family – TRUE NORTH TEAM CONSULTING

Global Reckoning Period – Adapt or Die II

It’s like a bad sequel. Groundhog Day: Return of Ned Flanderson (sans Bill Murray).

Just when you thought we were turning the corner to stop the gore and the killer had disappeared, we stumble, trip and allow for the villain to catch back up.

We have now entered into the eye of the storm. It’s quiet. Too quiet. And peaceful. But just you wait.

Experts and past leaders knew a pandemic was well within the cards. Luckily, we were prepped for past threats in SARS and Ebola. When the world watched China and Europe get decimation, we hesitated, thumbed our nose and got crushed.

Instead of a World War II-like rallying behind our leaders and mission, our Fake News fragmentation and direction for states to figure it out independently kicked in.

Sadly, the fact that it’s a crucial election year and prospects of a depression took precedence over public health and getting mass testing and herd immunity to where it needs to be.

“Liberation” of our freedoms, opening up non-essential businesses and protesting from close distance is the obvious death trap. Just ask John from Ohio. Oh wait…

No, we won’t save ourselves from UV light or drinking bleach. Please don’t try it (although do go outside – sunshine helps your mental psyche, although it won’t defend much against viruses).

The U.S. (and much of the world similarly) has now far eclipsed the quickest unemployment rate drop. Time and decisions made by all of us will tell whether we eclipse the peak rate of 24.9% during the Great Depression. Hopefully those affected will learn valuable new skills and trades in the meantime while growing relationships at home to evolve and come out of this stronger.

The economy is vital to us all, but we have to trust the scientific experts and the math (see Domo’s live trend visuals). A few weeks of apprehensive business openings isn’t going to be worth the collateral damage we face by being premature and negligent.

Chances are, many more of us have had it than we know. We need mass testing and antibody testing to tell us that as and we still don’t understand what level of exposure (if possible at all) we need to have had to mitigate the threat of a second mutated bout.

We’re working feverishly to enable a vaccine but best case scenario to get one is by almost all accounts is a year from now – around April 2021. Then it has to be mass distributed to the public.

Life as we knew it in terms of going to the flights, concerts, games, bars and restaurants we so loved won’t be the same. We’ll have to adapt to the new normal, even after the vaccine.

We are seeing heroes and valiant, selfless acts happen all around us. It’s the medical, grocery, delivery workers and average Joes going to get groceries for their elderly neighbors that are making the difference and deserve to benefit when the dust settles.

If we’ve learned anything through this, it’s the danger of not educating and equipping the poor and ignorant. If we don’t give everyone access to accurate information, health care and the means to work and live, everything else is threatened. Billionaire Mark Cuban (story of past encounters with him to come) has been a voice of reason for the people, making a public play for trickle-up vs. trickle-down economics.

Maybe we will swallow our pride and step up together when it counts.

Regardless, the shark will be stalking the shores and connected rivers beneath the surface.

Lessons in Rejection

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Red Wings, Baltimore Orioles, Sporting Kansas City, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Saints & Pelicans (among others pictured above): what do these represent? All, the latest and greatest clients of Sponsorship Buddy Inc. I, as the lead hunter, should be out celebrating in the streets to land these huge, globally embraced and recognized team brands as clients of our disruptive new platform, right? Not so fast, my friend.

Early entrepreneurial life is not glamorous (nor is the sports industry). Over the past 20 months, I’ve had to learn all kinds of new skills, competencies, and levels of resiliency and discipline. I set out with a goal of transforming the sponsorship industry in much-needed fashion for the better to help create more transparency, streamlined communications, a better client experience and improvements in quality of life. In doing so, I hoped to make my mark as an innovator, disruptor, and difference-maker and put it all on the line to do so (personal life, relationships, financial stability).

Full disclosure, it’s been the most challenging period I’ve had in life and there have been some big ones. While persistently searching out believers in my network, I’ve been aggressively pursuing careers and been so close on fantastic opportunities in sports or tech in Denver, San Francisco and here in Salt Lake City, only to be passed up on at the finish line. My closest contacts have seemingly written me off while it’s been impossible to fight off bouts of despair, depression and not feel like a failure.

One of my key strengths is my resiliency, persistence, and aversion to quitting. I thought the industry would snap up this relatively inexpensive tool but learned that it was going to take completing the marathon to change the game.

