I was once asked what was the best career advice I ever received -- and it was to plan for job obsolescence every 18 months, because research showed that people typically master a job in that time period and fall into a routine.
It's a testament to Forrester that I've been happily
employed at the company for over nine years (that's 36 Internet years
or 63 dog years). I have been continually challenged, from tackling new
coverage areas, running an analyst team and the San Francisco office, to most
recently, writing the Groundswell book. I've treasured the friendship of my
colleagues and appreciated the flexible schedule of an analyst, especially in
light of trying to strike a balance between work and my family.
Forrester has bent over backwards to be accommodating and flexible, but in the
end, I have decided that I need to have greater control over how I allocate my
time between work and family. As any working parent knows, there's no such
thing as balance - only a series of compromises on both the work and home
front. For me and for now, that compromise needs to happen on the work front,
so I have elected to leave Forrester on July 18th to have greater control over
exactly when and how much time I devote to work and travel. This was a
difficult decision for me to make and I'll be taking a few weeks off this
summer to figure out my next step -- it is my goal to remain involved in this
space, in a manner yet to be determined.
If you're a Forrester client, member of the press, or a vendor, you should be
rest assured, as I am, that Forrester is committed to fielding a deep, talented,
and growing team -- you'll be in good hands with people like my Groundswell
co-author Josh Bernoff,
Jeremiah Owyang,
Rebecca Jennings,
Steve Noble, Mary Beth Kemp, Brian Haven, Oliver Young, Rob Koplowitz, Kyle McNabb, and
many, many others.
My last day with Forrester will be July 18th, a day that I look forward to with anticipation for the adventures that lay ahead, but also with sadness for the colleagues that I'll leave behind. I'll leave my good-byes until then, but please know that I've thoroughly enjoyed the conversation that we've had on this blog over the past almost-four years.
Link to original post