Preface.1
How I became essential
Early in my career, I was an internal auditor.
By my late-20’s, I was the head of internal audit for a $2B banking group with a staff of around 10 people. I was still pretty young. And I was learning on the job. Typical story.
This was also a time when desktop technology was really starting to become available. The Apple II had huge potential for everyone. And IBM was just showing up with the IBM Personal Computer. In short order, game-changing software for these machines was hitting the market virtually every month.
My primary job, of course, was heading up internal audit. But these new computers were game changers. I could clearly see that they were going to impact the business in fundamental ways. I had a compatriot in the company who also saw the tremendous potential. So we talked the CFO into buying a couple of them. And we set out to learn what they were all about.
Around this same time, I was thinking about getting my master’s degree. Rather than travelling the obvious route and getting an MBA, I decided to get an MS in Information Systems. It was an intuitive decision that simply felt right. As it turns out, I ended up creating an utterly unique skill set. No one else had my hands-on familiarity with these new desktop computers, my enthusiasm about all of the new transformative software, my deep knowledge of the business, and, to top it off, my very respectable MS degree in Information Systems. Not only was this unique within the company, at that time it was pretty unusual anywhere.
To shorten the story a bit, I became the go-to person for insights when anyone in the company was considering using desktop computers. For any department. My opinion carried weight.
Yes, I was still the head of internal audit. And that was great. But my influence, in that role, had its limits. No one was cold-calling me to ask my opinion on controls or request an audit. They were, however, calling me to pick my brain about the evolving landscape of computing.
And, times were changing in other ways. The banking industry was becoming overwhelmed with mergers. And what happens with mergers? Computing systems have to be integrated. Or swapped out. And when these high-visibility projects were being formed, who got called to participate? Someone who knew technology. And knew the business. And had deep insights about new strategies that involved desktop technology.
In other words, they called me.
I had become essential.
And I decided to leave internal audit because I had greater value elsewhere in the company.
As time went on, I sought out other meaningful and useful experiences that intuitively felt right. And each addition helped me become even more uniquely valuable.
Ultimately I came back to internal audit because, honestly, it’s the greatest opportunity if you want to make an impact. And, I loved it.
Now, as I look back on all of this, I understand that I unknowingly stumbled around and created a highly valuable personal brand.
It was my brand because I created it – these were things that all interested me.
At the time, I didn’t know I was creating a personal brand. It was never a conscious thing. But these decisions shaped my career. They allowed me to do things that were fun and interesting. And other people found my expertise to be valuable.
I only wish I had known, earlier on, how important a clear professional brand could be. Because I would have done it sooner. And more intentionally.
My story isn't about moving on from internal audit for better things. It's about how each of us can develop our own unique path, with internal audit as the best possible starting point.
And that leads us to what I’m doing now.