Back when we were looking for our 1st major league client after the Utah Jazz (beta customer of ours), I leaned on my former group in the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been notably innovative. In speaking with Mya Donald, activation lead for the team, I said something along the lines of, “I know this is new and daunting, but this can not only put the Grizzlies on the map as a leader in the space, but do great things for your careers.” The Grizzlies bought in, embraced the tool, and four weeks ago, Mya was on-stage as a finalist at NBA league meetings citing us as a key piece to the team’s peer-nominated Relationship Management Program of the Year. To add validation, the winners of the award, the Cleveland Cavaliers, known not only for being runner up in the 2016-2017 NBA Finals, but also for a notable Goodyear Jersey Patch Campaign and innovative 365-day activation approach have followed suit as our 5th client in the most innovative of all sports leagues (NBA).

Taking excerpts like these to market, we’ve now established ourselves as an industry-recognized brand with success stories throughout the major and minor leagues, not to mention being in the process of signing our 1st brand and agency clients. We accomplished our set growth and vesting goals a year ahead of time and have solidified our brand and platform as a force with huge upside from here while maxing out my equity shares in the company.

As we look to solve the sponsorship industry’s communication issues one client at a time, I’ve realized that I have a long ways to go to become a great communicator myself. I realized that my emails, like everyone’s texts or emails from time to time, can be misinterpreted and come off the wrong way. Instead of leaving tone, reasoning, and objectives up for interpretation, I insisted on a face-to-face meeting to speak my mind, and after a 2nd fishing trip meeting to close out the summer and further collaborate on ownership stake and employment terms. I’m now about to be in a much more secure place while being in control of day and destiny.

Lessons learned: don’t take rejection to heart. It only takes one (you). Even when everyone else loses faith in you, what you believe in and set out to do, you can accomplish anything with determination. Be mindful, self-reflective and don’t be afraid to ask for constructive feedback, advice or someone else’s time to hear you out.

Surviving on an Entrepreneurial Wild West Island.

After weeks of back-and-forth months after my consulting deal was up, we were at a crossroads of a) parting ways with only the entrepreneurial experience to show for it for b) forging a partnership, potentially lifelong. Both sides have nearly walked away at different times and everyone knew it was decision time, this was make or break and the call was going to be tense. That “Castaway” feeling of I’m alone, trying to scratch and claw my way to survival, hoping someone will venture into the vicinity and throw me a life raft can feel very real.

Doubts can be constant. Today’s social media age make peer comparisons dangerous. Why am I at point X when I’ve invested this much into myself whereas my former cohort John or Jane Doe is at point Y? Trust in others and myself with belief in the ability to turn up calculated returns is something I’ve banked on for years. But sometimes it feels like being stuck in the ocean trying to fight the current of a riptide, not going anywhere and expending energy reserves quickly.

Egocentrism is the inability to understand any perspective but one’s own. In this country, never has this come more into question than today’s political and social environment. Why should I think about someone over there when my own quality of life is in question? What happens when those relationships you’ve invested in and trusted would work out instead turn out quiet or egocentric? You’re left to your own story and ingenuity, losing hope with line after line being cast out only to be brought back with nets empty.

Despite better reason and needs to meet, we made the trip to Arizona for a wedding at a lavish venue, the JW Marriott of Tuscon pictured below. Sacrifices were made to get there – a bag of sandwiches made to avoid having to stop for food, not staying at the host resort and instead choosing a Marriott nearby. Bootstrapped startup life personalized.

JW Marriott Tuscon wedding photo — Alli & I before the wedding @JW Marriott Tuscon

After catching up with the Joneses, and being there to celebrate the big commitment day for the newlyweds, we took a day trip to the famous wild west town of Tombstone. Despite all the Hollywood takes, never was story given due justice authentically. The Boothill Graveyard was filled with stories of men that met their fates through every means from defending their honor in gunfights at the OK Corral to getting poisoned and everything in between and their stones were stolen over time by gravestone robbers looking to get their hands on valuable relics. This made me think, how does one avoid the fate of George Johnson pictured below, who was hanged by mistake? “He was right, he was wrong, but we strung him up and now he’s gone.”

