To play the game of office politics in business...
One needs to look the part. New clothes, sharp haircut, new shoes. Image is everything. Stand tall, stride when you walk with your head held high. People notice when the wardrobe ratchets up a notch. Constancy is key. Keep it up, keep it moving forward.
One needs show competence. Not just that you know your job, but that you do it well. You need to reach outside your box. Put a toe in the other waters. Not only hit all your marks, but hit the others all around your box. Hit the marks of those who are doing the job you want to do. Reach. Keep good notes. What are you spending your time on, both that is directly related, and that that isn't but in the area you are moving. People notice when you are above and beyond, reaching out, past your job description.
One also needs to have the attitude, the confidence. Remember when I said you've got to stand tall, to stride when you walk? Do that, pick up your feet, hold your head up. Meet people in the eye when you walk among them, don't cast your eyes down. Don't forget to smile, be easy with not only your peers, but those above you in the job you are looking for. Be easy all the way to the top if your corporate culture will allow it. Adopt a more alert, yet relaxed posture when in meetings, especially with those who have pigeon holed you as a lifer in your current position. If you wear glasses, use them in your body language when you make a point. They are a good tool. You have the ability to change the power dynamic across the desk if you have the confidence to go for it. People notice this. Especially when teamed with all the above. They begin to wonder, what is he up to, where is he going, did we underestimate him, he may be right for the job after all.
To play the game, takes all three.
I'll let you know how it plays out...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
progress
Unlike many in the IT world I've managed to stay pretty static in my jobs. Don't get me wrong, in the early days of the late 80s, early 90s, I could barely stay in a job for more than 3 years before I would jump for something new, different, challenging. Then I hit a contracting job in the mid 90s that had me moving to a different company nearly every day, working on support issues, training, server stuff. Always something different. It kept me interested, until the money ran out and the company started folding up underneath me. I jumped then, after 5 years to my current company.
As I look at the calendar and realize that I am approaching 10 years at my current company. 10 years as a network administrator. I managed to stay fresh, involved, passionate about my job, in the early days by finding facets I could explore. Network Security, interoperability between NT and Unix, learning Linux and implementing it in the network for a specific task. I am the one and only go-to guy here when they have a network problem, locally, in the branches, with the wide area network that I built with my own two hands here. The guru.
It's been going stale though. 10 years is a long time to deal with the same users with the same problems, over and over again. I've been back in school, on again, off again, over the last nearly 10 years I've been here. Out a year here and there, back in, a few classes, then another stall. Conflicted about what I could do, what I should do, what I can do. I threw up many roadblocks to my own progress. Many agonizing weeks, months, of asking myself, is it the path for me.
A friend of mine commented the other day that I have a sponge for a brain. A question is asked, and I'll dive right in, research, locate, assimilate, and regurgitate the answer in a way that others can understand it. Quickly too. I thirst for knowledge, for information, like a man dying in the desert for want of water. She's right. I do. What I like is seeing the pieces come together, forming a unified whole in my head. I like being able to understand it enough to be able to explain it to others.
I have a wide variety of interests, flying, computers, AI, robotics, glassworking of various types, history, english lit. Over the years I've given instruction to other people in many of these. Those times, have been the most enjoyable ones.
Now that many other factors in my life have waned, fallen to the wayside, cooled. The static, the interference they caused in my head has eased. My way is clearer now. The path more defined. There is nothing standing in my way now but myself.
The 20th starts a new semester, and another step along the path.
Here's to putting that sponge of a brain to use...
As I look at the calendar and realize that I am approaching 10 years at my current company. 10 years as a network administrator. I managed to stay fresh, involved, passionate about my job, in the early days by finding facets I could explore. Network Security, interoperability between NT and Unix, learning Linux and implementing it in the network for a specific task. I am the one and only go-to guy here when they have a network problem, locally, in the branches, with the wide area network that I built with my own two hands here. The guru.
