Transition Factors Are Fertile Floor for Reinvention

I didn’t begin out as a founder. I began out as an arms seller. Not within the literal sense — however within the early days of Silicon Valley, I used to be on the entrance strains of gross sales, enterprise growth, and company growth. I knew the right way to shut offers, spot developments, and transfer quick. I used to be precious however at all times on the periphery of the true motion. I used to be constructing.

I watched groups flip concepts into corporations and merchandise into platforms. After some time, it turned clear — I used to be contributing however not creating. So I made a transfer.

I joined Ooma as a founding govt. We got down to reinvent dwelling telephone service and tackle the telcos. It was daring and bold and taught me what zero to at least one actually appears like.

From there, I co-founded Jangl, a privacy-forward voice platform that lets individuals join with out giving out their actual quantity. We raised cash, constructed the workforce, and acquired actual traction. Then, the market shifted, and we hit the wall.

That sort of second can knock you down — or wake you up.

What I’ve discovered throughout each chapter since is that this: transition factors characterize among the most precious terrain upon which you’re ever prone to stand. They’re complicated, unsure, and normally uncomfortable. However they’re additionally the place reinvention occurs — in the event you let it.

Too many individuals attempt to erase what got here earlier than after they make a change. I’ve achieved the other. I’ve handled each shift in my profession like compound curiosity. Gross sales taught me the right way to inform a narrative. Founding taught me to see round corners. Product management taught me to zoom out and engineer programs at scale. Each new transfer constructed on the final.

That’s the distinction between a pivot and a reinvention. A pivot is reactive. Reinvention is expansive.

Recognizing when it’s time

However how are you aware when it’s time for a reinvention? Listed below are 5 indicators that I’ve discovered to look at for:

You recognize it’s time to maneuver while you’re at all times executing another person’s imaginative and prescient.
You recognize it’s time when the job begins to really feel too small for what you’ve grown into.
You recognize it’s time when individuals hold pulling you again into what you’re already nice at as a substitute of asking what you wish to study subsequent.
You recognize it’s time while you really feel a quiet envy towards the individuals doing what you want you have been doing.
And also you undoubtedly comprehend it’s time when the story you’re telling about your self now not suits who you’ve turn out to be.

The secret’s to deal with transition factors not as gaps, however as launchpads.

When Ooma ended, I didn’t run again to gross sales. I leaned tougher into product. After two extra startups, I shifted into management roles at corporations like Fb and VEVO, then helped construct Disney+ and led streaming product and engineering at TelevisaUnivision. That sort of reinvention required unlearning, taking dangers, and placing myself in uncomfortable rooms. However each time I did it, I unlocked new capabilities.

Carrying ahead what issues

The trick is to not over-index on anybody chapter — the startup that fails; the function that runs its course; the workforce that modifications. All of it’s non permanent. What’s everlasting is what you carry ahead — the grit, the sample recognition, the next your hunches. That’s the uncooked materials for no matter comes subsequent.

Reinvention isn’t one thing you do as soon as. It’s a muscle. And the individuals who keep related, energized, and harmful in the most effective methods are those who hold flexing it.

When you’re standing at a crossroads, don’t freeze. Don’t cling. Ask your self: “Am I constructing one thing that displays who I’m proper now?” And if the reply is not any — what’s stopping you?

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Michael Cerdá is a veteran product and know-how chief who has served as Chief Product Officer and govt at a number of of the world’s most influential corporations. As VP of Product for Disney Streaming, he helped launch Disney+ to over 100 million subscribers. Beforehand, he was Chief Mission Officer at Goldman Sachs’ Marcus division, Chief Expertise Officer at Dwell Nation/Ticketmaster, and Director of Product at Fb. He has additionally based a number of venture-backed startups and holds two know-how patents. His new guide, Construct One thing: Constructing Merchandise, Enterprise & Tradition – A Journey of Onerous-Gained Classes and Impactful Outcomes (Feb. 20, 2025), reveals the untold true tales behind among the most transformative applied sciences of our time. Study extra at www.build-something.com

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