Now's the time, the time is now

Today is my last day at Forrester Research.

On Monday, I'll officially be joining Jeffrey Dachis to build a new company focused on enterprise social computing.  You may have heard about this venture a few months ago.

Why am I leaving?  Because I believe this new company offers both professional and personal growth opportunities.  I've learned a lot at Forrester over the past 2.5 years about effective writing and public speaking/presenting; along the way, I've won internal "Best Research" and "Top Keynote" awards.  And there are other skills I've acquired elsewhere that will now be put back into play, e.g. strategy formulation, project management, technology development, and budget/staff management.  Now I'll refine and develop new skills like business development and entrepreneurship.

Things are going pretty well for me at Forrester. George Colony is one of the smartest CEO's I've worked for.  At Forrester, an analyst can reinvent her/himself and stay refreshed, challenged, and engaged.  So now, sitting near the top of my 2nd career development S-curve at Forrester is a great time to contemplate both internal and external directions - from a position of strength, affording time for patience, introspection, and due diligence.

That contemplation has led me to my decision to ramble on.  My work experience includes a lot of companies you may recognize:  General Electric, Prudential Securities, Deloitte & Touche, Arthur Andersen, Coopers & Lybrand, Andersen Consulting, Fidelity Investments, Razorfish, PUMA AG, Stride Rite/Keds, and Forrester Research.  So why join a company that has yet to be named, without decades of brand history?

Because I believe the market opportunity is huge.  And we get to build this one exactly how we want.

At a macro-level, businesses must adapt to a new world of work.  As digital-born natives enter the workforce and all consumers assimilate new digital behaviors, organizations have no choice but to evolve from their legacy operational models, built on principles from the industrial revolution.  We are now in the social revolution - a Groundswell of change.  The idea of "command and control" has been turned upside down and the enterprise must avoid being crushed by the inverted pyramid.

Over the past two-and-a-half years I've been focusing on two major concepts:  social computing and customer centricity.  They fit very well together; becoming "socially successful" today requires that companies use process and technology to facilitate internal and external alignment.  Your market is calling for this in a voice that gets louder every day.  Unfortunately, many companies try to ignore what they're hearing - and I see an opportunity in helping enterprises listen, learn, and take action.

Our yet-to-be-named firm will help companies and their new leaders unlock value from social computing within the enterprise, driving customer-centricity and effective engagement.  The evidence of success will be found in culture and profit.

We will be hiring, partnering, building, and advising in the near future.  If you're interested in working with us to help change the world of work, email jobs at dachisco.com.

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Comments

[Mitch Joel - Twist Image]

Best of luck on your new venture Peter. I look forward to staying connected as things develop.

It was a pleasure meeting you in person this year and I'm hopeful we'll have many more opportunities in the coming years.

[Pete]

Thanks Mitch! Great meeting you as well and I'm sure we'll sit down and share a stage and/or a cup of Tim Horton's sometime soon.

[Jonah]

Congrats on the move, Pete! First Charlene and now you? Forrester is lesser for having lost you guys. Best of luck in your new venture, and keep the blog updated!

[Marcel LeBrun]

Congrats and good luck on your new venture, Peter.

Enterprise social computing is a huge opportunity and very synergistic with what we do at Radian6 so let's definitely stay in touch and let me know if I can help in any way.

Building a new venture from scratch is very exciting so enjoy the ride.

Regards,
Marcel

[Pete]

thanks Jonah! Hope your new gig has turned out well so far.

Thanks Marcel! Lots of possibilities - please get in touch with Jeff if you have a moment...

[Carter Lusher]

Congrats and best of luck with the new gig. Sounds exciting and a "change the game" opportunity.

Your fans are looking forward to reading the insights you pick up as you build this next big thing.

[Marshall]

congratulations on the move, best of luck in you new endeavor.
Also, great use of Led Zeppelin lyrics as your title on the Forrester post!