It's been going stale though. 10 years is a long time to deal with the same users with the same problems, over and over again. I've been back in school, on again, off again, over the last nearly 10 years I've been here. Out a year here and there, back in, a few classes, then another stall. Conflicted about what I could do, what I should do, what I can do. I threw up many roadblocks to my own progress. Many agonizing weeks, months, of asking myself, is it the path for me.
A friend of mine commented the other day that I have a sponge for a brain. A question is asked, and I'll dive right in, research, locate, assimilate, and regurgitate the answer in a way that others can understand it. Quickly too. I thirst for knowledge, for information, like a man dying in the desert for want of water. She's right. I do. What I like is seeing the pieces come together, forming a unified whole in my head. I like being able to understand it enough to be able to explain it to others.
I have a wide variety of interests, flying, computers, AI, robotics, glassworking of various types, history, english lit. Over the years I've given instruction to other people in many of these. Those times, have been the most enjoyable ones.
Now that many other factors in my life have waned, fallen to the wayside, cooled. The static, the interference they caused in my head has eased. My way is clearer now. The path more defined. There is nothing standing in my way now but myself.
The 20th starts a new semester, and another step along the path.
Here's to putting that sponge of a brain to use...
Monday, December 22, 2008
what are you "cut" out for...
That's a question that is asked a lot. What are you cut out to do. What is your talent, your calling, your single path in life.
In many ways people from my generation were trained to that question. I'm approaching my mid 40s, cut my teeth on the old standby tv shows in reruns. The Andy Griffin show, Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, even Leave it to Beaver. Shows that were built on everyone having their place, everyone knowing what was expected of them. How they should live, what they should do.
That culture was built on everyone knowing what job they were cut out for. Predicated on the assumption that that is the only job that you will ever do. It also, by and large, pushed a nuclear family with a sole bread winner. Everyone has their place. They perform to their expectations. There wasn't room for people to grow, to evolve.
That's not how people are though. That culture, worked for our fathers, their fathers, but not for us in our mid 40s. One of the reasons it stopped working is because the contract between employer and employee was broken. You can't count on business having any sort of compassion for its workers. Why would workers think they will, should, do the same job, day in, day out, for the entirety of their working lives?
What the youth have been discovering, in part due to the push of their parents in my age range, is that you won't do just one thing in life. People are capable of growing. There are no boundaries in your life. You aren't limited to just being cut out for just one job. It's okay to have a career that you succeed at. It's also okay to grow tired of that path, to follow another branch, another path of your interest. To start again, find something else that trips your trigger, that thing that makes your eyes glow and invades your dreams at night.
We live longer, healthier lives than at any time prior in the history of the world. We have far more time to explore, to think, to consider, to learn, to feel. It's okay to find out that what you were "cut" out for 20 years ago isn't a tailored fit anymore. Now, you're "cut" out for something else. It's okay. It is all part of our journey of self-discovery.
That's part of why people go back to school. To take another degree, often in a different area than their first. They take classes in painting, clay, drawing, small business, even things such as nursing, or vet tech. People grow, change. They reach deep inside themselves to find their next path, their next tailor "cut" life that is waiting for them.
It's okay..
People, evolve...
In many ways people from my generation were trained to that question. I'm approaching my mid 40s, cut my teeth on the old standby tv shows in reruns. The Andy Griffin show, Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, even Leave it to Beaver. Shows that were built on everyone having their place, everyone knowing what was expected of them. How they should live, what they should do.
That culture was built on everyone knowing what job they were cut out for. Predicated on the assumption that that is the only job that you will ever do. It also, by and large, pushed a nuclear family with a sole bread winner. Everyone has their place. They perform to their expectations. There wasn't room for people to grow, to evolve.
That's not how people are though. That culture, worked for our fathers, their fathers, but not for us in our mid 40s. One of the reasons it stopped working is because the contract between employer and employee was broken. You can't count on business having any sort of compassion for its workers. Why would workers think they will, should, do the same job, day in, day out, for the entirety of their working lives?
