After graduating from university, I worked in a laboratory as a quality control technician and later for a pharmaceutical company, first as a production manager and then as a medical sales representative. My personal interests were no exception. I became a gifted horse rider in my early twenties, but also had an interest in the guitar and became licensed as a pilot. There seemed to be no end to what there was to explore. The zig-zag continued!
A significant turning point occurred in 1979, when Merck & Co., Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company, offered me a position in the United States . This opened up even more possibilities. Eager to learn, I held positions in marketing research, strategic planning, advertising, promotion, and regional marketing, while capitalizing on opportunities to enhance my formal education. I was later offered a new opportunity to move to Hong Kong to head up Far East Operations. The assignment was simple, but challenging: The Company had no business platform in the region. My job was to build one.
I will always remember the years that followed as the most fulfilling time in my career as an employee of a large corporation. I assembled a team of highly skilled young professionals, had manager who was supportive, yet gave me a lot of autonomy, and was working in a region that was moving forward very rapidly. While my team and I worked very hard, most of us were living our passions. Work became a joyful exploration of even more possibilities.
Some years later, after a newly appointed CEO moved me to another position of ‘even higher responsibility' back at corporate headquarters, I knew that it was time to move on. I left Merck in 1999, and took a two year break during which I built a farm in Virginia and bred and trained horses, spending a good deal of time focusing on my future.
In 2001, I joined the consulting practice of my partner, Alaina Love, with whom I had always shared similar views on leadership, in particular how to leverage our passions to both achieve business results and enjoy a fulfilling work experience. Since partnering, we have both dedicated our time to researching purpose and passion especially as they relate to the work environment. We know that this groundbreaking effort will change the way organizations recruit, select, train and develop people. It will also improve the way organizations manage, reward and motivate their talent. Most importantly, we know that our work will make the lives of employees more fulfilling and at the same time, more productive. And we are passionate about these possibilities!
mcugnon@thepurposelink.com
