In 2016, I quit my job and went out on my own. The organization I was working for had just been acquired by a very large conglomerate, and if I knew one thing about myself, it was that the big corporate life and structure was not for me. I'd always had the spirit of an entrepreneur (and a little practice starting a side hustle t-shirt company), but was I really doing this? Trying to be an Independent Workday consultant in an ecosystem of basically no independent Workday consultants was a big risk. How was I going to compete against the large partners out there? 

If I really think about what drove my leap of faith, it boiled down to one thing - I hate red tape.

As fortune had it, a friend of mine reached out with a contract opportunity at another large company: LinkedIn. I learned many things at the Sunnyvale campus, but what really struck me was how well LinkedIn treats their employees. It was immediately obvious why this company had been so successful and how it became a household name.

Even as a contractor, I was expected to go to the same new hire orientation as all other employees. This seemed odd, but in many ways and obviously, was a great idea. One of the first things I heard in my orientation is something I adopted in my businesses for the rest of my life: “Act like an Owner.”

I love this saying for so many reasons, but mainly because it might as well say, “To hell with the red-tape!” Do what you think you need to do when you need to do it. Think on your feet, and well, just Act like an Owner.

To me, rules and red tape are only there for one reason: protect the company from employees doing bad things. So...why don't companies just hire good people who do good work? No tape needed, right? Might this also make employees in your company feel like they are appreciated, respected, and have jobs people rely on?

I’m sure lots of people reading this are rolling their eyes and thinking, “It’s not that simple. We need those rules for reasons of X, Y and Z.” Let me be clear: I understand there will always be a level of review needed on processes that have high consequences. Trust me, I get it. But I think even the "eye rollers" get the point I am making. And if not, maybe the red tape is there for you.

I started with KOG at the beginning of January 2023, and the only thing I knew at that time was “extensive” training will be my only focus for the next 3 months. In training, we learned how Kognitiv started, the company values and mission statement. When Mark Grignon mentioned the core value “Act Like an Owner”, it hit me deep and I knew I made the right decision to join Kognitiv. We spent weeks learning all of the different facets of Workday so we were prepared for client engagement day 1 out of training.

Now that I have completed training and have been engaging with clients since, I started to see the answers to my various questions. In my short time out of training, I have worked on setting up new companies due to an acquisition, created complex financial statements and budget reports for management, and have been a part of many projects. After taking some time to reflect, I realized Kognitiv prepared me and gave me the confidence to take on some challenging tickets. My managers trusted that I would find a solution, and that is a common characteristic managers at Kognitiv emulate. I really felt like I was taking ownership of my own career!

Another aspect of my job that I didn’t expect was creativity. Of course I could configure a business process differently or present a report in another way, but I truly love to engage my creativity in all aspects of my life. At Kognitiv, I have been called on to create a presentation and flowchart for our new product, Close Coda™, provide language for our FIN services offer, and so much more!

Overall, I came to Kognitiv in hope to get back into the consulting ring and help our clients grow, but what I have experienced here goes much deeper than. I get to engage with clients on a daily basis, learn more about business, all while having the opportunity to engage my creativity. Kognitiv started as a job, but has quickly grown into a passion of mine. Each day, I get to embody the core value “Act Like an Owner”, and I have Kognitiv to thank for that!