Here we are in the 2nd month of 2026; as we prepare for this calendar year and the legislative session, I am rejuvenated by what we have done and what the future holds. I get that revitalization from reading my past posts, as there is a theme of our journey building a foundation for the present to accelerate our future.
From 2021 – I began by talking about how certain words can be nouns and verbs – the subject of the action or the action the subject is taking:
As I have said in previous posts, the power of TEDCO isn’t just about empowering the success of Maryland’s innovation ecosystem. I believe that through that goal, we can make a difference in the inequities of wealth, health, internet and education. To do that we must make a pivot on the pivot that 2021 represents. Yes, I am using “pivot” as a verb and a noun. I believe 2020 served as the “pivot” (noun) – the central factor on which something, in this case TEDCO, turns. The multiplicity of 2020 events, though challenging can serve as our pivot to a better TEDCO. And we use those events to “pivot” (verb) – to cause a turn or change in what we do, how we serve and how we measure that success. We will soon begin to hear from our 1TC (1TEDCO Collaborative) colleagues and their collective thinking on how we will use the 2020 pivot to pivot to a TEDCO that will use operational and talent excellence to build a sustainable Maryland innovation ecosystem that can lead to increased resources to meet our goals due to effective storytelling.
As we started 2022, we were exploring the book “The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization:”
The key word in the title and that has consistently been at the heart of our review thus far is “performance.” The definition of “performance” is “how effective something or someone is at doing a good job.” Given the fact that the title is a “Creating the High-Performance Organization,” we must alter that definition to be “how effective something or someone is at doing a great job.” In pursuing that goal, we have reviewed the authors’ definitions and characteristics of a high-performing team as well as the tools necessary to allow for a team to achieve those characteristics. I believe the authors recognize how difficult it is to build and sustain high-performing teams. Time, priorities, personalities, strategies, and emergencies, are just some of the real-life issues that prevent a group becoming a team, much less a high-performing one. Even high-performing teams must face certain inevitabilities, and that brings us to our review this month.
The final chapter of Part Two: Becoming a Team, explores the inevitability that problems will occur and that a team must end. The chapter is entitled “Teams, Obstacles and Endings: Getting Unstuck,” and when I initially read this years ago, I wondered why the authors put these two topics – obstacles and endings – in the same chapter. After reading it again for this review, I now understand why these two topics are combined. Both obstacles and endings present a means for team transition and how that gets embraced and managed will lead to whether performance goals are met.
There is never a straight line to success (#thisshitaintlinear). There will always be something(s) or someone(s) that will create a challenge to the team meeting its goal. And once that challenge is overcome and the performance goal(s) is(are) met, the question is then what?
Both obstacles and endings represent a means for the team to reset themselves and ensure the original performance ethos is relevant, achievable and sustainable.
“…working through the obstacles made the team stronger.”
Either the team must convey a continuing purpose and set of ongoing tasks to another group or team (as is the case with most teams that run, make, or do things), or the team must ensure that its final recommendations are carried out by others who will implement them. In either case, unless the ending is a well-handled transition, valuable performance can be lost.”
When we get to Feb-2023, I lost my mind and assumed I was our newly inaugurated Governor’s ghost writer!
I was frankly very moved by now Governor Wes Moore’s inauguration speech.
Though I clearly didn’t help him write it (maybe?!?!), it is aligned to what our conversations and actions have been about. He discussed stitching, scaling, storytelling and sticking. He wove them together in a compelling means that lead me to believe he’s been observant of our work!...
as his ghost writer, I asked him to add these pieces too…
“But only if we are intentional, inclusive, and disciplined in confronting challenges, making hard choices, and seizing the opportunity in front of us.”
“The path forward requires us to do these things together… We must form broad coalitions that bring people together”
That last quote sure sounds like the “coalition of the willing” we are building for Cultivate. For storytelling, he set the expectation that “We do not have to choose between a competitive economy and an equitable one.” Meeting these goals will be a great story to tell, and we can help (“cultivate”) in making that a reality.
And he didn’t forget stickiness – “We can attract and retain top industries, like aerospace, clean energy, and cybersecurity.”
February 2024 restored my sanity and my thoughts from that time are linked to my opening statements about foundation building:
The Chinese calendar follows a lunisolar calendar and has a 12-year cycle, so 2024 (as I mentioned last month) serves as the year of the Wood Dragon, starting from February 10th, 2024, for the Chinese calendar – the Wood Dragon symbolizes power, nobleness, honor, luck, and success in traditional Chinese culture. The Dragon is a supernatural being with no parallel for talent and excellence. In addition, “the nourishing Wood element will bring evolution, improvement and abundance; it is the perfect time for rejuvenated beginnings and setting the foundation for long-term success.”
And that brings us to TEDCO and 2024. There are many areas we are evolving, improving and laying the foundations for long-term success, including (but not limited to)
- Evolving our IT support system and a rejuvenated beginning for PeopleSoft to serve us and the ecosystem better;
- Improving the way in which we work via a new office that we will occupy in early 2024 that will lay the foundation for serving our hybrid work needs and brining greater abundance to our ecosystem
- Improving our investments in our investments in you, your family and your professional development as we evolve our benefits and talent support efforts; and
- Setting the foundation for long-term success by evolving our organizational structure and seeking non-State of MD resources.
And the success we have had and continue to build towards is because of each of you and the relationships you have built and are building with one another – that is the ultimate foundation for TEDCO’s and our ecosystem’s success; that is the heart (intention) of my Feb-2025 message.
But the most famous February holiday (apologies to Ground Hogs, George and Abe) is Valentine’s Day – the day we celebrate the loves in our life. Can’t resist this but love is derived from an Indo-European and Sanskrit word meaning “desires.” Got nothing to do what I want to chat about but thought it was interesting. Or maybe it might???
What Valentine’s Day is really about is the relationships in our life that matter. Obviously, the focus is on those personal ones but given the time we spend with each other I would argue we should also celebrate our TEDCO and ecosystem relationships. Our Core Values guide us in building, growing and sustaining our internal and external relationships. And as we venture through 2025 – in which we plan on having the 11th Entrepreneur Expo – those relationships will help us weather the storms and have those to celebrate the rainbows with. Given that “love” is derived from “desires,” I would say our love for TEDCO is based on our desire to make Maryland the best at starting, growing and scaling early-stage technology and life science firms.
I will close with the close from the Governor in 2023
“Maryland, our time is now. Our time is now to build a state that those who came before us fought for, a state that leaves no one behind. That is not a slogan; it is a fulfillment of a hope. It’s our time, Maryland. Let’s lead."