Becoming an Author
Realizing It's Over
For thirty years, my management-consulting firm’s income was tied to the restructuring of the telecommunications sector. Over those years regulatory change, technology, and innovative competitors reshaped the industry. By 2005, I was uncomfortable with what I was doing. I was bored. I sensed that a phase of my business career was ending.
What Now?
Earlier in life, I had wanted to get an MBA but life intervened. I became a single parent with the responsibility of raising my daughter. By 2005, she was at Queen’s University. It was now time to complete earlier objectives.
In 2005, I enrolled in Royal Roads University’s online MBA. The program provided a framework to synthesize readings I had done in the social sciences, philosophy, business history, strategy, and organizational development. I was also able to integrate observations made while engaged by public and private sector organizations. As well, I had been on a number of public company boards. These experiences provided real world lessons in leadership, governance, and finance. By the end of 2008, I had a new tool kit that I was anxious to use in my transformation.
A New Beginning
One evening, while watching Charlie Rose, I realized the interviews I enjoyed most were those with authors. Favorites were Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, and Michael Lewis. These people were making a living telling real life stories. I began to think that being an author was the ultimate in entrepreneurship and innovation. This appealed to me. Moreover, being an author would provide the opportunity for me to achieve a better balance between "work" and "lifestyle". A voice inside me demanded I make a new beginning.
In April of 2014, I began the transition. Success required I burn the bridges behind me, go cold turkey. I emptied the desk I had worked at for decades, disposed of the business artifacts, and closed my office of thirty years. I had begun my transformational journey to be an author of business books.
It took about a year to accomplish the mechanics of the transition. There was an amazing amount to do to abandon the past. My long time support person Debbie was supportive of the transition. She decided to come on the journey.
In early 2014, my wife Nancy and I bought a country house in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. This was an opportunity to start fresh in new surroundings. The house and its location are conducive to my mission, as it is to my constant companions Lilly and Lucca.
Speaking and Consulting
I continue to be actively involved in the business community with public speaking engagements, as a consultant, and with media interviews. I welcome your inquiries.
My First Book
To hone my writing skills and promote my business I write a Blog. I post regularly at http://eamonhoey.com/category/articles. The Blog articles focus on strategy, change, change management, and culture. Currently, I am in the process of writing my first book "Corporate Collapse: How Companies Choose to Fail or Succeed." I expect to have it completed by late December. Once released, the book will be available for purchase at http://eamonhoey.com/author/buy-now.
With renewed energy I am now firmly on my way to achieve my mission of becoming an author.