The profile of the new corporate executive is changing. With the decline in company loyalty, executives are making tough choices to work outside of the traditional corporate framework. Executives are leveraging their experiences and providing solutions to business problems in an outsourced fashion. Quite simply, they are becoming consultants or what some have called “Gig” executives.
I have made the decision to go out on my own and join the thousands of others who have gone before me. As I meet with colleagues and fellow self-employed executives, I realize that we are living a new corporate paradigm of the “borderless corporation.” We are banding together to create a collaborative community of support, knowledge and well-defined expertise. While I focus on my own initiatives around sales strategy, enablement and operations projects, I can count on others to support me virtually in the areas of legal, marketing, accounting and administration. We can work as an entity that is bound not by contracts but by good, old-fashioned trust and a handshake.
A former colleague from Salesforce.com has also chosen to venture out on his own. Upon meeting after years in different companies, we swapped information about business structure, prospecting techniques and project management. At the end of our meeting, we agree to hold a monthly conference call to share our progress and hold each other accountable. Who says we need to share the same logo or identity to collaborate and be fellow “employees?” From time-to-time, I grab the side of my waist to see if I have my badge when walking in to a building. I guess old habits die hard.