What the youth have been discovering, in part due to the push of their parents in my age range, is that you won't do just one thing in life. People are capable of growing. There are no boundaries in your life. You aren't limited to just being cut out for just one job. It's okay to have a career that you succeed at. It's also okay to grow tired of that path, to follow another branch, another path of your interest. To start again, find something else that trips your trigger, that thing that makes your eyes glow and invades your dreams at night.
We live longer, healthier lives than at any time prior in the history of the world. We have far more time to explore, to think, to consider, to learn, to feel. It's okay to find out that what you were "cut" out for 20 years ago isn't a tailored fit anymore. Now, you're "cut" out for something else. It's okay. It is all part of our journey of self-discovery.
That's part of why people go back to school. To take another degree, often in a different area than their first. They take classes in painting, clay, drawing, small business, even things such as nursing, or vet tech. People grow, change. They reach deep inside themselves to find their next path, their next tailor "cut" life that is waiting for them.
It's okay..
People, evolve...
Monday, December 15, 2008
as a semester winds down
Another 6 hours are behind me now. An A in an IT class, and it looks like I've pulled a B out of my org behavior class. I have never worked so hard for a B in my entire life.
I've been on again and off again about taking classes in the spring. I've felt burned out again, it seems to take so little nowadays. I have been at time both frustrated, and confused, as to which direction to take my life. We won't even go into the feelings I've had about why am I even still trying.
Suffice to say, it's been a rough semester. But I'll go back. I've developed a sort of clarity all of a sudden, an ease.
Something happened last friday. I don't know why, or how, but something deep inside me changed.
usually..
My head is a busy chattering place. Emotions, feelings, ideas, whizzing back and forth in constant movement.
I feel...
Pressed for time
I feel... stressed, unhappy
Always finding something to be unhappy about.
Things, irritating me at every turn.
But late friday this started..
It's like, I don't care
But that's not right, because I still do.
but... it's like things feel at ease in my head
my conscience, my life... not quite relaxation..
But close, as if some giant tight wound clockwork spring has finally run down. Almost a kind of a limp emptiness.
A kind of almost contentment, acceptance, maybe. But more like a sort of clarity, focus, but not the busy, hyper-focus I usually have. There is a kind of muscle tiredness about it, a small sigh, but then a relaxed release of it, of the, maybe baggage is the right word to use here.
In many way it's so very freaking weird to feel this way after so long.
No anxiety, no weirdness, no stress.
No hyper-focus, or chatty thoughts.
Just, kind of...
here...
and feeling...
weird...
But almost, nearly, content, okay.
Almost as if I somehow, found a center inside myself. And for once, everything has nudged in line and I'm, balanced.
I hope this feeling..
this... balance...
can last
I've been on again and off again about taking classes in the spring. I've felt burned out again, it seems to take so little nowadays. I have been at time both frustrated, and confused, as to which direction to take my life. We won't even go into the feelings I've had about why am I even still trying.
Suffice to say, it's been a rough semester. But I'll go back. I've developed a sort of clarity all of a sudden, an ease.
Something happened last friday. I don't know why, or how, but something deep inside me changed.
usually..
My head is a busy chattering place. Emotions, feelings, ideas, whizzing back and forth in constant movement.
I feel...
Pressed for time
I feel... stressed, unhappy
Always finding something to be unhappy about.
Things, irritating me at every turn.
But late friday this started..
It's like, I don't care
But that's not right, because I still do.
but... it's like things feel at ease in my head
my conscience, my life... not quite relaxation..
But close, as if some giant tight wound clockwork spring has finally run down. Almost a kind of a limp emptiness.
A kind of almost contentment, acceptance, maybe. But more like a sort of clarity, focus, but not the busy, hyper-focus I usually have. There is a kind of muscle tiredness about it, a small sigh, but then a relaxed release of it, of the, maybe baggage is the right word to use here.
In many way it's so very freaking weird to feel this way after so long.
No anxiety, no weirdness, no stress.
No hyper-focus, or chatty thoughts.
Just, kind of...
here...
and feeling...
weird...
