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405 Leadership Advisors

Endings & Beginnings

Published 13 days ago • 2 min read

Many of you will be turning the page and refocusing as we close Q1 2026 and hit the ground running for Q2. Some of you are still just heads down, working away, unaware of the quarterly cycles that drive many businesses and reporting rhythms.

Neither of those postures is wrong. It depends on where you are in business and how your life is structured. Quarterly rhythms can be very helpful. They can also be unnecessary if you aren’t beholden to them.

I’m turning the page this week, but not just to a new quarter.

You’re reading this, most likely, because of my business and leadership coaching. But I also have a corporate career that drives much of my professional life. I don’t write about it much, but if you follow me on LinkedIn (you should!), then you might have seen that I left my previous employer on Friday. It was a bittersweet ending to a good season of life, but I felt it was best to move toward a new opportunity.

So this week, I started a new role at a new company. It’s a role that will leverage my strengths, allow me to exercise more leadership, and help a growing company. It’s a fun role with a few good friends and many coworkers I’ve worked with in the past.

This career transition is one of my own choosing, but many times we are forced into change. Change can be draining and stressful. I’ve found that no matter the cause, it’s always better to look ahead for blessings and benefits instead of looking behind at what was lost.

I highly recommend a book by Dr. Henry Cloud on the topic of endings. It’s called Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward.

Here’s a summary quote—and one that helped me as I made the decision to end one role and start a new one:

“Whether we like it or not, endings are a part of life. They are woven into the fabric of life itself, both when it goes well, and also when it doesn’t. On the good side of life, for us to ever get to a new level, a new tomorrow, or the next step, something has to end. Life has seasons, stages, and phases. For there to be anything new, old things always have to end, and we have to let go of them.”
— Dr. Henry Cloud

Here’s to new things, new adventures, and the blessings that come after necessary endings.

Phil

P.S. My next topic is on hiring and building teams, which I think will be a great resource for you. It came in very handy as I evaluated this job change and decided how to proceed. Let me know if you have specific questions on the topic.

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405 Leadership Advisors

Bringing Confidence and Clarity to Business Leaders

Phil Klutts has over 2 decades of experience leading in small and large companies. He's done a lot, from starting, growing and exiting his own business to leading teams and projects in a Fortune 200 company. His current project, 405 Leadership Advisors, helps leaders gain the confidence and clarity they need to succeed.

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