As has become a tradition, another 5k Turkey trot passed today. If I had to give the past year a topic, it would be coaching and mentoring. After all, sometimes you need a little help. This truth holds in business, sports, and life. Likewise, there might be situations where you are the mentor and others where you are the mentee. Yet, no matter what you wish to achieve, others want to help you.
To give you an idea of what is possible if you work with others, let us look back at the whirlwind of activities that mark 2024—a journey of professional milestones and personal growth.
Coaching and Knowledge Sharing
We cannot discuss coaching and mentorship further today without considering the Turkey Trot results. I once again managed to beat my time from the last race. Yet, in August, it didn’t look like it would happen. My time kept hovering around the same mark as last year during practices. Thus, I decided to do a few sessions with a personal trainer in mid-September. Discovering techniques and issues that weren’t clear to me beforehand has been eye-opening. However, it didn’t absolve me from practicing myself.
Yet 2024 did not just have time where I acted as a protege. I continued my role as an advisor to two startups and as a mentor to their Founders. The role continued to be an excellent experience for everyone involved. Guiding these young companies through their early stages of growth has allowed me to share my knowledge and connected me to the cutting edge of innovation. Seeing The Backpackster and Market Indent succeed was the cherry on top.
At the same time, I look forward to another year as a mentor at my alma mater, now named Constructor University. Working with students and sharing my experiences continues to be incredibly rewarding. Seeing the enthusiasm and fresh perspectives these young minds bring to the table is energizing.
On The Board
One of the most challenging aspects of 2024 has been my continued involvement in various boards and advisory roles. Building on my position as an Advisory Board Member for Moxey, I have steadily expanded my portfolio of board positions. Now sitting on the Boards of Directors for mPath AI and Market Intend, I can both put my skills to the test and experience the weird combination of long-term strategy, thrilling issues, and weirdly mundane bureaucracies that define modern-day board work.
Seeing the companies grow is a rewarding experience. Yet, knowing that I’ve had the chance to contribute to the company’s strategic direction gives success a different dimension. This situation is advantageous in new technologies, such as AI, where I can learn about it from up-and-coming innovators.
AI and Open-Source
AI dominated this year. The field has advanced rapidly in 2024, and I’ve prioritized staying at the forefront of this technological revolution. I’ve actively involved myself in discussions and initiatives exploring how we can leverage AI to optimize processes and improve how we experience our daily lives, especially our work. On the one hand, it is exciting to shape the ethical and effective implementation of these new technologies in the business world. On the other hand, there is persistent doubt whether humanity can implement AI positively.
Beyond the technological possibilities, the questions about open-source AI and open training data were prevalent in my engagements this year. We can only ensure that AI remains a force for good if we can reproduce and verify its results. Reproduction and verification depend on studying the code and determining how the engineers and scientists build the model. Unfortunately, too many leading AI systems are either closed-source or pretend to be open. Thankfully, user sentiment agrees with the Open-Source Software Foundation on the definition of open-source AI. 45% of all users want to use genuinely open-source AI systems. This agreement will likely result in more genuine open AI implementations in 2025.
A Coaching Legacy: Public Speaking
Cybersecurity, AI, and open source mark a further result of my experience with coaching. Five years ago, I could not have imagined giving a presentation on any topic. Yet, my work with Toastmasters has significantly impacted my personal and professional development. My club, Redmond Toasters, has helped me get to the point where I am comfortable asking for money for my speeches. This year, I had the privilege of putting it into practice when speaking at board retreats and when addressing audiences at several industry conferences.
Building on my previous leadership roles within the organization, I’ve had the opportunity to mentor new members at our Toastmasters club and contribute to the club’s success by holding multiple speaking workshops. These experiences have honed my communication skills and allowed me to give back to a community that has been instrumental in my growth.
2025 will offer new, exciting opportunities to hone my skills and share my messages. If there is one thing to be sure of, many of the questions of our time, from ethical leadership via AI to cybersecurity, will continue to require us to speak up. We won’t be able to solve them on our own, but we need to connect across disciplines and backgrounds.
Beyond Work
Structuring how I give back to the world has been a significant part of this year. In the past, most of my attempts to give back were half-hazard and driven by people asking for assistance. That has left me with too many engagements and, simultaneously, the feeling of too little impact. Thus, this year, I doubled down on helping with the Constructor University Foundation and took on the role of president in addition to the Treasurer position.
Additionally, I consciously tried to act as a judge in multiple youth entrepreneurship competitions. These engagements allow me to utilize my expertise in startup financing without having the pressure to decline investments. Plus, they give the students an idea of where to focus their energy when becoming entrepreneurs.
2024 has also been a year of personal growth and reflection. I’ve consciously tried to maintain a healthy work-life balance, dedicating time to my family and interests. This balance has been crucial in maintaining my energy and enthusiasm for various professional commitments. To that end, I can proudly say that my oldest has beaten me once again at the Turkey Trot, and I’m positive that this will be the theme of the race as long as both of us compete.
Looking Ahead
2024 was filled with changes and adjustments, from diving deeper into my board roles to standing on stage for big speeches. Most of it required hard work and conscious decisions, Yet sometimes, I needed help.
Looking ahead to the coming year, this is a solid foundation upon which to build. While it is hard to predict what AI and business will bring, there will be many opportunities for me to learn and grow. Likewise, more people will be willing to learn from me and tap into my insights and experiences. After all, history doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes, and sometimes, it takes a coach to make the most of it.