My dear sister called me unexpectedly out of the blue one day almost exactly 10 years ago...right at the precise moment in time when I was glaring incredulously at the small strip of a take-it-at-home pregnancy exam ...showing "a big + sign" Both my wife (then at age 42) and I were in a state of shock....Pregnant...again...numero cuatro No. 4, child!!!
As I answered the phone and fained complete normalcy...my sister..who hardly ever called...detected something in my voice...that led her to ask, "Fermin, what's up...it seems like you're concerned about something?"...at such an early stage..and not having even seen the doctor...I uttered some mundane answer of the sort..."well Teri, sometimes things happen". I'll always remember her response which I share with my friends and colleagues and whoever else reads my blog, which has so much bearing and relevance in our lives and in the work that we do:
"Well Fermin....you know what they say don't you?" ....
"Life is what happens, when you plan otherwise!"
We all know how right she was.
Alexander the great! That's #4 he rules the family at age 9.
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So you may ask..why the title of this post...Turning Point?
Well, because a Turning Point such as the one above...is a major realization of a shift in direction.
I experienced one such realization last Wednesday, June 18th finishing up my last day at SAP after 13 years of loyalty and dedication. My friends and colleagues braved the summer rains to meet at Lario's on Ocean Drive (Gloria Estefan's place..yes this is Cuban) to join me there because I wanted to leave on my own terms..."with a mojito in my hand...and an entire ocean at my view". Well, to my colleagues and friends..thanks for the good thoughts and the photo album of how we made history over the years!.
The Spanish translation of "Turning Point" is "Punto de Inflección", which in English translates to "Inflection Point" which in differential calculus, an inflection point, or point of inflection (or inflexion) is a point on a curve at which the curvature changes sign.
There you go, from a quickie Wikipedia definition...I think we all get the message....and if you follow my polemic..understand what I'm talking about...I'm embarking on a new positive and upward ascending path..a new direction.
The name Turning Point actually came from an email I wrote to none other than Hasso Plattner the founder of SAP...after viewing his performance and noticeable emotional effect of announcing the departure of his long time protege Shai Agassi at the "global all hands" Employee meeting...yes another one of those rare moments where an entire ship changes course and direction...thus the Subject of the email was entitled "Turning Point". This was over a year ago. The meat of the memo is really insignificant. I wanted to hear from the founders...the architects of the BORG....the truth about where we were heading and whether or not the future was worth exploring and continuing with gusto and dedication....ya..ya...ya..blah..blah..blah..
"Message deleted without reading" was the return receipt information that came back!
So...Turning Point...is the subject matter that I've been working on for the past year and then some.
Turning Point is not only relative to the Software Industry, but to our global state of affairs. Economic and Geo-Political powers are on the threshold of change. Our very future as a global player hinges on our ability to effect change toward a more positive environmental and economic advantage.
The Turning Point is now!
Turning Point is here...........http://TurningPoint-Solutions.com
Let's turn this ship around!
