Dakx Turcotte

Making the decision to work with someone.

Making the decision to work with someone is not something you tend to do on a regular basis. There is a major difference in working for and with someone.

I was reading an article tonight that had a very good quote:

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, back when I was 23 and newly out of school, is this: look around and figure out who you want to be on your team. Figure out the people around you that you want to work with for the rest of your life. Figure out the people who are smart & awesome, who share your values, who get things done — and maybe most important, who you like to be with and who you want to help win. And treat them right, always. Look for ways to help, to work together, to learn. Because in 20 years you’ll all be in amazing places doing amazing things.”

Seeing one of your partner leave

When we started the company, I had 2 partners I really wanted to work with: they both had highly complementary skills to me. Now, the one who put us three together (our glue) decided to part ways. There are a few reasons for his leaving the company, but the most important: an offer he couldn’t say no to. It’s sad to see someone him go. I truly wish him luck and I dearly hope he’ll be available to partner with again in the future.

Making the decision to stick

Francis was our original glue. I had to decide if I wanted to stick & work with Yves, the remaining “new half” of the company.

I’ve known from the start I could not handle a start-up on my own. I’m too much in my head and not enough in action sometimes to lead a company through regular payrolls, monthly accounting & everyday operational or admin stuff. I’m good at handling 2-3 projects extremely well, go in quite a level of details… But not running a full operation. So I had to find that person.

And I did. Yves is that person.

He’s truly someone I want to work for with for the next 20 years. He’s that good. A smart guy, open-minded, always looking for both sides of the coin (a quality anyone who works around me must have) before making a decision. I learn a lot from him and I hope he gets to learn around me. And most importantly, as much as I want to help him win, I feel like he’s the one who wants that for me even more!

Now for the next step!