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OPINION
The journey’s end
When the time comes, the best thing you can do for yourself, your legacy, and your organization is to end the journey well.
O ne day it will all be over. The thought of some finality to your leadership journey could either be very comforting or perhaps a little unsettling. If you are fresh into your leadership journey, you may want to come back to this article in a few years and give it a read. But if you’ve been at this a while and are starting to realize that this thing is really headed somewhere, then we need to discuss the end of the journey.
Brandon Pinkerton, PE
It was frighteningly easy to start the business that would eventually consume the prime decades of my life. I remember that it cost us almost no money to get a couple of cell phones, print off some business cards, and obtain a tax ID number from the government. Many of you had a similar experience with your own start-up venture. We really didn’t have the bandwidth to think about anything more than the present moment and next week’s payroll. But our business was no more than two years old when we started getting our first offers to sell, followed up with the question, “What is your exit strategy?” It was initially easy for me to dismiss these kinds
of questions, as I had much more pressing concerns and an endless vision for the future of our burgeoning enterprise. However, with growth and maturity came perspective, and I began to realize that there really would be an end to the road ahead. As I ruminated on this idea it became very clear to me that navigating the end of the journey would be a much more difficult task than the start. Of course, there was always the option to close the doors and walk away, but I am talking about ending the journey with dignity and excellence. How will you know when the end is near? It’s a good question, probably one that most leaders wrestle
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THE ZWEIG LETTER NOVEMBER 4, 2024, ISSUE 1560
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