I can’t tell you how proud I am of the new site. After 24 months at www.gooseeducationalmedia.com in a “closed” environment, we’re finally in our new, fresh, bright and conversationally friendly home at www.actionablebooks.com, with all of our articles, workshops and interviews housed under one roof. The web development team at Jet Cooper has done a fantastic job, working through some bizarre challenges to get us here, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way in which they’ve conducted themselves. It didn’t matter which member of their team I was speaking with, they were uniformly fun, innovative, and willing to dive in and solve interesting problems. They seemed to thrive on it.
And that’s the point. I have no doubt that Jet Cooper will go far because of the culture they’ve created in their offices, and instilled in their team. They run towardsinteresting problems, tackling them with relish. They think independently, yet communicate as a team with a singular focus. Every employee knows what their responsibilities are, but that doesn’t stop them from offering to help in other areas whenever they can.
It’s serendipitous, really. Through the last three years of reading business books, interviewing business book authors, and working with teams of various sizes, I’ve come to realize that the teams that are succeeding these days are the teams comprised of innovative individuals, who seek out and solve interesting problems, maintaining a sense of passion for their work, and respect for their clients and team mates. I’m calling this mentality The Salaried Entrepreneur, and I’m realizing now that all the articles we’ve written, the workshops we’ve created and the interviews we’ve had all circle around this same topic: The guidebook for professional success in the 21st century has shifted from a “head down, follow the rules”, linear approach to an organic, rapidly evolving one. Structure is still vital to an organizations success, but autonomy within that structure is now equally vital. People need to be able to (and allowed to) think for themselves; to push the boundaries and “use their job description as a platform to create value.” (to borrow from Seth Godin). This is a passion of mine, and one that I’ll be exploring in more detail in the weeks and months to come. Consider this site a resource center for developing the skills, attitudes and knowledge of The Salaried Entrepreneur; for you, your team, or both.
And please – join the conversation.
