My Story: Communication As Engineered Problem Solving

“In order to write about life, you must first live it.”

–Ernest Hemingway

I’m the blue-collar son of a mechanically-inclined, do-it-yourself dad and a well-read, intellectually-curious mom who both value knowledge and learning.

My aptitude stems from both parents. In school, I studied engineering and was fascinated with how things work, yet I got better grades in language arts. By the end of junior year as a Mechanical Engineering major, I was burnt out on theory and math. For senior year, combining my technical and verbal aptitudes, I switched majors and graduated with a BS in Technical Communication. Already paying my way in a sales job, I decided technical sales fit better than engineering. 

I worked in industrial automation, then logistics, and later, healthcare IT. I picked up other fields through side gigs. I learned about professional selling, hands-on with experienced mentors as well as through ongoing professional development. Still, no matter the title, my mastery of words made me the go-to writer in each job. Adding in my project management and leadership ability, soon I was leading entire marketing initiatives. I was bridging the gap between sales and marketing well before “sales enablement” was a thing.

As with school, the corporate world never quite fit. I worked for results, not to play company politics or stroke egos. Often contrarian and always candid, I asked hard questions about long-standing processes and methods. By challenging myself and the status quo, I successfully overhauled entire sales and marketing operations. This led to the kind of growth that would result in the long-term restructuring, merger, or acquisition of several of my employers.

Through my reputation, I was eventually hired to lead sales and marketing for a medical SaaS firm. I would again work myself out of a job when a competitor acquired this company on the strength of the brand I helped build. Leveraging the sum of my experiences, I pivoted to independent practice. Now, rather than focusing on growing one brand, I can help grow YOUR brand.

But my clients don’t just get a professional. They get a person.

A holistic thinker, I draw on the entirety of my professional and life experience using a First Principles approach. I embrace challenges, bringing the full measure of my ability and experience to solve problems. Technology and communication. Sales and marketing. Doing and leading.