Tech survival 101

Tech Survival 101Managing Your Career& Providing Leadership

Greg JensenUniversity of Minnesota MSSE Seminar

Keller Hall, room 3-210, Saturday October 24, 201512:15 - 3:30pm

This will be a little different…

Think less Steve Jobs and more Forrest Gump :)

I have no agenda other than to share, to keep it real and be as open, honest and transparent as I possibly can.

And I am going to ask you for a few things in return...

( 1 )

Even though we will have a few pauses for Q&A along the way, please jump in at any point and use your questions and comments to help drive this presentation, surface issues and challenges, push any boundaries that are important to you and help fill in any gaps…

( 2 )

Please continue the classroom spirit of the MSSE program by sharing openly and leaving the names of both the innocent and the guilty to be ghosts in this room and never leave. This works best when we trust each other, and when we respect and support each other.

Overview

● Finding Your Path○ Activity 1: Getting Started - forming a career narrative

● Building Your Personal Brand

● Evolving Your Mindset○ Activity 2: Office Challenges - growth opportunities

● Providing Leadership

Finding Your Path

Understand the industry landscape and how to plot your own path through it:

● How does it all work?● What is your best fit?● Common Personas● Taking care of yourself● Telling your story

How does it all work? (common titles)

CEO, CIO, CTO, COO, CPO, CSO…

EVP, SVP, VP, Senior Director, Director

Chief Architect, Head Engineer, Fellow, Associate Fellow, Senior Staff, Staff..

Senior Engineer, Engineer, Associate Engineer, Intern

Senior Manager, Manager

Senior Analyst, Analyst

How does it all work? (many roles)

Architecture / Infrastructure / Networks / Devices / Security / Software Development / DevOps / Testing & QA / Program & Project Management / Business Analysis / Requirements Management / Process Engineering / Team & Department Management / Business Intelligence & Reporting / UX / Product Management

How does it all work? (many variations)

Information Architect, UX Architect, Security Architect, Data Architect, Network Architect, Software Architect, Systems Architect, Application Architect, Solution Architect, Capability Architect, Enterprise Architect, Cloud Architect, Chief Architect

What is your best fit:

Technical Depth ● Keep digging deeper into what is possible● How it works, how to leverage or apply

Technical Breadth● Follow connections, look for synergy ● High level views, components & modules

People Management● Like to coach and mentor● Care, share and support

Art - Craft - Science● Logic and Rules vs Creativity ● Tools or Systems vs Applications

Compensation = i* salary + j* stock options + k* benefits + l* who they get to work with + m* where they get to work + n* what they get to work on + . . .

What is your best fit:

● Timing - be patient, company and position first

● Base compensation● Benefits● Contracting vs FTE (30% plus or minus)● Startups and Stock Options (vesting

schedule, shares, and shares outstanding)

Sidebar - let’s talk about...

Common Personas

Biz Stakeholders

Why does this take so long, why can’t I change this or

that, when will it be ready???

Senior Management

Time and cost estimates? What will the ROI be for

each phase? Do we need this many people? Lowest

contractor rates?

Engineers

We need these new tools. That is not best practices.

We have to service our tech debt. This won’t work.

That is not enough time!

Ops & Security

You will need a new license. That is not

supported. This does not comply with policy. Not

approved for deployment!

Common Personas

● Not a good strategy for

engineers

● Don’t say “NO”, give options

● Explain tradeoffs

● Be positive, consistent, and

rational

The single most important leader in an organization is your immediate supervisor.

—JIM KOUZES

You can safely assume all perceptions are real, at least to those who own them.

—JOE FOLKMAN

You don’t have to like or admire your boss, nor do you have to hate him. You do have to manage him, however, so that he becomes your resource for achievement, accomplishment and personal success.

—PETER DRUCKER

Taking Care Of Yourself (first, then your job)

Taking Care Of Yourself...

Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (Greg McKeown):

● Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying Yes too quickly and not saying No soon enough. Josh Billings

● Flow, The Genius of Routine - Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition. W.H. Auden

Taking Care Of Yourself… diet, exercise & budget

● YMMV - but we all have to guard against burnout● Time to do my job, 32 hrs● Time to communicate and manage (up, down, sideways), 4

hours● Time to study best practices, learn what is new, 4 hours● Time to network, 2 hours● Time for family (6-9pm?), time for growth, time for hobbies,

culture, entertainment???

Telling Your Story

● First things first, pause for some gratitude… we are lucky to be knowledge workers and in such a healthy industry

● Do you fill squares or fill a role?● Why are you here, right here right now, what brought you

here?● If we created the perfect job for you, the one that would

fit you best and position you to bring the most value and make great contributions, what would it be?...

Telling Your Story

● Now create an arc that connects the dots from your first interests and activities to this ideal landing zone of a perfect job. This is your career narrative.

● You are now the main character in your own lifetime movie, you have an arc to follow with lessons learned from both failure and success, with a supporting cast that helped educate, challenge and collaborate with you on your journey.

Activity - Build a short narrative and “tell me about yourself”

Early Interests

● Passions

● Aptitude

● Influencers

● Talent

● Energy

● Fun

Skills & Experience

Think through each step of your journey:

● What did you do?● What did you learn?● Quantify and qualify

results● Why did you leave?● Why did you pick

the next step?