But almost, nearly, content, okay.
Almost as if I somehow, found a center inside myself. And for once, everything has nudged in line and I'm, balanced.
I hope this feeling..
this... balance...
can last
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
life continues
One class down over the summer. One CLEP exam taken and passed. Two more classes started. The semester is just a week along and I already feel lost and behind. This does not bode well. Work, continues to be a bear. My personal life, rocky.
I find it increasingly hard to focus on things. To hold all the bits of this life together. To make progress.
It feels like there is a something big looming over my head, resting on my shoulders. Something waiting to bear down and crush me like a bug.
Focus. The watchword. Focus. Something that in the past I've proven myself cable of great, sharp, pinpoint focus. Focus. Things blur, are indistinct, shimmering in the summer heat. I cast about, grasping for purporse, result, reason.
I find myself at times ready to shift the entire lot of my life into the bin. Chuck it and walk away to find a sandy dune on a beach. To sit, baking in the sun. Ears, mind, numb by the sound of the ocean. Lungs full of the salty sea air while the cries of gulls echo along the beach.
Through this all life continues. The clock turns 'round the face twice. I show up at work another day. I try to make progress in class, at home. I... exist.
Life continues. As it must, as it shall.
I find it increasingly hard to focus on things. To hold all the bits of this life together. To make progress.
It feels like there is a something big looming over my head, resting on my shoulders. Something waiting to bear down and crush me like a bug.
Focus. The watchword. Focus. Something that in the past I've proven myself cable of great, sharp, pinpoint focus. Focus. Things blur, are indistinct, shimmering in the summer heat. I cast about, grasping for purporse, result, reason.
I find myself at times ready to shift the entire lot of my life into the bin. Chuck it and walk away to find a sandy dune on a beach. To sit, baking in the sun. Ears, mind, numb by the sound of the ocean. Lungs full of the salty sea air while the cries of gulls echo along the beach.
Through this all life continues. The clock turns 'round the face twice. I show up at work another day. I try to make progress in class, at home. I... exist.
Life continues. As it must, as it shall.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
a long time, no posting
a long time, no posting...
In this digital world one should be able to squeeze a few precious minutes in order to post for the living, the curious, the digital. It's been a long spell since the last post. Many things have happened. Some good, some bad.
My ground school completed. The scout troop did well, learned a lot, and enjoyed their flying. If I have inspired any of them to someday come back to the dream of flight, then I have done a good thing in the world.
Earlier in the blog I posted about a friend of mine that passed on New Years morning. I am very sad to say that some sixty short days later his younger brother also passed due to unforeseen complications of a fairly simple medical procedure. This shook my world to its very foundations. I find that even now, several months later, it still brings me up short at times. Both of these friends meant a lot to me. I've tried to make some sense of it and cannot. It is the way life works though. The universe rolls on, and good people fall beneath the wheel.
This loss triggered another bout of introspection, soul searching, reinterpretation of what my life must be, must mean. All of this to no avail. I have found myself just as aimless in my course across the sea of life as I have always been. Though perhaps I feel the loss of time, of opportunity, more keenly now than I have ever before. I attempt to heal, to find the one true path to follow. Only to be cast upon the rocks once more, bruised, battered, disgusted with my life, my lack of progress.
I posted in the past of grand plans of my degree, of finding a purpose going forward, of listening to the life lessons of my departed friend, only to find myself again drifting again. Treading water as I conceive of, put in place, and feebly try to execute another start on a path.
Will this one work, this attempted restart? I don't know. I have to hope I will finally make some progress. If it fails again, like so many other false starts, at least I will have tried to move my mired wheels forward another fraction of an inch.
Nobody ever said life was easy.
Time to pull myself up by my bootstraps again.
In this digital world one should be able to squeeze a few precious minutes in order to post for the living, the curious, the digital. It's been a long spell since the last post. Many things have happened. Some good, some bad.
My ground school completed. The scout troop did well, learned a lot, and enjoyed their flying. If I have inspired any of them to someday come back to the dream of flight, then I have done a good thing in the world.
