Personally, 2021 was the most challenging year I can remember. As the year progressed my wife Deborah and I became resigned to living through a time when nothing was easy. It was such a strange year that a friend asked whether I was making a list of all the crazy stuff happening. I quickly rejected the idea, as I was just looking forward to better times. Still, to tell this story, I’ll provide a short list of significant events that impacted me in 2021: 1) weightlifting injury; 2) inflammatory response to Covid vaccine; 3) sale of the business where I’ve worked for 20+ years and ultimately leaving the company; 4) attacked while bicycling on 9/11/21 resulting in injuries that persist; and, 5) cancer diagnosis and treatment. Of course, the list does not tell the whole story but it is enough for now. I believe that all things happen for a reason and this far into 2022 the “reason” I needed to experience these challenges is becoming clear. They helped me fully appreciate the preciousness of each moment and that my energy needs to be expended on activities that are the best use of my time.
I heard this lesson mid-way through 2020, before there were any rumors of another company purchasing G4S, the company where I worked. My position with G4S was “perfect,” in that I worked with great people and as General Counsel for North America I managed Legal, Compliance, Insurance and Risk, and Enterprise Risk Management, and G4S’ compliance with US Government contracts world-wide. From a career perspective, I was exactly where I wanted to be and part of a leadership team that was creating a great business that was transforming the security industry. Still, I found myself spending too much time on activities that were not the best use of my time. Of all my tasks, I knew that my leadership of G4S’ Dignity and Respect Campaign produced the broadest positive impact on the business, employees and our world. While conducting three-to-four-hour dignity and respect workshops, I witnessed lasting positive transformations of people and work environments. While I chose law as a career, I found that my greatest gift was to help people understand their power to live happier and more productively by interacting with dignity and respect. Understanding that sharing the dignity and respect concepts was my calling, at breakfast in June of 2020 I told Deborah that I would like to shift my focus from a legal career to promoting dignity and respect. Deborah was very quiet when I suggested that I should make this change, by leaving G4S, in the Spring of 2021. In fact, I don’t think she said anything in response until the next morning, when she pointed out all the practical hurdles to completely changing my career from a stable corporate position to a new business. Deborah’s practical arguments carried the day over my “crazy talk” and we agreed to start planning for a transition that would occur three years, or so, down the road.
Of course, despite our plan, within months of our June 2020 conversation I found myself telling Deborah that G4S would likely be acquired by one of the two businesses that were bidding against each other. After a short pause, where I’m sure she was thinking back to my career shifting crazy talk, Deborah said, “This is all your fault!” We will never know whether my dignity and respect calling shifted the universe to cause the sale of G4S, but it happened. Still, sticking to the three years or so down the road career change plan, I agreed to accept a position with the new business, if offered. This turned most of 2021 into a waiting game, while I dealt with the challenges listed above. When I did not receive a job offer as part of the initial plan to combine G4S with the acquiring business, the significant physical and emotional stress I was dealing with caused my mind to shift back to my dignity and respect calling. Just as importantly, Deborah, who by this point was watching me deal with the bicycle attack injuries and the results of the cancer treatment, started to see me in a different light. For the first time in our 35 years together, she could see that I would not live forever. After many conversations, mostly in the swimming pool with adult beverages, Deborah and I agreed that it was time to start the Dignity and Respect business. By the time other stable legal career opportunities became obvious, I had already shifted mental gears and was excited about a new future improving organizations and lives with Dignity and Respect.
Today I am thrilled to fulfill Upward Spiral Solutions’ mission of sharing Dignity and Respect concepts to create collaborative environments that promote professionalism, job satisfaction, employee retention, customer satisfaction, creativity and fun. I look forward to sharing this adventure with everyone as we create a better world with Dignity and Respect.
Thanks,
Mike Hogsten