Starting, building, and growing an organization from the ground up figuratively, or from my garage, literally, is one of my proudest accomplishments.
It’s a journey that has impacted every part of my life – my personal life, my family life, the in-my-head at all hours of the night life. Through some really challenging times and some equally amazing times, there is one common theme and pulse that runs through constantly – the ability to adapt and embrace change.
Change is something that is always happening, and we as a human race aren’t known for dealing with it very well. On the road of entrepreneurship, buckle up and hang on, because it’s here whether you like it or not.
Last year I brought on an extraordinary and accomplished leader, Steve Dupee, to join BeCore as our President. I had always been the “it” guy at BeCore. For the last 19 years, whether it was sales, account management, project management, production, or even trash clean-up, I was in it. Bringing Steve in meant that I had to accept a changing of my role. Was this easy? No. Is it a decision that has thoroughly impacted my life for the better? Absolutely. One year into this change, I can ask myself, “How have I dealt with change and transition? What has worked well for me?”
Change requires that you develop new muscles. Just like the same exercise with a set of dumbbells is only going to get you so far, to embrace change you have to pick up that barbell and load it up! It’s hard at first, but as you add more reps and practice patience and gratitude for the journey, those muscles get stronger every day. Change requires the same practice – patience and small steps.
A positive mindset is also a key practice. When going through change, we don’t know what the other side will look like. We may “hope” for an outcome, but truth is, we don’t know. Positive visualizations and an optimistic outlook are so important as we go through change, and were a big part of my practice over the last year.
We also must remain emotionally balanced as much as possible. Being patient, tempering expectations, and learning how to properly deal with emotional feelings on a number of different levels is paramount to get through each day and each week productively and positively.
When bringing a new person into a team, faith and confidence is vital. Concerns are real: how are people going to relate to this person? Is the team going to buy in to this vision and new leadership? There may not be daily wins that keep the faith up, so that has to come from a deep place within you, the choice you made, and your vision for the future.
As I look back over the past year, I couldn’t be prouder of the progress we had made, or for the people we have on board. I am more excited about the future of BeCore than ever, and I love the great projects we are working on and preparing for every day. Steve has been a huge part of this, and as such, I am so pleased and honored to share that Steve is now the CEO of BeCore.
If you are in town (Los Angeles), let us know. We’d love to see you.
Mark