Today marks my last day at Forrester Research.
As many of my colleagues tell me, I have a very eclectic background. Music, politics, technology, design, business... it was all by design, and it will continue to grow and expand.
In September, my new phase will begin when I join Jeffrey Dachis, former co-founder of Razorfish, to help him build a new company focused on developing an enterprise social software platform. I'll also be joining my former Forrester colleague, Peter Kim. We'll be working closely to help Jeff build this company.
As for Forrester, it's as strong as ever. I've worked with brilliant people before, but Forrester is certainly the largest collection of intellectual firepower I've ever witnessed. I walk away a much smarter person than I came in, and for that I am grateful. There are exciting times ahead with the Jupiter acquisition. It's a group of very talented people that are a great addition for the Forrester team.
I've learned so much from my time there. I'm a much better writer, communicator, and thinker. I was able to push big ideas into the market place. My reports about Engagement was the theme of our 2008 Marketing Forum, I was its opening keynote speaker, and I eventually won me our Top Keynote award. I've gained a unique perspective on the marketplace, perched from a location very few get to experience. And that insight makes me stronger, and well equipped for this new venture.
Now I know it's the time to act and put my ideas into practice--the opportunity is too great.
This new job is ambiguous. I don't have a job title. The company doesn't have a name. At the moment, there are only three of us. We don't know what this will become, we only have a general direction. My office will be at my house... in Austin... and in cyberspace on IM, Twitter, Facebook... To many, this recipe might spell fear. To me, it's comfortable. I thrive in the unknown--no rules, no baggage, no momentum to pull us into mediocrity. We get to build this from scratch in a thoughtful and disciplined manner. It's my opportunity to bring my engagement ideas to life and the perfect time to leverage my background to apply a design thinking approach to the way we, and our clients, do business. And I'm excited to get to work, executing on Jeff's vision, learning from his experience and a brilliant entrepreneur--a path I see myself taking in the not too distant future.
Our goal is to help companies navigate and participate in this changing world, charged with social technologies and driven by people and employees who are in control. We're looking for companies that need help navigating these waters, we're looking for partners and developers to help us build this engine, and we're looking for smart people to help us realize this vision. If you're interested, contact Jeff at jdachis at austinventures dot com.
More to come...
UPDATE: Sorry I didn't clarify, I'm going to remain in Boston.