[Julie]

Best of luck, Pete! I still think you and Jeff should hold some sort of contest to name your company. Else, you should just give up and call it NoName.

[Ron Shevlin]

Good luck w/ the new venture, Peter.

[Pete]

Thanks Marshall! Ramble On is the first thing that popped into my head when I made the final decision.

Thanks Carter! I've enjoyed following SageCircle for insight and now I'll value the insight for new reasons.

Thanks Julie! It's been great working in the pod with you and you've been gracious about us stealing your desk space for baked goods. :)

[Pete]

Thanks Ron! When do I get the analyst alumni club membership card?

[Jeremiah Owyang]

Peter

First of all, thank you for being so supportive in getting me hired, I'm grateful. I've learned a lot from you, and you were a joy to work with. Best wishes to you on your next steps.

[Mike Spataro]

Pete,

Best of luck. Sounds like we may have some things in common down the road so let's keep in touch. It's also safe to say that everyone here at Visible Tech can't thank you enough for the help and guidance over the past few years.

[Warren Sukernek]

Congrats and best of luck. The social webs have been whispering rumors of this for a while. Enterprise social will be huge. I know you and Jeffrey will be very successful.

[Pete]

Jeremiah - being on the inside, you know that the most difficult part of leaving here = the people. It's been great working with you over the past year and it's only the beginning of the big things both you and I are going to accomplish in the social computing space.

[Pete]

Mike - absolutely, I think you should give Jeff a call when you get a chance. I'm looking forward to keeping in touch albeit from a new angle; you guys have a great product/service to offer.

Warren - thanks! Looking forward to staying in touch via Twitter, Plurk, etc.

[Max Kalehoff]

Good luck, Pete! Enough of the theory and analyzing. Now you get to roll up your sleeves and PRACTICE! Let me know if there's any way I can help. All the best to you. I'm sure you'll be a huge success in your new venture.

[Luc Debaisieux]

Peter,
Best of luck with this new position. It definitely seems to be a very insightful challenge.

[Doug Haslam]

Pete,

Congrats on the new gig-- I'm really looking forward to hearing about this new adventure

[Pete]

Thanks Luc, Doug - we'll stay in touch and I'll update on progress via Twitter or Plurk, depending on which one is actually up and running...!

[Joseph Jaffe]

wow Pete, what a shock....but also, what a great opportunity to trade in the analytical and conceptual side for the ability to get your hands dirty and make stuff happen!!!

Look forward to continuing to bump into you on the circuit.

[Megan Burns]

Best of luck Pete. We'll sure miss you. It's been a privilege to work with you for 2.5 years. Keep in touch.

[Dan Cordella]

Best of Luck Pete. You will be missed.

[Adam Daniel Mezei]

Pete,

As someone who regrettably joined the "Pete-stream" late in the game, I'd have to say your frequent insights and tweets have been enriching. I've learned a lot in the meantime, and look forward to joining you at the new gig. I second @Max Kalehoff's words --> time to give the theory a major smack-down and press it all into service at the new venture.

Any way of joining the mailing list automatically, or do we subscribe separately?

--ADM in Prague

[Tom]

Best of luck Pete!

[Marti Post]

Peter,
I am so glad I got the chance to meet you this year at the AAAAs Forum - it will be exciting to see how your new gig turns out! Best of Luck!

[Pete]

Thanks Joseph - hopefully we'll have many more chances to share the "juice" on stage.

Megan - another colleague with whom it has been great to share ideas with to make better stuff. Good working with you too.

Thanks Dan. Tweet you online this fall as the Sox win back-to-back series. I even give Jordan's customers 50/50 on the furniture sweep, of the Cubs. (OK, maybe the Mets - wouldn't it be odd seeing Petey on the mound...against us?)

ADM, thanks for participating - your comments provide a great perspective, different way of looking at things. Very valuable to hear your voice in the conversation. The mailing list - it's all individual.

Tom - thanks - we'll grab a burrito again soon.

Marti - great meeting you too, and keeping updated on FB.

