How did you choose the name of your business or nonprofit?

Did you use your initials?

Is it inspirational?

Does it have a secret meaning? 

Was it the only name available?

Since I started the business earlier this year, a few people have asked where the idea for the name Horizon came from. My background is in change management and human capital consulting for Fortune 500 companies. So my teams and I would spend a lot of time at the beginning of a project working with our client leaders to identify where they wanted to be in 1, 3, or 5 years. We would then start to think about what that journey would require. Establish the roadmap, identify stakeholders, work on their messaging, blah blah. But what the conversations always started with, and what was always referred back to, was the Northstar that they were looking to achieve.

When I started Horizon, my goal was to bring corporate consulting experience to the organizations that are mission driven, impacting local and global communities. So I played with names around journey and path and maps and vision. I started looking at pictures for inspiration, and began noticing the horizons at the “end” of the paths.

And what I like about the idea of horizons is that everyone’s perspective is different. The horizon in your view depends on your vantage point. Because the horizon isn’t a singular, fixed place. It moves as you move. But it provides a direction, a target to head towards. When the sun rises or sits against the horizon, it provides the viewer with a compass.

So as I work with clients today on strategic planning, start up advisory, and even facilitating leadership teams, the first question is still always where are we heading?

Tell us the origin of your company’s name in the comments.