Earlier in the blog I posted about a friend of mine that passed on New Years morning. I am very sad to say that some sixty short days later his younger brother also passed due to unforeseen complications of a fairly simple medical procedure. This shook my world to its very foundations. I find that even now, several months later, it still brings me up short at times. Both of these friends meant a lot to me. I've tried to make some sense of it and cannot. It is the way life works though. The universe rolls on, and good people fall beneath the wheel.
This loss triggered another bout of introspection, soul searching, reinterpretation of what my life must be, must mean. All of this to no avail. I have found myself just as aimless in my course across the sea of life as I have always been. Though perhaps I feel the loss of time, of opportunity, more keenly now than I have ever before. I attempt to heal, to find the one true path to follow. Only to be cast upon the rocks once more, bruised, battered, disgusted with my life, my lack of progress.
I posted in the past of grand plans of my degree, of finding a purpose going forward, of listening to the life lessons of my departed friend, only to find myself again drifting again. Treading water as I conceive of, put in place, and feebly try to execute another start on a path.
Will this one work, this attempted restart? I don't know. I have to hope I will finally make some progress. If it fails again, like so many other false starts, at least I will have tried to move my mired wheels forward another fraction of an inch.
Nobody ever said life was easy.
Time to pull myself up by my bootstraps again.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
it's set...
It's all set. Feb 23rd, 9 am, I'll start teaching my first private pilot ground school.
It's to a scouting group. They are even providing the space to teach the class. The badge requirements are that they attend a ground school built out of the Jep text. Be ready to take the written when done. Actually taking the written isn't needed. But I hope at least a few decide to go forward with it. It would be very cool to light the fire in someone about flying.
I've worked out a deal with my old CFI who's an ASA dealer to provide us the e6b and protractors at cost for the group. I'm trying to keep the cost as cheap as possible for them.
It's pretty neat to be in a position to finally be able to use the AGI certificate I got last year. Now to build out the lessons. This is the hard part. That and facing my first class.......
My current plan is 8 in class sessions. One trip to the airport after the first 4 classes that cover the airplane, what makes it fly, instruments, and the like, for a touch and feel with a real airplane so they can hopefully connect book stuff with real world stuff. Then back to the classroom for the last 4 classes, covering weather, regs, cross country planning and the like. For the last session I've talked with some friends who have volunteered themselves and their planes to hop the class members for a local flight. So 10 weeks total, 8 class sessions, 2 airport field trips, 2 hours every saturday morning.
At the end.. Maybe, some of them will want to start flight training. I need to prepare a fact sheet for the local CFI's and schools at the 3 airports nearest them.
This is the sort of thing I want to do, perhaps, most of all...
It's to a scouting group. They are even providing the space to teach the class. The badge requirements are that they attend a ground school built out of the Jep text. Be ready to take the written when done. Actually taking the written isn't needed. But I hope at least a few decide to go forward with it. It would be very cool to light the fire in someone about flying.
I've worked out a deal with my old CFI who's an ASA dealer to provide us the e6b and protractors at cost for the group. I'm trying to keep the cost as cheap as possible for them.
It's pretty neat to be in a position to finally be able to use the AGI certificate I got last year. Now to build out the lessons. This is the hard part. That and facing my first class.......
My current plan is 8 in class sessions. One trip to the airport after the first 4 classes that cover the airplane, what makes it fly, instruments, and the like, for a touch and feel with a real airplane so they can hopefully connect book stuff with real world stuff. Then back to the classroom for the last 4 classes, covering weather, regs, cross country planning and the like. For the last session I've talked with some friends who have volunteered themselves and their planes to hop the class members for a local flight. So 10 weeks total, 8 class sessions, 2 airport field trips, 2 hours every saturday morning.
At the end.. Maybe, some of them will want to start flight training. I need to prepare a fact sheet for the local CFI's and schools at the 3 airports nearest them.
This is the sort of thing I want to do, perhaps, most of all...
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