Direction & Vision

Weave it all together and smooth out your arc:

1. Fine tune and revise as needed

2. Show true north3. Develop the overall

value proposition

This is my true passion - and it informs my daily work if I stay focused and balanced

My Journey

1982 Apple II (first love), 1983 TRS-80 (first line of code), 1984 Z-100 (first IT job)

Bioenvironmental Technician, Computer Programmer, Intelligence Analyst, Counterdrug Intelligence Analyst, Unix Systems Administrator, Scientific Programmer, Team Lead, Sales Engineer, Systems Architect, Director of Systems Integration, Director of Research & Development, Consultant, Founder & CTO, Consulting CTO, Interim CTO, Technology Practice Manager, Unemployed, Long Term Unemployed, Executive Consultant, Acting VP of Enterprise Architecture, CTO, Program Manager & Lead Technologist, Product Manager, Acting VP of Engineering, Solution Architect, Senior Program Architect, VP Engineering, MSSE Adjunct Faculty Member

Building Your Personal Brand

Bringing your career narrative to life and finding what is essential:

● Authenticity● Performance● Linkedin● Community● Participation● Permission● Just Ask...

Authenticity

● So easy to underestimate the importance of this● No mask, no fear, be true to who you are, be in touch with

your own gut and intuition, and feel the connection to your heart - Patty Jensen (my wife)

● Build a support network, start with one person you really trust

Performance

Results = Results

Anything Else = Results

Performance...

How you do anything is how you do everything - Buddhist expression

How you do what’s next is how you do what’s next - Greg Jensen

LinkedIn

● Why bother with a resume anymore?● Just do it● Google is your friend, learn best practices and dig

through examples● Don’t keep changing it for every job opening● Your profile is your passport (not your narrative)

Community

● You are a “company”, an army of one, and your brand matters

● Everyone you interact with is a “customer” and their experience matters

● Be positive and communicate thoughtfully, be helpful● Don’t do it well because people don’t forget, do it well

because you don’t forget, you have muscle memory

Participation

● It’s hard being an introvert, but there are so many benefits… (and extroverts are still OK too)

● Make the effort to come out and play● Think about what best supports your narrative and spend

your time wisely● Choose your moments at the office, there is plenty of

oxygen to go around

Permission

● It starts with you● Grade yourself on a scale of 1 - 10 and be honest, but

know that people rarely rank you higher than you are willing to rank yourself

● Rich vs Poor (and not just in dollars) often comes down to what you think you deserve, to your sense of self-worth

Just Ask...

● Not me, I mean anyone, anytime, for just about anything● This is the single biggest blocker in our own daily career

standup● Don’t bring any pressure or obligation or expectation, just

ask people if they can help you with whatever you need help on… and make it clear you are happy to reciprocate in any way that you can

Evolving Your Mindset

We could complain and criticize, or we could grow stronger and happier:

● Your Tech Radar● Core Values● Culture of open and honest

collaboration● Growth & Learning Mindset● Imposter Syndrome● Staying above the line...

Tech Radar

Neal Ford, Thoughtworks

https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/build-your-own-technology-radar

Split into 4 quadrants: Techniques, Tools, Platforms, and Languages & Frameworks with four rings, from outer to inner: hold, assess, trial, and adopt.

What makes sense for you? Modify to suit your needs and go through the exercise of building one.




Core Values

● What are yours, what are your employers and do they align? Some examples:

Clear Communications Ownership

Craftsmanship Recognition

Customer-Centric Thinking Respect & Humility

Dogfooding Results Over Politics

Intensity Warmth, Fun & Laughter

Culture

● Open and honest collaboration (we are getting better)● Diversity - a safe, open and welcoming environment for

everyone (why can’t we get this right?)■ Stupid is as stupid does - Forrest Gump

● No one of us smarter than the rest of us■ Not a fact but an important daily philosophy

Growth & Learning Mindset

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh0OS4MrN3E



Imposter Syndrome

If you feel anxious or feel like your confidence is slipping away, look this up and read about it and take it all in. This is extremely important for many of us and we need to step back and know that we are OK, that we belong here and have in fact earned our seat at the table.

Staying Above The Line

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, & Kaley Warner

Klemp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrVv_RlCMw



Staying Above The Line...

I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances of my life at LeadPages, and I commit to supporting others to take full responsibility for their lives.

I commit to blaming others and myself for what is wrong at LeadPages. I commit to being a victim, villain, or a hero and take more or less than 100% responsibility


I commit to growing in self-awareness. I commit to regarding every interaction as an opportunity to learn. I commit to curiosity as a path to rapid learning.

I commit to being right and to seeing this situation as something that is happening to me. I commit to being defensive, especially when I am certain I am RIGHT.


Breathe, Pause, and Shift

Be aware that you have drifted below the line and commit to leading and interacting with others from a place of openness

Activity - Office Challenges

Quick Exercise

● Please focus on the worst situation you can remember at work

● DId you Freeze, Fight or Flight?

● Stand Up, Deep Breath, think about trust and openness

● Sit down, how do you feel now?

Challenges?

● Frustration● Complication● Stuck in a rut

Navigating

1. Take care of yourself

2. Stick to your narrative

3. Look for support4. Change your

organization or change organizations

Providing Leadership

Take your pick, macro or micro or something in between, but you must learn to provide leadership:

● Why this is so important● Knowledge and experience

bring a “point of view”● You are part of an ecosystem

and your role will evolve● Getting points on the board● Building a team● Servant Leadership

Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.

—PETER DRUCKER

Tracy Simmons, LeadPages

Do you hate all people or just your employees?

Poor team performance is nearly always due to poor leadership. If you’re constantly frustrated with your team, it’s time to face facts. You have a leadership issue, not a team performance issue. The poor performance is the symptom, not the cause.

https://blog.leadpages.net/whos-on-your-team-how-leaders-build-dream-teams/




Servant Leadership

“SOMEONE WHOSE PRIMARY MOTIVE IS TO HELP OTHERS SUCCEED.” - SIMON SINEK, LEADERS EAT LAST

Building A Team

● Culture Fit● Holding out for the right talent● Seed, Feed, and Weed

Thank You