I graduated in the early nineties during a recession and without much of a plan as to what to do next. Kinesiology was a fairly new concept to the working world (at least based on the reactions I got during the four years I was attending school by those who asked what I was studying?). Those classmates who took the degree to the next level; PT, OT, Medicine, Chiropractic Medicine or teaching ended up pretty successful…or so it seems on LinkedIn. I didn’t take it to the next level. I wanted to work. I had always worked at something. I loved those summer jobs of farming, landscaping, house painting, masonry…those physically demanding jobs that had a means to an end. You saw the results at the end of day. I guess I wanted to see that in a newfound professional career. I just really didn’t plan for it.
I stumbled, yep, pretty much stumbled into the world of Home HealthCare. A two-line want ad in the Toronto Star actually used the term “Kinesiologist” …wasn’t I one? Well I guess I was because the management team hired me on my second interview (they forgot about my first one because I sat for three hours in the lobby waiting on them until they rescheduled). Maybe it was guilt or pity but there I was, an employed Kinesiologist and I didn’t have to drive a Zamboni!
From that point on its been a nearly 30-year roller coaster ride. The same ride that everyone has experienced through a 30-year career. Well maybe not everyone because it has been pretty eventful. I have been purchased, resigned, laid-off, fired, and stood wondering if those same people who said “Wow, you’re really in a growing market eh? The population is aging so you’re going to be rich eh?”, really knew what they were talking about.
Jim Closs is a trusted advisor to the Occupational Therapy profession. He has worked with individual Occupational Therapists and with our professional organizations to help support and educate where mobility and lift products are concerned. Jim’s strength is his knowledge of the product landscape, and together with his technical expertise, he provides therapists with feature focused solutions to the physical challenges their clients face. On a personal level, Jim has worked with me to collaborate and develop new products and services – his understanding of the marketplace has been invaluable.
I’ve worked on million-dollar projects, humble residential projects, been part of strategy meetings, corporate mandates and budget meetings, been to the Google offices, toured many factories, met and worked with colleagues from around the world, spoke in front of a variety of professional groups and sat in many kitchens with clients over the years.
I’ve been called a Rainmaker and a disruptor, but those monikers really didn’t drive me, nor did they even help in the long run. I have had to reinvent myself and my message a few times now and as It turns out it never really was about getting rich or some power trip. The satisfaction to this day is the cliché that, “I help people” …I don’t make them better, I don’t have a magic wand, nor do I pretend to have any answers. As it turns out, I do have some. I have an ability to listen and connect some dots and that is often enough to really impact someone’s life.