The start of a new era

My dad was an airline pilot, and for a little while – though, truthfully, during my remember-nothing years – he owned his own small cargo airline. From him, I grew up with an interest in airplanes, and at one point imagined what it would be like to start my own airline. I wasn’t so much interested in, say, taking over an established one, or working up the corporate ladder at one of the big ones. I was much more interested in starting one, figuring out how we’d be different and would grow.

As I grew and my interests evolved, I would occasionally entertain the fancy of my own little startup. In high school, I had, what I still maintain was, the original concept for iTunes – though in my mind it was a service that would burn CDs with your selected songs and mail it to you. Still, the common barrier to these ideas centered around this thought – “I don’t actually know how to do this.”

Today, I open the doors for Sound Talent Strategies, which, for me, provides an opportunity to scratch that business-owner itch, without that self-restricting barrier. After decades in the Talent Development and Human Resources fields, I decided to launch Sound Talent Strategies to help our small- and medium-sized businesses, startups, and growing companies set up their talent departments in a way to best support their business and future growth.

I first found my passion for the field when I was serving in the Marine Corps. After a couple deployments, I was put in charge of training our battalion’s pre-deployment teams. I loved seeing teams work together through our training programs, and comparing the teams and individuals at the end of our programs to how they were performing at the start, and sharing those improvements. I learned a lot about human development and how people learn through experiences, and I decided to pursue this field after my military service. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working for higher education institutions and the corporate world, during which I’ve had the pleasure to learn more about the human resources field at large.

My goal is to work with clients to develop holistic approaches to developing and growing their talent. For some, that might be a specific leadership development opportunity focusing on specific outcomes. For others, that might be a broader project in a specific area that they need help in. And still, for some, it may be more of a generalist need that can handle the day-to-day during times of transition.

I encourage you to check out the different services Sound Talent Strategies offers, and if you’d like to learn more, let’s chat!  I also encourage you to come back for a visit, as I’ll be using this blog to share some thoughts on talent-related issues and questions throughout the year. Thanks for visiting, and I look forward to getting to know you!