The Unexpected CEO #9: A Season of Shift

There’s a lot to be said about summer.

School’s out. Vacation. Downtime. Hot. Humid. Sprinklers. Swimming pools. Trips to the lake. Camping “up north” for two weeks. Sno-cones. County fairs. Long bike rides with no particular destination. These are some of my fondest memories growing up in Michigan.

I still remember that last day of school: walking home with friends, feeling like we’d just been handed the keys to the kingdom. Three whole months ahead of us. We made plans, of course–most of which never quite materialized. Our parents usually had their own agenda. Still, those first few days held a kind of sacred stillness. A disorienting abundance of time. I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. It felt like I was rich in a new kind of currency: unstructured hours.

Sister Penny (r) with me and ol’ no. 57 (our Holiday Rambler travel trailer), which we parked in the same spot every year in Harrisville, MI, on Lake Huron, during my Dad's two-week vacation from the factory.

Summer is often a season of transition—from frenetic pace to purposeful pause. After three years of running a company I never expected to lead, I’m beginning to learn how to breathe again. And it feels ... unfamiliar. But also like a gift.

I think I’m in a similar place now.

In my recent blog posts, I wrote about welcoming Jared Taylor as our new Chief Operating Officer (COO). He’s been with ScribeConcepts for three months now. And in that time, so much has changed.

First and foremost, Jared is a true thought partner. He brings a rare combination of deep education expertise and publishing savvy, an ideal match for our scrappy, 20+-year-old “startup.” Together, we’ve been examining every aspect of the company: staffing, structure, policies, revenue, expenditures—you name it.

Frankly, both of our workweeks are so full that I don’t know how I managed without a COO.

Secondly, and perhaps most excitingly, I feel renewed energy about the future of ScribeConcepts. What Chris built was extraordinary. His fingerprints are everywhere: in our culture, in our commitment to service, and in our deep care for learning. But recently, in one of those offhand moments that stay with you, someone told me: “It’s no longer your husband’s company.”

Wow.

This is a new era. ScribeConcepts had navigated its early years, weathered a global pandemic, and endured the heartbreak of losing its founder. What remains—and continues to evolve—is an organization with clear values, white-glove service, clients who align with our mission, and an unwavering commitment to making learning accessible for everyone.

And here’s the third shift: I have time.

After nearly three years of learning every inch of this business—currently serving as our one-person finance department, no less!—I’m beginning to experience the gift of space. Time to breathe. To reflect. To reconnect with friends and family. To imagine what might come next.

That’s why these summer memories keep resurfacing. Summer, after all, is a season of transition, from frenetic pace to purposeful pause. From structure to stillness. From doing to becoming.

And like those first few days of break, when the usual routine slips away and I’m left blinking into the daylight, I find myself wondering what to do with this newfound time. It’s unfamiliar. Maybe even a little unsettling.

But it’s also a gift.

And I’m learning how to receive it.