Achievement has to be one of life’s most rewarding processes. It’s what’s driven me for most of my life. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved and haunted by what I haven’t. While I think many people view this next chapter we’re embarking on as something radical I don’t see it being that different from embarking on a new career. It’s what I’m seeking to achieve that will be different and, I hope, profoundly more fulfilling.

I’m thrilled to no longer be trying to achieve success in a corporate structure. Thrilled. I’m thrilled to focus less and measure myself less on financial achievements. I can tell you from first hand experience that if one defines success by a daily measurement of pnl and overlays that with a broken model of corporate politics and its vicissitudes it can lead to a wee bit of disillusionment. Don’t get me wrong, it served me well for a while and I even had fun occasionally, however with age (and kids) comes wisdom (and exhaustion) and a realization that, perhaps, I was marking time and no longer moving forward. So I see this change we’re making simply as a realignment of my focus and with that a new set of achievements to build towards.

For the purpose of posterity and an homage to the last 18 years of writing down my annual goals to be measured by management, here’s what I hope to achieve by moving my family aboard a boat:

1: A focus on family. Most days my boys got the worst of me by the end of the day and I got the worst of them. By the time I got home at 5:30 or 6 everyone was shot and just trying to keep it together. My focus was on not bringing my work “shit” home and the commute in the family wagon wasn’t typically successful in calming me down before I walked in the house. Weekends were always a revelation to me. I was fresh in the morning and so were the boys (I was always out the door before they woke up during the week). Spending the full day with them allowed me to get in to a rhythm and things became so much easier. It was awesome. Once I realized it could be that way more often and that I’ve only got about about 10 more years with them before they’re gone, I knew it was the time to pivot to a dream I’ve had for decades. I haven’t figured out exactly how I will objectively measure this goal of focusing on the family, however I think my new management team will tell me if I’m successful or not.

2: Acquisition of new skills and successful implementation. It feels great to write these ridiculous goals down and be excited for them! No more anodyne statements of increasing share of wallet via bilateral meetings with cross asset teams in order to better serve our customers. I’m talking about learning new parenting skills. Becoming a better teacher. Relearning long forgotten navigation skills. Acquiring new navigation skills. Learning more about electricity and systems management. The thought of doing this with my family and within the context of sailing sounds like paradise to me.

3: Doing/seeing cool shit! Ok, this is a gimme but you’ve always got to have one of those in case your year is shit, right? 1 out of 3 isn’t bad right, Boss?! I’m super excited to discover new things and as I’ve learned seeing the world through the eyes of young children only makes it better. How cool will it be to teach my boys US History and then rock up to Washington DC in our boat and spend days walking around and visiting the Smithsonian? We will be explorers and voyagers! Life is short, time with the kids even shorter. I can’t wait to be with them, present, teaching and discovering.

4: Safety. This is no small thing and fairly easily measured. I’ve spent months preparing the boat, buying equipment, participating in safety at sea seminars (thank you, Covid, for forcing the Old White Guys to a realization that we can do these virtually). We now need to practice these skills in July before our departure and to instil a culture of preparedness and safety. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance! Living aboard a boat and venturing offshore is inherently more dangerous than living at home. While I have no doubts that I’m giving a great gift to family, I don’t want to screw it up by not keeping them safe. This keeps me up at night.

5: Have fun! Can’t forget that learning is always easier when you’re having fun. My guess is having an incredible life experience will be a more pleasant memory if it was fun. This will need to guide our decision making when it comes to things like offshore passages, the pace with which we move and change locations, and how we go about conducting boat schooling. I don’t expect daily life to be one laugh after another, but if we’re not having fun (while being safe!) then what’s the point of all of this?