As The Osborne Group approaches it’s 30th Anniversary in 2023, it got me thinking about how much has changed since those early years. I’ve had the privilege of working with this extraordinary organization from day one and seen this growth firsthand.
Osborne started with ten principals in shared office space in Don Mills. In those early days we were very much focussing on educating the business world that contract executives were a viable option to hiring employees. It took several years to break that mindset because interim/contract management was simply unheard of. We established a good track record of completed contracts of both projects and interim assignments – garnered a host of testimonials, which certainly helped open more doors. Also in those early years, technology was on the cusp of exploding….laptops were just becoming available; the internet and wifi launched – email replaced snail mail and faxing. In fact, Osborne was one of the first on the scene with a very crude website…we’ve certainly come light years since that time.
Also in those early days, we were very much a male focused organization – the owners were men and most of their network were men. Over the years we have certainly evolved, and now number 37 Principals comprised of 50%/50% women and men. Our focus in those early days was primarily small to medium sized businesses. And while that is still our niche, we now have great experience and success in the nonprofit sector. If you spend a few minutes browsing our team on our website, you’ll very quickly learn the depth and breadth of our experience.
We have come through the other side of the Covid crisis transitioning to a predominantly remote office with scarcely a blip in the radar…a testament to our ability to adapt and thrive.
While I’m very proud to have been part of this ground-breaking organization for the past 30 years….I’m keenly aware that time has just flown by! I continue to be in awe of the talent within this group, and the relationships we’ve developed over the years.
Cheers to the next thirty!
Krista Sweet – Manager, Finance and Administrative Services
