Baseball is life. Even after 42 summers, it still provides lessons to guide me—particularly now under the pressure of a start-up environment (based in Tallahassee, Florida). I've rounded quite a few bases, worn a lot of uniforms and called many places home.

A gas station attendant, pet store clerk, landscaper, waiter, Lutheridge Summer Camp counselor and third-shift materials handler at a fiber-optic cable manufacturer were titles I assumed to supplement Mom and Dad's monthly subsidies through high school and college. The Recession Minor of the mid-80s meant pushing lumber, dusting dumb bells and telemarketing would provide little toward student loans until my first professional job at Fogleman & Partners Advertising. 

My editor, Joan Lail, spent the first three weeks insisting I be fired for lack of writing skills. Lucky for me, she took me under her wing and taught me the difference between the prepositions "more than" and "over"—and then some. I've learned more from mistakes than success. A controversial transition of an in-house communications department to a for-profit advertising agency was an introduction to entrepreneurship, local politics and the dangerous mixture of the two. 

Academic life and consulting provided a backdrop for learning the nuances of marketing communications in the new digital age. The call away from the Ivory Tower was too much to resist as General Motors opened its once stand-alone division, eGM. From Detroit and Europe, I returned to the Sunshine State to join an outstanding team of tourism marketing professionals at VISIT FLORIDA, formerly known as FLA USA, but what's in a name? 

Plucked out of political obscurity by Governor Charlie Crist, I assumed my first job in public service joining dedicated state employees who are predominantly disposed to doing an honorable job in a process that rewards neither efficiency nor innovation. I now enjoy a bit of distance from the politics but relish the continued connection with policy wonks and engaged communities dedicated to the renewal of liberty and the pursuit of economic progress. In 2013, Thinkspot Inc. launched.

 

Twitter: @dalebrill

 

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