m.i.p.

mastery.independence.purpose.

these aren't my words, obviously.  thanks to Daniel Pink and several other, it's a way of life for me now or rather a quest.  in search of all 3 at the same damn time.  not an easy task.  two out of three is easy enough and pays the bills.  but all 3 at the same time?  mecca and slightly out of reach for me at the moment.  but i'm doing to work to get there.  and boy does it take sacrifice.  and boat loads full of other stuff that causes me to whine and drink wine.

so here I sit, listening to a little Vince Guaraldi to help calm my anxiety and help put me in the Christmas spirit.  anxiety?  yeah, about to head into my final cumulative MBA exam for which i am ill prepared.  i hate cumulative exams and why they do this to working professional MBA's is beyond me.  in the real world you have resources and people, cumulative doesn't just sneak up on you like this.  this class in decision modeling has been a thorn in my side since day one.  a painful experience in excel.  counting hotdogs for a blowout game, lollipops to make, routes to take...and it blows.  i am so much of a gray scale decision maker, this black and white all tied up in rows and columns is just not what i'm about.  it's not what i aspire to be either.  give me gut any day of the week.

so back to m.i.p.  it's a powerful story and it's mine and i love it.  i left mastery and independence for independence and purpose and i'm not quite sure what 'mastery' level looks exactly like in this new role?  is it all sales? or is it helping people be damned the sell?   sale/sell, whatever.

i like to help people. i like to help business people.  for whatever reason you're in business, it's always a good story.  and if you're building your tribe and trying to be a better leader, that's what i want to help you with.  now that's getting me closer to mecca.

so we have a new name...Center for Corporate Learning.  it's an 'i'm all grown up' kind of name, but i love it, it nails my market and points a finger right at you business leaders that have the business cancer i have a cure for (not me specifically, but the ability for me to take your need and match it to our resources).  we got a lot of resources.

t minus 60 minutes to final exam.  i just hope i don't spend all 3 hours giving this professor daggers.  it's not her fault that she doesn't know how to grade any other way, really.  i've offered a few suggestions for future classes, but it's not going to help me now.  and i'm not at all jealous at the 50% of the class that exempted this beast...not.at.all. (that's a lie).

so, slay this beast, get the grade, whatever it may be and move on.  get the groove on the holidays, plan for a rockin' 2012 for the Center for Corporate Learning and focus on the 'mastery' target...focus.plan.do.the.work.  that's simple enough, right?

happy holidays to the both of you that read this, if you're still around.  cheers.