2012

2012. The Year of the Dragon. The first year I've ever begun married. Teaching my first course. The Summer Olympics. Rice's Centennial. This is going to be a BIG year!

Smart Office Energy Solutions is starting off on a good note. We closed out last year with awards, patents, and closure of our investment round. This year we must, must, MUST reach full commercial launch, which we're targeting in the third quarter. That will be a profound change from the "orchestrating" mode we're in right now to full-on "operating," to which I really look forward.

The biggest change for me professionally, though, is teaching for the first time. Rice has asked me and another alum to teach entrepreneurship to the undergrads this semester. I'll address this more in a separate post but suffice to say I'm really excited. We have lofty, ambitious goals for the course but, with capable, motivated students, anything is possible!

Also regarding Rice, Katie and I have been tapped to chair Homecoming this year. Normally we would be honored by this consideration, but we are especially tickled since this is Rice's big Centennial year! We'll work hard to ensure that this is the biggest, best Homecoming ever!

It's not all Rice, though, as I'm working hard this year to foster community among IMD's nearly 500 alumni in Houston. Instead of the traditional "big event" model, I'm hoping to generate momentum from the ground up with more frequent, lower overhead events. Additionally, I'm coordinating with the other North American IMD alumni club presidents to organize an all-continent reunion this August in Boston.

On the health front, I didn't hit my goals last year so I'm doubling down in 2012. Already I've made some great progress (separate post to follow), which I intend to keep up. This has required much more focused attention nutritionally, which has been a big change.

My top goal for 2012? Keep my awesome wife happy! Her birthday is coming up and we're celebrating with what should be an amazing wine dinner tonight - a great start to her next year!

2012: full of excitement and possibility . . . Enter the Dragon!