’ve helped organizations rethink strategy, sales, partnerships, marketing, brand positioning and growth — often when the path forward wasn’t obvious.

But the work was never just operational.

The real value came from helping people pause, recalibrate, and choose direction with intention.

What True North Means Now

True North is not about having all the answers.

It’s about clarity.
It’s about integrity under pressure.
It’s about building things — careers, teams, companies, lives — that are sustainable, human, and aligned with what actually matters.

Today, my work sits at the intersection of leadership, business, performance, and personal direction. Sometimes that looks like consulting. Sometimes coaching. Often, it’s helping people ask better questions before they commit to irreversible decisions.

This site is a home for that work — and for the thinking behind it.

If you’re navigating growth, transition, or uncertainty, and you want a steadier compass, you’re in the right place.