The Napkin Plan

I needed a plan, I boarded the plane with a tough week ahead, on yet another long haul flight for work on a Sunday, my future in limbo, my work role in consultation, my kids pleased I was not around at home and my wife giving me the whatever makes you happy just go and do it speech…. (I translate this to be basically p*** off out of my hair, as long as you have paid the bills and the home heating & wifi works, just go away !), I really needed a plan, something to aim for..

All the best plans are on fag packets, right ?, well being 40,000 ft in the air, that totally scuppered my ability to doodle my ideas on a fag packet. The next best option was a napkin that my diet coke arrived on.

I set to work on the master plan, a number of thoughts racing through my small brain… I don’t really want to work, too young to retire, I love being a CIO some days, I hate it other days and want to hide when I get asked what the wifi password is, I want some me time, I enjoy fitness, sailing, football and I have a computer science background and a career of leadership learnings that has been painfully learnt over the last 25 years of work….

Well…,The grand plan was no more grander than, try and do both. Create a work life balance of advisory interim work ( I have seen a lot of s**t and heard a lot of bulls**t in my IT career as a CIO ! but also try and mix that in with my love for fitness, sailing and football and general fun ( drinking games mostly, especially the toothbrush ! )

Felt like a good plan, but how did I get there ??, first I need to agree an escape date, then I need to get qualified for sailing – aim for the ‘ticket’ – (a commercial endorsed yachtmaster offshore licence) and then somehow mingle the two, the advisory, and the sailing – could it be yacht delivery, could it be Flottila skipper, could it be M & A advisory, interim leadership or after dinner speaking with toothbrush cocktails for all….it all seemed an exciting experiment and if I could write it down, share some words, pictures, videos…who knows where the wind is going to blow this…I needed a sign to be sure….