Ron Sassin: From Wal-Mart exec to jack of all trades
Six weeks ago, Ron Sassin started his own consultancy after working for some of the world’s biggest companies.
MeadWestvaco
How shocking was the 49-year-old Sasin’s transformation? Here are his hot takes on the transition:
It’s all on me.
“The money literally stops on my desk. or iPhone. or the passenger seat of a rental car. There is no one but me to lift his toil. I no longer have the luxury of a customer service team that I once had to handle questions and resolve issues while I’m on the road. Now I have to carefully balance my own time and priorities to keep up with business development, contract reviews and project execution.
Fewer meetings!
“In big companies, there are so many meetings where the leaders talk about big ideas and promise big results — and there’s a lot of people texting through it all. In small companies, meetings can be more streamlined and direct. I can only get one shot at presenting my new idea; So the strategy, the execution plan and the deliverables have to be set very tightly.To be honest, that’s how it should be in big companies too.
Where’s the IT guy?
“I miss all of you back office people. Whatever it’s called in your organization – back office, admin, SG&A – lists of trained professionals in IT, accounting, human resources and all other corporate support jobs are now piled up on my desk. Last night, we learned that the health plan was canceled I saw that I made an emergency phone call to confirm. Thankfully, we’re fine.”
burning the midnight oil
“New things require extra care. Like anything you bake from scratch, your new business will require extra time and attention. When you wake up at 3:00 a.m. with a new idea—or something important comes to mind—get up and tackle it.”
Learning to make new friends
“Since leaving my corporate cubicle, I’ve really benefited from connecting with other people who are plowing the same fields. Human interaction is important, so get out of your home office and meet people for lunch, socializing or networking. Those first few days are spent sitting on your laptop in your slippers. Sitting can be intoxicating, but don’t fall for it. You need to see and see. Most importantly, time spent outside the office provides additional perspective, insight and motivation, improving your work and productivity.
***
Do you have advice for other entrepreneurs? Write to me at hankgilman@gmail.com
