Happiness is a place called quality, ownership and passion

As I pressed update on my LinkedIn job status to “Account Director at TSG”, in a Premier Inn on Team Valley on a Bank Holiday Monday in January (it wasn’t very busy), it suddenly became very real. It’s a bit like telling your friends you’re going to run a marathon – you are kind of committed after that. Of course, the fact I had resigned from my previous role, signed a new contract and had my induction booked for the next day added to that sense of reality.

Returning to TSG after a 2-year period working with a leading Microsoft SI, having previously worked for the company for 11 years, was not a decision I took lightly. So what prompted me to come back?

As always, it rarely comes down to one thing, but I can probably summarise it in one word: Happiness.

Happiness at the idea of having a visible, positive impact on how customers run their business with ICT. That might sound mealy-mouthed, but you should never underestimate the personal fulfilment we get from seeing the value we bring to customers as an organisation and at an individual level.

Happiness at working with customers, where being a trusted advisor is real and not just a phrase.

Happiness at working with colleagues with a shared history and a vision of future growth.

And, on a personal level, happiness to be out on the road with a proven product/service stack and a solution-focused approach to helping customers achieve everything from solving real problems to all-up digital transformation.

We spend a lot of time at work – on average 10.3 years of our lives (apparently we also spend 1.5 years in the bathroom!) – it’s important to enjoy the work we do and recognise the value in the roles we play.

TSG’s core values are quality, ownership and passion – these values have real meaning, and are values that I know I can uphold and believe in. They undoubtedly reflect my personal professional behavioural goals.

I hope it will be some years yet before I need to update my LinkedIn status again.