I don’t know anything. There’s a song line, I think perhaps from U2, or Rod Stewart, or Crosby, Still and Nash, that goes something like “I wish I knew now what I knew then”. I may have made that up, but it sums up my thoughts about myself pretty neatly. I’ve spent the last 22 years working in the technology space within the technical/customer support and sales engineering/solutions consulting areas, having spent the previous 8 working in college counseling (at both the university and secondary ed levels). I have read extensively in both fiction and non-fiction. I have travelled widely, and spent time on four continents. I look back on my past writings, presentations, and correspondence in awe of how certain and erudite I was. I am working to become that confident, intelligent and valuable again.
Here are a few things I do know:
Culture eats process for breakfast
Without process, there can be no success
Success comes from consistent effort and humility
Humility, intentionality and inquisitiveness yield culture
Communication, and the lack thereof, drives culture
But I could be wrong. Time will tell.
In the meantime, my plan is to describe what I’ve seen work (and why), what hasn’t (and what role I played in that), and what might work in the future. I’ll use my past experiences and interactions to help tell the story, using pseudonyms to protect the innocent and the guilty. Sometimes. Comments, critiques, and collaboration are both welcome and expected.