Michael Messer

Imagine a city that was built in the far eastern reaches of Russia, established in the 1930s as the administrative center for forced labor camps (aka gulags) in Siberia under Stalin.  The city is called Magadan and many people that live there are descended from political prisoners that were quite literally sent to die in this remote corner of the globe.  This is where I learned the power of intentional business.

At the time, I was young, idealistic (I still am) and working to help promote socially responsible investments in low and middle-income countries on behalf of the U.S. government.  Although I came to Russia to count how many jobs and U.S. exports my client's company had created as part of their joint venture, I was struck by how much more of an impact their investment had on "intangibles."

I met with local business owners, government leaders, and employees all of whom told me that this one company offered something more than just jobs and wages... they offered a new way of thinking. The local stakeholders experienced a business partner that was thoughtful about how they wanted to contribute to their adopted community.  Employees were introduced to new ways of management that allowed them to think out-of-the-box, to take risks without a paralyzing fear of failure, and to collaborate.  The people on the street liked achieving a higher standard of living, but what they really wanted to tell me was how empowered and hopeful they felt about their community for the first time.  

What I learned from this experience is that businesses have a tremendous opportunity to intentionally create the impact that they want to see in the world.  They can choose to empower employees.  They can choose to engage with the community.  They can plan for success and measure it in ways that go beyond profit and loss.

That realization was powerful and has stayed with me for the last 25 years.

My business coaching practice is built around this idea that private enterprise can be transformative for people and communities.  You don't have to look far to find people with a gulag mentality in business.  Although our friends and co-workers don't literally work in a prison camp, how many people do we know that feel disempowered, fearful, risk averse, and unable to get to where they want to be?  Very often I see businesses that are not intentional.  They don't quite know where they want to go or what steps they need to take to get there.  They mistake doing something (anything...) with purposeful and impactful action.

I help business owners and executives break out of their mental prison, see new opportunities and ways of doing things.  I do this by focusing on the three pillars of Clarify, Grow and Lead:  Clarify where you want to go, Grow your business and impact, and Lead in the community.  I take what I learned as a senior executive in corporate America and make it real for people on the ground.  I use my experience as a serial career changer to help executives that are stuck to get reconnected to their professional purpose.

If you want the specifics on my background, check out my LinkedIn profile at: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-s-messer/