Wearing A Lot Of Hats
I woke up this morning and realized that I am doing about five full time jobs this week;
1) Managing Partner of Union Square Ventures. Hopefully you know what I do in this job.
2) Managing Partner of Flatiron Partners. Yes, Flatiron is still active and we have five really good companies in the portfolio.
3) Blogger – Like it or not, this blog could be easily be a full time job. It’s a full time job making sure it isn’t.
4) Community Activist – I’ve been sucked into the Pier 40 debate and not a day goes by when I don’t do something meaningful on this project. Yesterday I got to spend an entirely enjoyable hour with former NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern. Fortunately I have a Parks Name (woodrow) and that was my calling card.
5) Parent – The Gotham Gal is gone this week so I am doing double duty as mom and dad. I am loving it. Last night I got home, made dinner, cleaned up, helped the kids with their homework, watched a little TV with Josh, and took several work related phone calls.
My big problem in life is I can’t say no to good causes and good ideas. My partner in Flatiron, Jerry Colonna, says I need a life coach. Maybe so, but I sure am enjoying wearing so many hats this week.
Comments (Archived):
There are many of us who wear as many hats and have as many full-time commitments — I’m a father, husband, baseball coach, and run a global program at a social venture capital organization; I’m a blogger, an investor, a microfinance advisor, and am trying to gin up an alternative energy business with a serial entrepreneur friend of mine. Oh, and I’m a poet, too.I don’t get much sleep, usually about 5 hours, so I do have time to devote to each of these pursuits. Some say it’s too much or that we can’t possibly be good at all of them. Well, I’ve off-loaded plenty of things (I used to be in a band that opened for the Psychadelic Furs over 20 years ago; don’t do that anymore).Truth is, I love what I do and wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m curious and stimulated and excited about all of it. That’s why I do it. I suspect its true of you too.And if you decide you want a life coach; I know a great one, Howard Stone (2young2retire.com). I can put you in touch.
Good luck with wearing all the hats. I think as I get older my hat rack gets more crowded too.
When would you have time for a life coach? It sounds like you are already filling your time with worthwhile stuff. As they say, life is what happens while you are making other plans.As an Indiana entrepreneur, I love reading your blog. It makes me feel connected with the outside world AND has useful information.
I was in your shoes last week. My wife was in California, so I had to drive my kids to school (two separate trips at separate times), catch a train to the city for my daily 40-mile commute, get work done, get back in time to feed them dinner, clean up, help with their homework and then finish the work that I had to put down to get home. I was fine until about Thursday, when I hit the wall. My wife is not allowed to leave town alone again.I probably need not only a life coach, but also a general manager. I’d say owner too, except that I’m married so that one is covered.
JayYou crack me upI am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and its only wednesdayFred
That is what makes life interesting, though, isn’t it? I realized the other day that I spend almost 1 hour every day working on volunteer stuff for my kids’ schools on top of parenting, blogging, bike racing and earning a living. I know plenty of people who put all their time & energy into work and it just doesn’t seem as satisfying. Or maybe it’s that I’ve never been good at focusing on just one thing.
While I’m one that certainly tries to spread out my interests and hobbies and work into a huge mix of things that I find fun and stimulating, I also believe that there are many people that go through life simply “overbooking” themselves without really allowing themselves to experience some of the other finer things that others would have to share with them and/or offer. And there’s simply no way that you’re doing all of those things “full-time.” You’re putting in part-time effort on things that only require part-time effort…thereby — creating one megafeed of workflow known as “full-time.” At least that’s how I see it.
Or maybe you just need a babysitter ;)Great lecture at Adam’s class yesterday at Columbia, btw. Very educational.
You’re related to Woodrow? Very cool.
I feel much the same, except I have it for the next year at the very least :)1) Co-founder in social web startup2) Co-founder in e-commerce startup3) Full time researcher at Uni4) getting an incubator off the ground5) Blog (I don’t have a large readership, so the responsibility isn’t quite that bad)As greenskeptic said, it’s about passion… perhaps I have a little too much on my plate to not own a blackberry, I just don’t have time to get one! 🙂
Life coaching available. Cheap! 😉
Fred, you’re what we call “fully engaged.” Most people are overcommitted and overstretched, but you’re one of that special breed of people for whom everything is interesting, exciting and stimulating. You may be busy, but what would you do with yourself if you weren’t? Don’t even think about it…