By Adrian Jennings.
So, today’s the big day: Ubisense goes public. This is a first for me – I’ve never woken up working for a publicly traded company before, and when I went to bed last night I wondered if it would somehow feel different. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the previous months of build-up: what will I do differently in a post IPO Ubisense?
Well, the first thing that is different is that I am awake at 2:00am US central time for the opening of the London Stock Exchange – that’s where Ubisense is being floated on the AIM market. Dedicated as I am, I’m rarely working at 2:00am – it’s really not my most productive time. But it just seemed right to be awake at the opening bell for this potentially seismic shift in the company.
What will I do different today then, and every day from now on? This is an important milestone: an endorsement not only about past performance but future potential, a strong statement about current growth. I really ought to act accordingly, reassess my role, make the necessary changes, start afresh in this brave new post-IPO world.
But I really don’t feel any different: yesterday I woke up knowing what my job is, knowing how it fits into the overall business, and working hard to get it done. Today feels pretty much the same – I still know what to do, why I’m doing it and how to get it done. This has been bothering me but I think I have finally come to the conclusion that that’s the whole point: nothing has changed (unless you’re the CFO – his life just got REALLY interesting!)
Nothing is actually supposed to change – the IPO is a rung on the ladder, but it’s all the same ladder. We’re still 100% about developing value added products and services that our customers need, and in so doing creating a return for the people invested in creating those products, both employees and owners alike. Here I’ve been worrying about why I didn’t feel different today when I think I should actually be pleased about that.
So, what will I do different today? Absolutely nothing – business as usual. The IPO opens up some very interesting options and opportunities, and allows more people to benefit from the success, but the core business goals are exactly the same: derive value by creating value.
Maybe one thing will change for me: I now have one more reason to pull out my smart phone obsessively – got to watch that stock price….
So, today’s the big day: Ubisense goes public. This is a first for me – I’ve never woken up working for a publicly traded company before, and when I went to bed last night I wondered if it would somehow feel different. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the previous months of build-up: what will I do differently in a post IPO Ubisense?
Well, the first thing that is different is that I am awake at 2:00am US central time for the opening of the London Stock Exchange – that’s where Ubisense is being floated on the AIM market. Dedicated as I am, I’m rarely working at 2:00am – it’s really not my most productive time. But it just seemed right to be awake at the opening bell for this potentially seismic shift in the company.
What will I do different today then, and every day from now on? This is an important milestone: an endorsement not only about past performance but future potential, a strong statement about current growth. I really ought to act accordingly, reassess my role, make the necessary changes, start afresh in this brave new post-IPO world.
But I really don’t feel any different: yesterday I woke up knowing what my job is, knowing how it fits into the overall business, and working hard to get it done. Today feels pretty much the same – I still know what to do, why I’m doing it and how to get it done. This has been bothering me but I think I have finally come to the conclusion that that’s the whole point: nothing has changed (unless you’re the CFO – his life just got REALLY interesting!)
Nothing is actually supposed to change – the IPO is a rung on the ladder, but it’s all the same ladder. We’re still 100% about developing value added products and services that our customers need, and in so doing creating a return for the people invested in creating those products, both employees and owners alike. Here I’ve been worrying about why I didn’t feel different today when I think I should actually be pleased about that.
So, what will I do different today? Absolutely nothing – business as usual. The IPO opens up some very interesting options and opportunities, and allows more people to benefit from the success, but the core business goals are exactly the same: derive value by creating value.
Maybe one thing will change for me: I now have one more reason to pull out my smart phone obsessively – got to watch that stock price….
2 comments:
Great post Adrian. Isn't the next phase, how do you keep growing long term while also providing investors with a return quarter on quarter.
best of luck
Rob
Rob, absolutely - but then again that's not so different from any previous quarter. You can look at it from lots of angles, but at the core the mission is to keep doing more of the same and that way everyone wins: sharholders, customers and employees.
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