In Maui for the next week. Occasion: our 31st anniversary. Opportunity: use the downtime to think about what comes next in my career.

Intelleflex, the company I've led for almost four years, will almost certainly be sucessful in the end. It has a coherent and differentiated strategy connecting our unique capabilities with unmet high value customer needs. Together with attracting a strong team and creating a culture of execution and customer success, that's how you build a great company: solve customer problems they care about in ways uniquely tied to your sustainable advantages.

In order to secure ongoing funding support in this very tough economy however, we've had to cut it back to where Intelleflex is essentially an engineering team working on a second generation product set. Full stop. Back in January we eliminated our sales, marketing and business development teams. I've been handling those functions, in minimalist maintenance mode, ever since.

We also slashed expenses everywhere possible, including in our own compensation. I'm now working for less than I received for my first junior engineering job, in a 5 person start-up, in 1978.

Our plan is to remain in this posture until the new products come on line around May of next year, when we'll then slowly expand. Market focus will remain largely centered on a handful of strategic customers.

Last month, after wrestling for some time with how to balance company interests with my own, I effected a change in role that allows me to keep faith with my commitments to investors and team, continue to help guide Intelleflex to success, while moving on to seek new opportunities that align to my experiences, skills, interests and financial goals.

With Board approval, I became Executive Chairman, and handed over president and CEO responsibilities to Peter Mehring, formerly our Chief Product Officer. That transition now almost entirely complete, I'm beginning to turn my thinking to the future.

This week on the beach is therefor most timely, allowing me the opportunity to clear my head and get focused on what comes next. The change of scenary and open calendar help. Time to talk things over with Ellie does too.

But I'm also finding that another project, started recently with no focus on career planning, is also adding powerful perspective… But you'll have to wait for tomorrow's post to learn about that. Because now, I'm going to walk out onto our lanai, have a cup of coffee, and take in this view…