In a brutal town where the odds are stacked against you like Tombstone, George may have been on to something in life. Maybe he was looking like one of the few who’s investment was going to pay off in a big way. However, his story was lost and he became known instead for his curious cause of death. George hadn’t secured himself to avoid the traps laid down all around him and succumbed to a noteworthy fate.

On the scenic way back in Navajo country (another example of a people pushed aside), we stopped at the picturesque Horseshoe Bend in the Glen Canyon area of northern Arizona (featured above). I looked out and felt like I was stuck on that rock island pushed out further and further by the sands of time, with a storm coming nonetheless.

Months after the fact and despite undue strife, my partners came through for me on my concessions and I officially tied the ownership knot. Lessons learned include not making assumptions and instead communicating better and building and executing sound social and business contracts. Don’t be afraid to be real and speak to feelings and emotions as it leads to more authentic connections. I went from fighting the riptides to grabbing a line out and back to the island. Now, it’s a matter of navigating around the hangman’s noose and traps while continuing to better equip and target those lines cast with the hope of netting that meaningful storybook foundation off the island.

Ever feel that way?

How to know who won’t leave you on an island.

We live in a social media driven world where our best Friends, Connections, Contacts, Followers and Matches are a click or two away. Because we’re so accustomed to living the “American Dream,” keeping up with the Joneses, and subjecting ourselves to the rigors that accompany these conquests, we’re content keeping up through surface-level digital footprints and sporadic, quick in-person or phone interactions. How many times per day do the, “How are things?” – “Good. You?” surface-level, efficiency-driven interactions play out? We think we know what’s going on, but all we just know what people want portrayed out there because we don’t expend the time to go deeper.

Thousands of contacts connected within a few clicks but how do we know who will come through for us when it’s on the line? Who’s willing to take the time and put in the energy themselves to go the extra mile for you when you’re in a time of need – and then actually follow through?

We’re at an ugly crossroads in America. We see it amongst all the political dissension. We see it as mental health traumas rise. We fight over resources to the point of disassociation with those closest to us. We can’t go deep ourselves, so how could we go deep for others? Are we in it for status or the good of human kind?

Sandwiched in-between two personal quests for ownership after putting it all on the line, I took a trip. Despite better financial judgement, I joined college friends south of the border for the sake of a friend who’s always had the ability to go deeper (Kaveh is pictured right with our chauffeur Carlos).

After some tropical guy’s weekend introspection, I came to some harsh realizations. I’m great at the surface level stuff, but like many guys, I have trouble talking about feelings, needs, concerns, etc. I’m too trusting that if I put it all out there for you, that you will then come through for me. I learned that I try to formulate solutions for everything and in doing so, force things when the square pegs will never fit into the round holes.

With that said, though, I learned that sometimes you need to put people on the spot to realize how much you can count on them. Sometimes, you have to lean on yourself alone.

Paying it forward with no expectations is hard to do but pays big dividends. I recently watched The Kindness Diaries on Netflix, which details one man’s quest to cross the world on a motorcycle with no money relying on the goodheartedness of others. Despite lots of doubters and strifes along the way, Leon made it and repaid those with pressing needs who helped him out handsomely with something that would help get them across the hump. That begs the question, if strangers with very little can do it, why can’t we?

What can you do to interview and determine who’s trustworthy and will come through for you? What are some strategies you’ve used to dig deep and get results during times of need?

Recapping Travels: Backwards & Forwards

2 weeks, 8 flights, 20,000 Fitbit steps and approximately 7 miles per day, numerous shuttles, metro rides and even a few Uber and Lyft rides thrown in, my girlfriend and I have returned safely to Utah. Just with feet and cankles that feel like a whale carcass off of Guadalupe Island after the Great Whites found it. Long live #SharkWeek, I will refrain from mentioning shoe brands for fear of losing future endorsements.

A story of the new meets the old.

Our family on my mom’s mother’s side arrived in this country in Maine in 1607. Thanks to elaborate genealogical research done by the family, we’ve traced relatives who arrived to Casco Bay off of the Portland coast (part of the Calendar Islands, 365 in sum), not to mention more than a few from the Mayflower. While I joked with my mom about the recipe to a great nap being playing the audiobook on the Mayflower settlers in the car, it was fun to share lobster with generations of the Furlong, Leighton, and Knowlton clans dispersed across this great land. We commemorated my legendary grandfather, who passed last summer and had adopted Maine as his, for reasons we grew to know well every summer growing up.

