Personal and professional milestones create interesting opportunities for self-reflection. Do we romanticize the past, or instead, let honest memories rise to the surface? Are we capable of seeing things from afar that we failed to notice up close? Is it luck (good/bad), fate, necessity, design, or some combination therein that put us on a certain path to an uncertain outcome? Or, do we tend to overcomplicate what is truly and simply just the passage of time. 

Aging gracefully

IA turns 15 today (and I turn 50 a few months later), so I’ve been spending a bit of time looking back while intentionally and purposefully driving forward.

When you think of 15-year-olds, the most common adjectives that come to mind are things like challenging, full of potential, headstrong, confident, still learning, and socially awkward. And all of those descriptions have certainly fit throughout the growth of our business. 

Despite our voice changing as we grew, we founded IA with a firm belief that there had to be a better way to advise leaders through incredibly challenging moments of change. We built an amazing team who believe in the same things, namely that we should:

• Amplify the voice of our clients, not our own;
• Have a point of view, not a prescription;
• Eradicate codependency by transferring knowledge;
• Use candor, transparency, and positive intent to foster honest communications; and
• Build truly human relationships and connection.

Over the years, we have built upon the foundation of being the “anti-consulting” consulting firm, helping our clients solve their messiest problems and learning a lot along the way.

Earned Wisdom

This year, in honor of our 15th anniversary, I’ll share with you 15 lessons from the first 15 years that reflect IA’s evolution, including our biggest mistakes, most profound observations, and our funniest moments. 

I know that not every company lasts beyond its first few, tentative steps. It’s amazing to see what IA has become and what lies ahead. My heart overflows with love and gratitude to the amazing IA team (both past and present), our wonderful client partners, and everyone who took even the briefest moment out of the past 5,000+ days to make our world just a little bit brighter. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!! 

Next year we get our driver’s license, so watch out, world.

With warm regards and thanks,

—Mark
Founder/managing principal/awkward teenager, IA