Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1978:  I pushed my grandfather's old Toro lawnmower over the last strip of my neighbor's lawn, shut it down, and looked around to check my work.  Satisfied with the neat lines of newly mown grass, I ran up to Mrs. Allen's front door to tell her I was finished.  

She came out and appeared to scrutinize every inch of her yard.  Finally she turned and scowled at me.  I stared back, defiant, but wondering what I had messed up. 

Suddenly Mrs. Allen smiled, gave me a quick hug, handed me ten dollars.  "You got wings, kid." she said.  She always talked that way. 

That was the first lawn gig that took me over and above weekly allowance.  I think I was 10 years old.

I took my success story to all my neighbors and soon had more lawn jobs than I could handle.  It was time for a business model.  I got a partner, and we did it.  I was in sales from that point on.

Dallas, Texas, 2007:  For many years I studied new and better ways to communicate excellent service to more and more potential customers.  I mastered web 2.0 technology and set out to prove that I could create and operate a well known corporate brand quickly, from nothing, using mostly free social media channels and search engine optimization. 

It required more than just providing great service.  It also meant telling a good story.  And it was now possible to do so on a massive scale.  I got a partner (I was very fortunate to meet a great person and skilled business operator, Jeff Lipschultz), and we did it.  Executive search firm, A-List Solutions was born.

We blogged, tweeted, and built huge online customer communities.  We provided excellent service.  Success led to speaking engagements, and even hosting large conferences.

I presented at a human resources conference in June of this year that was hosted by a truly amazing company called People Report.  It was the best conference I had ever attended.  The company and it's technology were wildly well respected by their peers and customers.  I said at the time that People Report would be a great company to work with. 

And now, remarkably, I have that opportunity.  An opportunity that is such a good fit on so many levels, even my business partner, Jeff, had to admit that it couldn't be passed up.  I will be joining as Vice President of Business Development for People Report and their sister company, Black Box Intelligence this month. 

People Report is an amazing company for many reasons, but what I am drawn to the most is the chance to be at the intersection of people & profits – their technology makes HR the difference maker.  And the team at People Report is just amazing too.

I am leaving A-List Solutions in the capable hands of Jeff Lipschultz for day-to-day operations, but will remain to help take care of business for the next couple of weeks, and in an advisory capacity beyond that.  We have built a valuable service that helps great companies to hire talented people.  And that will continue to be something I am very proud of.

My thanks to Jeff for his friendship, counsel, good times, and great success.  He and his family are my family too. 

And thanks to Joni and Wally Doolin, Bill Schaffler, and the great team at People Report for welcoming me now into their family.  I am honored and so excited. 

Stay tuned for the next success story.