48: Samir Wagle
Source: SunSentinel
About Samir
Samir Wagle is the founder of 11:11 Partners and the kind of guy who’s been willing to make the hard choices necessary to craft the life he wants.
After getting his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Samir dove headfirst into… hamburgers. The glorious golden arches welcomed the freshly educated Boothie as the director of operations and although he wouldn’t stay long at McDonalds, Samir’s path would eventually culminate in the role of President and CEO of Protein Bar, where he oversaw strategic improvements that drove a 40% increase in sales and a reduction in employee turnover.
Very nice. But not really. Samir realized that he was no longer happy in his marriage and also hated his job. A realignment was in order. So, over the course of four months, he got divorced, and quit… with nothing lined up. His immigrant parents, who figured by this point that they had nothing to worry about, started to get worried again.
Meanwhile, Samir asked himself this crazy question: who do I want to be? And then he asked the critical follow up question that made the difference between wishing and action: what am I willing to give up to get there?
As usually happens in times of introspection, it got a little dark. He pictured himself in a small garden apartment with a bottle of vodka as his only companion.
Fortunately, Samir arrived at a conclusion that would drive the next chapter of his career: external success doesn’t automatically deliver internal happiness. After realizing that he loved building high-performance teams, Samir founded 11:11 Partners, an executive search firm focused on finding and developing leaders for high-growth, purpose-driven organizations.
The focus at 11:11 has its roots in the Japanese philosophy of Ikigai, which, roughly translated, means your “reason for being.” Samir and his team want to find developing leaders at the intersection of their passion and skillset, which, incidentally, not only makes for engaged people, but, I would wager, probably reduces turnover as well.
And as for Samir’s own Ikigai? Well, in addition to his firm, it involves twice daily meditation, lots of home cooking, and, in his own words, stirring up trouble with his wife and son.
He had to learn some lessons the hard way, but… he’s emerged from the crucible all the better for it. As Samir likes to say, now his “insides and outsides are much more in alignment”.