An Unexpected Love Affair...

Driving long distances has always been a very relaxing, introspective experience for me. I think it's the combination of music, thoughts, and the excitement of the journey that make a driving trip worthwhile. I have to say that doing this trip solo has been a very spiritual centering for me as well, especially since I ended up taking a route I'd never taken before - and actually didn't know where I was really going except ---"North and EAST" - wherever the wind takes me in those general directions with a final destination of Annapolis by Saturday.

And so it was I left on the 5th of July in drenching rain ----all day and into the night until I reached my first stop somewhere in Arkansas. With my iPod loaded with almost 1200 of my favorite songs, I decided to let destiny play a hand by shuffling the deck...and it's always interesting how it seems to have meaning to what is really going on in my head ---hmmm, is it me directing it...or it directing me.

During the trip, I came to an amazing realization - one that I presume has been lying within, just under the skin, waiting for me to let it breathe air, and come to conscious life. The catalyst for this thought was a song, "Send me a Song" by Lisa Kelly - lyrics below---Once upon a time, this song had another special meaning, but this day...THIS DAY, the song was a love song...from an unlikely love,  As I listened to the words, I realized one of the main reasons I was doing this trip, why I've rented my house and will be spending time further and further way from Austin...and my business. When I started the business almost 5 years ago with my biz partner, we always knew it would eventually out grow us...that was always the plan. We set up the structure, the product, the mission, so that we play all the roles initially, however, over time, we will fill the roles one by one with others in order to grow OGM to the company we want it to be. I am very aware of my strengths...and my weaknesses, and I also know what will make me happy...and what doesn't. Over the course of the last year, I have seen OGM grow to where it now needs more structure, processes, planning, management, and dare I say it, policies. I also know that while I am great at being an entrepreneur and vision and creating something from a blank slate, from nothing more than an idea...I don't enjoy the day to day 9to5 activities that go along with an established company. ...so in the last year, I've also brought in some amazing folks who share my passion and values but complement my skills. And now...NOW, in order for me to truly "let go and let OGM grow to the next level" I need to let them take the lead for a while, because I know that if I am there every day, I will invariably interfere with their progress to let them do what they are truly capable of....and I in turn will do what I can do best - and that is to evangelize Orca Green and to continue to find innovations for the company's progress.

So, which brings me to my trip...and this song...OGM is like my child, conceived from a passion, nurtured with everything in me to ensure its survival...and now, it is time to allow it some freedoms, some interactions with others to grow to what it CAN be...and letting go is sometimes the hardest part...so this is an opportunity for both of us to spread our wings, flex our capabilities, and expand to the next stage in our relationship. "Send me a Song" is OGM's way of "letting me fly" but knowing that I will always be there for it...in another form. A friend of mine wrote a song with lyrics that were profound for me "This wave's not over, it just takes a different form" And so it is with Orca Green Marine and me...as I embark on a new role within it's structure, and open up our new San Diego office in August.

OGM, I will send you a song...and as CVO, I will also help create a new program based on this song - your song to me...and now to all future employees. I've decided that in keeping with "Let my people go surfing philosophy, we'll adopt a Sabbatical program. Every 5 years, full time employees will get 1 month off with pay (and perhaps a bonus based on profitability)...and will have a special "initiation" sending them off with this song...but in return, they have to bring a special "songline" song back to Orca Green.

As OGM's first employee, I am sending "Destiny" by Lenny Kravitz back to Orca Green. That is the song I am sending back to you from the ocean waves. Thanks for this opportunity to learn, to grow, to love...to have the experience of creating something that is and continues to be greater than I could ever make it alone. An unlikely love? Perhaps...perhaps it's simply looking at the future of the corporate world. Corporations with a soul, with a care for its people, for its future, for the future of our planet...