Having dived off the corporate merry go round in 2004 to to swell the ranks of the self employed one of the things I do miss is the coffee machine. Not the coffee, (the withdrawal symptoms left years ago and thankfully my tastebuds have made a full recovery) but the culture and the environment. The coffee machine is a great place to catch up on gossip, network, take a break and even find yourself coaching or being coached. I never gave the coffee machine a second thought when I handed in my final corporate membership pass and never in my wildest imagination would I have thought I would have dedicated a blog to it. I still take coffee breaks when working from home and I still sample the various flavours (Yuk!) of coffee from the machines of my corporate clients but it's not the same. The relationship with the coffee machine, and the people that use it, builds over time, casual visitors are always welcomed at a superfical level but it takes time to gain full membership to the inner sanctum!
I have even dedicated the title of a book to it "The Coffee Machine Coach"! It may be some time before I get it into publication. The intent is to collect my experience in coaching into a useful manual for both professional and amateur coaches. The inspiration for the book and my new career came from an old colleague called Jeff Hambidge who took the trouble to thank me (at the coffee machine) for helping him make a career decision through a quick chat at the coffee machine.
Sadly Jeff died a few years ago so I won't get the chance to let him know that his coffee machine words were also to have a profound effect on my career direction. Trading the safety and comfort of a senior management role and all the corporate trimmings for the relative insecurity of a career in coaching training and writing, thanks Jeff.
It may never replace the real thing but you never know who you might meet at the virtual coffee machine?
Steve.
About Me
- Steve
- One time techie (once described as a recovering engineer - it wasn't a compliment). I now work with organisations to develop innovation, improve performance and inspire leaders. www.relishinnovation.co.uk
3 comments:
Hi Steve,
Your blog has just been e-mailed to me by a close friend(don't know how she came across it!) My name is Emma and i am Jeff's wife. Jeff had an affect on lots of us, he was a great, caring man. He has many friends, family and work colleagues who miss his sense of humour and his shoulder to cry on. I'm sure he would be very honoured to know that he had such an effect on somebody elses life! Thank you
Emma Hambidge
Hi Steve,
I don't know if I ever met you, if so it would have been at Jeff's funeral, I've just shown your article to Jeff's Mom (Thanks Emma)
It's nice to know he is still remembered.
Amanda Hambidge
Hi Emma.
The world is getting smaller, I never imagined my blog would get read let alone be found by anyone slow closely related to Jeff. He was a lovely gentle man with an obsession for dodgy music and guitars as I remember. If I do ever get round to publishing my book he will get a mention.. Thanks for your post. If you ever want to mail me I can be found on plaxo, linked in, facebook et al.
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Steve
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