It’s No Longer Lonely at the Top

I was talking with Philip Sarofim, a lead investor and board member here at Wisegate, about our members — what they need, who they are, who we serve — and he came out with this great line: “With Wisegate, it’s no longer lonely at the top.” I love that.

A lot of members tell me how isolated they feel in their jobs. Recently one of our founding members, Martin Sandren of Blue Cross Blue Shield, made the point that he is the only person at his company who has his job. A lightbulb went on for me with that comment. THAT is who we serve. THAT is who needs a Wisegate: those who have reached the point in their career where they are the only person at their company who does their job.

When you’ve reached that level, you have big decisions resting with you — purchases, strategies, hiring, big projects — and you are at the top. In a company, there are many tops — it’s not just the CEO. It’s CISOs, senior architects, directors of IT, project managers on big projects – the list goes on.

If you are the only person at your company doing your job, you are at a top. And you need access to people with jobs like yours who face challenges like you face to share experiences in a private manner.

I’ve had members tell me that having that kind of access makes their jobs more fun (fun is underrated in the work environment, but that’s a topic for another blog), reduces the risk and stress of these big decisions and saves a lot of time.

How great that with Wisegate, it’s no longer lonely at the top.