Christopher T. Sealy

The title of this blog may cause a little confusion, so I will take the time to clarify a little. Just a little, though.

I just returned from Wayne Gretzky’s fantasy camp. It truly is one of the best experiences I have ever had. It’s a place for aging males to try to relive the glory years they never had by paying to play hockey with some immortal ex-NHL pros.

It’s primarily filled with entrepreneurs and highly paid executive types, as the price of admission is a little higher than a weekend in Banff. It’s for a good cause though, and the professionals that come to camp make it an experience that brings familiar faces back year after year. Gretzky and his brother in law Mike Brown are everything that you would expect and more – and the camp gives a large percentage of the proceeds to the Gretzky Foundation.

There are two reasons why I do this every year, and will continue as long as Mr. Gretzky continues to host the camp.

When you’re an entrepreneur, it seems impossible to turn your brain off. Your vacations usually come in 7 day intervals (if you get them at all), and you spend the first 5 trying to not think about the things that are not getting done because you’re on vacation. However, at camp you don’t have time to think about business because you’re too busy trying to pretend you’re a hockey pro. It gives me an opportunity to spend my free time thinking about life, and family, with a much clearer view than usual.

Secondly, I get to appreciate other successful businessmen in recreation mode. You can tell the ones who have achieved balance. You can learn so much by listening.

It makes me laugh a little when I see all the guys at camp heading to the rink for the first time, acting all relaxed and just looking for a good time. That is, of course, until the skates get laced up. I think entrepreneurs are the most competitive of competitors… so how could you possibly put a bus full of them on a sheet of ice and not expect a true match up? It’s great. I love playing with other guys who hate to loose. It makes the camp that much more fun. We all know how to let the losses go after the game, and kick back with a cocktail, reliving the goals we almost made and the passes we almost got off.

That gets me to my second and third points of this blog entry. I’ve been in the middle of some interesting potential business acquisitions lately. I have to tell you, nothing knocks me out like this stuff. I was born, I think, to just get things done. It truly is a brilliant work place right now, and I think the market is positioning for more opportunity and drastic change. It’s just that the process of these things sometimes just makes me want to stick a pen in my eyeball. One of the things I’ve noticed is just how many startup companies’ executives are in a cycle of sorts. The more I talk to people, the more I see that I’m not the only person like this. It seems that every 5 years or so an entrepreneur buys, sells or reinvents. This may seem like a given, but think about it for a moment.

A person who has put everything on the line to create a business legacy is buying, selling, merging or reinventing. There are a lot of reasons for it: changing economy, market share, integration. I think the biggest reason is that the most aggressive, hardest working, most creative people burn themselves out much quicker than most (if they are not careful), and change is a tactic for survival. It’s like running across the desert with your backpack full of rocks on while everyone else is just walking with their water bottle in hand. You’ll get to all of the greatest opportunities first, but not without consequence. Sometimes making a deal to run with someone else will give you a boost of willpower, or perhaps the sight of water will inspire you to keep going. Nonetheless, there is definitely a burn out point that can either create opportunity or disaster.

As an employer, I try to be mindful of this when watching key staff members under pressure. I have also learned that if I don’t want to fall victim of the cycle myself, I have to be mindful of my own capabilities and know when to stop for a breath and some good advice.

There is something my dad use to say to me when I was young: “In great counsel comes great wisdom”. The way for an entrepreneur to not make the dangerous decision during these cycles is to find the counsel of people who can aid in the decision when our focus becomes blurred. A wise friend can be powerful thing. I think too often we don’t reach out to them.

Anyway, enough rambling. Cheers and be well.

CT