[Brian Watkins]

Wow, best of luck to you Peter. I enjoyed meeting with you and hope you enjoy your new adventure.

[Los]

Great move peter kim.
Good Luck.
Los

[Steven Noble]

Thanks for your support as I eased into the new role. We'll be expecting great things from you in your new firm!

[Pete]

Thanks Brian. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see you out west again soon.

CEWGAC - it's been too long; we need to catch up in person, soon.

Steven - it was short, I know we'll be seeing big things from Being Steven Noble!

[Pete]

Hey Max - I still owe you a sushi lunch. I'd love to hear more about Clickable, will ping you next time I'm in NY.

[David Armano]

Good luck Peter! I'm sure you will succeed and learn along the way! Keep inspiring us.

[Jackie Huba]

Peter,
Congrats on the new gig! Next time you are in Austin, let us know...we'll buy you a drink to celebrate!

P.S. Are you moving to Austin?

[Aki Spicer]

Congrats, Peter, and good luck on the next ride!

[Brenda Young]

Congratulations on your new job. I know you will be a great addition to the team at the new job and we'll be here to follow along.

[Pete]

Thanks David! We may be pinging you soon for the next killer visualization.

Jackie - nothing imminent, but would love to meet up with you and Ben in person next time I visit!

Aki, Brenda - thanks!

[Miguel Guinalíu]

Good luck Peter from Spain.

[Pete]

Gracias, Miguel.

[Branislav Peric]

Thanks so much Peter for what you have done so far on this blog and at Forrester.
You are of the few people I really pay attention too.
Sometimes because I agree with you (you are coming up with something I already kind of had in mind).
Sometimes because you helped me push my thoughts further.
You were simply useful and a great source of inspiration for me.

And congratulations on your new job of course!

[Pete]

Wow Branislav. Thanks for sharing! I'm very glad that I'm able to help.

[Nick Huhn]

First of all... thank you, Pete, for sharing your time and talents with me before, during and after I was a client of Forrester. I've always respected your insights and appreciate your thought leadership on social computing, the evolving world of mobile, and shaking up - er, optimizing - the enterprise.

Secondly... Congrats on the new gig! Like you, I'm still figuring out what I want to do when I grow up so I'm sure you'd agree the journey is educational and fun while we continue to toil. While I'm sure leaving Forrester (and Boston?) is bitter-sweet, it sounds like you're positioned for extraordinary success with AV. I look forward to keeping tabs on your progress and/or begging for collaboration opportunities at some point. ;)

If you're ever in Louisville and would have time for coffee, please feel free to look me up! Thanks again, Pete. Go get em...

[Pete]

Thanks Nick - and I'm looking forward to hearing what's next for you as well. It's been way too long since I've visited home, need to get back sometime when it's not too hot but not yet cold (i.e. September - December)...

[roger]

Sounds like a very cool startup. Too bad for me it's in Austin. There seem to be hundreds of startups this year focused on "monetizing social networks" or "extracting enterprise value from social networks", etc.

Seems likes there is many applications for narrowly-focused business-related social networks and consumer networks.

[Pete]

Hi Roger - thanks. We're headquartered in Austin, but I live in the Boston area and we plan on adding others who may be remote. I think there's certainly opportunity in mining and monetizing social networks - but that's only a small part of the bigger picture and market demand...!

[David Churbuck]

Congratulations on the move Peter.

[Pete]

Thanks David. Loving your posts on China and Cotuit - a strange combination of locales.

[Ann Handley]

Best of luck, Peter. Hope to catch up in person soon!

[Pete]

Thanks Ann. I'll enjoy keeping up with the "Annarchy" in the meantime!

[JoeC]

"... the enterprise must avoid being crushed by the inverted pyramid."

Nice sign-off for your consulting career.

[Pete]

Joe, I've been part of too many in my life...

[CB Whittemore]

Pete, congrats on your wonderful new adventure! I look forward to reading about here. Best, CB