The Genesis of a Journey

Life is a journey and the events contained in it, a journey within the journey.  So I undertook an important one last year when I initiated my career search.  Having helped several of my friends with this before, I needed to hold true to my own advice – “just don’t find a job, find the job and make it happen.”

Last week, my next step happened.  I started at Medtronic Diabetes as their Chief-of-Strategy.  For those of you six degrees removed from the healthcare space, Medtronic Diabetes makes insulin pumps and sugar monitors for diabetic patients, selling about $2bil a year worldwide.

Getting here took work, almost a second job in itself! Despite not knowing anyone at Medtronic Diabetes, I started to heat up my professional network.  A friend introduced me to the President, and I flew to the LA headquarters for a series of “tell me about your company” discussions. Unfortunately, the President was called away to Europe (we literally passed each other in Atlantic Ocean airspace!) so I met 2-3 of her team instead.

 You might wonder why one company would capture my vision and efforts.  When I started my career search, the one common thread was “stay close to patients while working with inspiring and action minded people.”  Though most patients can’t tell you the brand of their heart stent or artificial hip, every diabetic knows their pump. In fact, many proudly call it “my best friend that changed my life.”  In terms of the work environment, my team will create a virtual pancreas before the end of the decade. 

At the same time, I struggled during this job search, which feels more like finding a mate than any logical decision.  In a situation only described as ‘feast or famine’, I went into Christmas with a half-dozen offers after having zero since mid-November.   It’s been said if you have a life choice, flip a coin but listen to your heart while the coin is in the air.  Finally, my heart spoke clearly and I could release the other options.

I had wondered what life would be like repatriating to the States and more specifically, living in Los Angeles.  As you know from this blog, we have incredible wanderlust for new experiences.  However, the local offer looks promising!  During our first week, we attended a screening of the Academy Award nominated movie Les Miserables that included a Q&A session with directors Ron Howard and Tom Hooper.  As for trips, living in a new corner of the world opens up an entire new bouquet of possibilities!

So that’s my life changing moment in a 6 paragraph nutshell. Thanks for following along and more exciting blogs to come!

Ken