After a quick Boston visit, reuniting with Study Australia study abroad friends in the South End and Back Bay, it was off to Europe. TAP Portugal, along with Norweigan have offered great deals from certain locations (keep an eye out on Twitter for these), which we capitalized on over Hawaii or South America.

To avoid ridiculous roaming charges, it was Airplane Mode from then on (except for emergencies). Here’s to testing the claim that millennials can’t operate without consistent WiFi and outlets.

Chebeague Island, one of the Calendar Islands located in Casco Bay outside of Portland Maine. Genealogically traced relatives back to the Mayflower. This group landed in Maine in 1607.

Washington spotted at the Boston Common.

Starý královský palác – the old palace at Prague Castle looms, like the clouds. Our relatives moved from Bratislava before the Czech/Slovakia split two generations ago.

Wandering through Barri Gotic (the Gothic Quarter) of Barcelona.

Taking aim at the unknown at São Jorge Castle in Lisbon.

Although my Airbnb “mom” in Prague might tell you otherwise, it worked out okay without WiFi in foreign speaking lands, despite being a 1st timer on a number of fronts.

Once a property of the U.S.S.R. with major city statues of Stahlin, Czechoslovakia split from the red grasp in 1989 and a few years later, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (where my father’s mother’s Demovic relatives hailed) split from each other a few years later. Not more than a few years ago, Prague was supposed to be the place to go to live like a king on the cheap. Not so much anymore as the secret is out. The history and architecture is amazing, walkable, and German-like food and beers are still cheap though (under $2 at most places for premium local beers).

On to Barcelona, where we felt the ramifications of an airline services strike that started in France (see previous blog post). Thanks to Marriott Rewards, we stayed at a hotel so modern that we didn’t figure out how to turn on the lights until we checked out. Glass, Palm tree motif and live foliage throughout. My kind of place minus the uppity service. And oh, the pool:

We spent five nights soaking in the infectious laid-back culture, the modern (read: oh-so topless) beaches, tapas (too many good places to rely on recommendations) and Gaudi influence of all the different neighborhoods and their tiny, walkable corridors. We met some newlywed Americans while wearing my authentic Nike USA Soccer polo (from Team USA), Californians in Portland who happened to be big Timbers fans that checked out Camp Nuell (F.C. Barcelona stadium) backstage. No peanut gallery comments while taking US&A photos around town. My New Orleans Hornets dry fit the day before got more banter from an enthusiastic NBA fan yelling across the Metro stop for 20 minutes about his love for basketball, us, and mostly himself.

Our Barcelona Renaissance hotel & pool view.

Because our flight was round-trip via Prague, we had to fly back there despite our Lisbon connection being only an hour away. We made the best of it by stocking up on more Czech Absinthe. We were pretty worn by the time we touched down in Lisbon, and the WiFi-less Metro to walk all over a town filled with cobblestones with slopes like San Francisco to find our Airbnb was a chore. We made the best of the next morning, checking out an ancient castle in scenic Lisbon, grabbing a local bite, a few gifts and a real sweat before our flight of which we made by the narrowest of margins after getting lost on the walk back.

My takes? Yes, millennials can survive in unfamiliar lands (nearly) devoid of WiFi. With a little bit of Spanish, some luck and a sense of adventure, we proved that. The Spanish and Portugese are tremendous folks, but lack the sense of hospitality that we have here (it wasn’t just that I was wearing my new FC Barca shirt on the TAP Portugal flight back with Portugal just making it to the Euro Cup Championship). Using plastic is a chore unlike in the States. Living like a local via Airbnb is the way to go, doing more than the tourist traps even if it means getting lost in a neighborhood etc. while getting to know the Metro to save $. Airports were much easier to navigate there then here (I didn’t have issues until having to go through Security twice in Boston on the way back). JetBlue rocks kind of like Southwest used to.

It was quite the adventure, getting acclimated with the lineage on and mostly off-the-grid. With a good international cell/WiFi service, a Tim Ferriss “4-Hour Workweek” lifestyle can be had rich in life experiences in places where you can find new perspectives, which was fully put into view when arriving back in a country full of mass shootings and race wars.

Obrigado (“thanks” in Portugese).

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