Welcome to Greg Stout .com

I've put up this website to keep in touch with my friends and to provide a sounding board for ideas

I'm sure most of you know, although some may not, that Ektron abruptly ended the usability work I had been doing there.

If you know me well, you know that I'm always getting offers from different people I’ve worked with in the past so it’s not the end of the world. I am instead looking at this as an opportunity to find myself a new truly exceptional position in the New England area. For years I've been amassing a rather eclectic skills set and I think it's time to find a place that skill set can be fully utilized.

I wanted to take a few moments to answer some of the most common questions I keep getting asked:

Did you see this coming?

Honestly, no I didn't.  I don't even think Ektron saw this coming. I knew that Ektron had been having a few rough months, but I had no idea the situation had become so dire. I'm not alone in this feeling either, most of my friends were caught completely off guard as well. A few weeks before, I'd received an extremely positive review and a raise. A few days before, the COO had asked me to start two new projects. That was on the 28th. The month closed three days later, and the following Monday the work ended. I don't want to give any specifics, but let's just say that the numbers for October did not meet expectations.

Are you angry or bitter?

I am disappointed to no longer be working with my friends at Ektron but there isn't much that makes me feel angry or bitter. I liked both Ektron's spirit and the people there; leaving them behind will be the saddest thing for me.

Ektron is going through some tough times and felt they had to cut costs. Sadly, I ended up being one of those costs.

What now?

That is the most interesting question I keep getting asked. It's also the hardest.

I've thought a lot about going back into project management or perhaps, product management, since that's what I've basically been doing for the past few years. In either case, I've certainly got the skill set to make a success of either position. There are several start ups that I'm looking at with interest. It would be fun to grow an entire department from the very beginning. For now I'm going to continue with GRSDesign until something pops up that really grabs my attention.

I ask all of you my friends to keep in touch as I go through the next few weeks looking at different positions, if you can think of that you would like to recommend. Please do so.