It’s not as if Jared Heyman isn’t a nice guy. He does look likeable. And, as a driven businessman and entrepreneur, his success deserves celebration in ways he chooses. But, his idea of a sabbatical as “running away,” curls my brain.
Taking into consideration that INC. needs to sell buckets of magazines, perhaps he did have a better message than the one of “escape, partying and sitting on a beach” presented in the lead story chronicling his year-long round-the-world time out. (Inc., November 2011, Inside the Mind of a Runaway CEO.)
But, you know, I doubt it. He looks way too detached on that November cover of Inc. magazine and cocky in the five accompanying photos – two bare-chested- flaunting his current message of self-rapture. “Being free and unencumbered is probably the biggest thing that motivates me,” states this founder of Infosurv, an Atlanta-based market research company.
(Whoops! Make that three bare-chested photos . Just discovered this one on the motorcycle on his way to a kite-surfing lesson along a stretch of the Brazilian coast.)
Third bare chested photo of Jared Heyman, founder of Infosurv, in Inc. story.
As yourSAbbatical gains traction in on-boarding top-level executives to the idea that the benefits of time away from a work life posts positive results on bottom line revenues, creativity, innovation, team development and succession planning, aren’t we just giddy about a story of a CEO who is surprised when the person he left in charged was spending money much more freely than he ever did and counters with the reaction of “he really didn’t care.”
No. We’re not happy about this sabbatical story.
Yes, the team left behind flourishes in their happiness of not having Heyman around and morale zooms to high levels. (Is this a take-away for a leader?) The company prospers and Carl Fusco, Infosurv’s 56-year-old now in-command person, rises to the occasion of prime decision maker.
Still, he’s confused about the intentions of his boss. “I’ll see a tweet come up on my LinkedIn page on how he is chewing on coca plants on tromping through the Andes. I really don’t know what his intentions are,” states Fusco.
As far as positioning sabbaticals as a serious developmental experience for an leader and a team, with positive results for a company, this story feels to me like two-steps-forward-and-one-step-back. Heyman’s story belongs in a travel magazine.
Am I over reacting and adopting a bit of a drill sergeant attitude about this? Is Heyman learning something about being a better person and leader and I missed it? You read the article and let me know what redeeming value Heyman‘s story creates for companies and individuals wanting to be convinced the experience of time out is a worthy one.
The odd reunion of Heyman and his company after his absence of 11 months was reported as informal and odd. Fusco was disappointed with how Heyman showed his appreciation for the work he had done and Fusco said this about his raise. “It’s not what I had hoped for.”
Want more disappointing outcomes? Check in with Lauren Goldstein, the girl friend of two and a half years, who got dumped three months into what she thought was a “couple adventure.” “I felt misled,” she said.
Well, Laura, so does his company.
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- Heyman on the beach in Brazil; Fusco talking strategy back in Atlanta Infosurv’s headquarters.
If interested, you’ll find Heyman’s reaction (he’s very pleased) to being on the Inc. cover at www.chasingsummer.net.