I’ve hired and managed a lot of people in my career. Every once in a while, I get a highly confident engineer that looks at the series of tasks at-hand and worries out loud to me: “I’m going to work myself out of a job.” They see a list of chronic problems to be solved and a bunch of manual processes to be automated. They see themselves as equal to the task. That’s a good thing, but there’s more to…
I remember it like it was yesterday. A few years ago, I was in hotel conference center in downtown Minneapolis at one of the premiere events for technology executives. It was a high-end event that attracted the top leaders in the area. I, along with everyone else, was wearing a suit. The lights dimmed, and the keynote speaker walked on stage. A hush fell over the crowd. It was Palo Alto Networks founder and CTO, Nir Zuk. He was wearing…
For most of my career, I’ve looked at mentorship as something I needed, and not something I had to give. I’ve benefited greatly from mentors in my life. I saw them as wise and experienced. I saw myself as a learner. They helped me see things and understand challenges in ways that I could not on my own. I think I will probably benefit from being mentored for the rest of my life, but when is the right time to…
Do you ever get bored at work? Your first response might be, “no, I’m crazy busy.” That would be the “lack of busyness” kind of bored. I’ve been there. There was a short season at a company I used to work at where there was nothing to do. That company was winding down toward bankruptcy and we had plenty of time on our hands to shoot each other with Nerf dart guns. That’s not what this article is about. There’s…
Early in my career, technical certifications were a big deal. Even now, as a technology leader, I often get asked about my philosophy regarding technical certifications. Employees ask if I am for them, against them, or neutral. Ultimately some of them are just wondering whether or not I will pay for their certification. I thought I’d use this article to describe what I believe is a healthy approach toward technical certifications. I’ll use my own examples, not so you know…
Enterprise technology is the business of customer service. Sure, we are highly technical. We also are innovators of the digital revolution, and protectors of enterprise information. There are a lot of aspects to the job, and we need to do them all well. But at the end of the day, there is one overarching measure of success: Did we serve the customer? My passion for customer service runs deep. I learned the basics on my first job as a paper…
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I am a technology leader. When they ask me specifically what that entails in a typical day, I say that I spend the majority of my time in meetings. The response to that is often a bemoaning sentiment, such as, “All day every day in meetings? That sounds terrible and boring.” There are people that hate meetings. I’m not one of them. They are a helpful…
Think back to when you were a kid. What was the first music album that you purchased? Whatever it was, it probably doesn’t represent your current music taste, as you’ve certainly matured. If you are like me, it was simply a sign of the times. Oh, and what bizarre times they were. My first music purchase was a cassette of Milli Vanilli’s Girl You Know It’s True. Poke fun at me if you want, I can take it. Just in…
Omelets You have probably heard the expression, “you’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.” This means that if you want to accomplish something, it is inevitable that some sacrifices or mistakes must occur. In the world of enterprise technology, we often talk about cutting edge technology and agile practices. It’s often the new technology and practices that are less stable and proven than the legacy technologies and traditional practices. Hippocrates You have probably heard of the…
In The Return of the Jedi, the Emperor did a nice job of executing a comprehensive plan to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side, crush the Rebellion, and rule the galaxy. Admiral Ackbar astutely observed that the rebellion had fallen into a trap and Luke succumbed to the Emperor’s manipulation. Things were looking good for the Emperor, who had previously declared, “everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.” That’s a pretty good place to be. As a leader, you…