Take THAT, the current economic situation!

I got a new job.

That’s not something that you hear a lot of these days, but I did it, and it surprised even me.

I haven’t really been looking hard for a job – I’d check craigslist every once in a while, make sure my resume is updated, etc., but I wasn’t sending out resume after resume hoping for some feedback. In fact, I only sent out one. I saw a job called “Mac & Linux Admin” on craigslist, read the description, and thought I should just do it, even if nothing else comes of it. So, after procrastinating for a week, I hammered out a cover letter, attached my resume, and expected nothing to come of it. Especially since I know how many resumes prospective employers get these days. Surely, I thought, someone who’s applying will be more qualified than me.

The Big Picture for IT

Information Technology as a department of mainstream businesses has a very short history. Accounting departments have been around as long as banking. The Marketing department has existed as long as advertisements have existed. Many executives in institutionalized businesses started before their companies even had a server, let alone smartphones, VOIP, or data centers. Businesses don’t bother hiring an IT person until their systems are broken more often than they’re working, and then they’re hired for their ability to fix broken computers and not their ability to lead the company into the future. This has been the status quo for so long that it has become institutionalized.

Most institutions think of Information Technology as a tool: you ask for it when you need it, but you expect it to sit silently in the shed until then.

And you can feel it.

It’s a familiar feeling.

It’s the feeling of being picked last for kickball.

It’s the feeling of getting calls only when someone needs your time, not to offer you theirs.

It’s the feeling of having your stomach sink when you get an email from a C-level executive because you know it’s bad news. Or of having your spirits fly when you get that email, because you haven’t heard from them in weeks.

It’s how IT has operated for 30 years – perceived as just above Facilities, but with Masters degrees.

And it cannot last.

Just as computers are no longer just an upgrade to typewriters, IT professionals can no longer be viewed as an upgrade to electricians.

Information Technology must have an active role in leading the ongoing development and future direction of business. We need to stop waiting for the phone to ring. We need to stop waiting for the emails to arrive. We need to make the phone calls that make the changes we want to see.

And we need to do it ten years ago.

Goals vs. Problems

I have come to understand that I am “problem oriented” rather than “goal oriented”.

This is not a question of pessimist or optimist. This is a question of how you look at what needs to be accomplished.

A “goal” is the end product that you wish to bring to fruition. A “problem” is what keeps that goal from becoming a reality. So, a goal might be to increase revenue by 20%; while the problem might be that your revenue isn’t as high as you want it to be. They are obviously very closely related. And I am not saying that my way is the correct way to see things, just a different way.

In my estimation, a goal cannot be achieved without overcoming a number of problems that keep it from happening. Once that goal is achieved, progress on the issue ceases. You made your quota, now you can move on. But problems may remain. Problems are what keep perfection at bay. Problems are the difference between 20% better and 100% perfect. Problems never cease.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not one who can’t see the big picture. I don’t think you can see the problems without grasping the big picture first. I just think that goals are short sighted. Goals are settling for “good enough”, or, at least, “better”.

Now, I can see it from the other side: problems are only a small piece of the bigger goal. A problem can be overcome, but the goal is what motivates the problem solving. I get that. But, for me, the problem itself is the driving force. The goal is one by product of problem solving.

We shall see how this mentality works out. I know that perfectionism is not always the most desirable trait in a person and can cause conflict, but I think it is also what drives me to constantly improve rather than settling for good enough.

An End to Joblessness

After what seems like ages, I have finally accepted employment in the Chicago area.

I will be working at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

It was definitely a close race between Kellogg and the University of Chicago, and I think I could’ve been happy had the chips fallen either way.

Thank you to everyone who participated, and expect more frequent posts once I have a job. Especially a job where I work with Windows again. And especially because I’ll be working with Vista. Eww.

Ending Joblessness (Update 2)

So, when last we spoke about my future work situation, I was regaling you with tales of interviews gone awry. Maybe not “awry”, but certainly not “well”.

Here’s another one.

One of the places I applied with decided that they were interested enough in me after an initial phone call that they wanted to fly me out to Chicago for the weekend to conduct an interview. On landing in Chicago, I received an email from another company also wanting to set up an interview. The company that was flying me out wanted me on Friday morning, so I had Friday afternoon free to try to fit in another interview, so I said I was interested and set up an interview for that afternoon.

This was a breakthrough for me, because this was a video game developer. Not a large one, mind you, but a video game developer. There used to be two big game developers in Chicago: Midway (obviously), and an EA office. Quick, name the last Midway game you played. Chances are pretty good that the last Midway game you played required quarters, so Midway is not doing well these days. EA, on the other hand, is HUGE, yet, for some reason, decided to close their Chicago office. So refugees from those two offices have branched out to start their own companies.

My interview was not with one of those companies. My interview was with a developer of mobile phone games. Not quite as prestigious, but still.

My morning interview ran later than I expected, so I basically had to run from my interview to the train, then run from the train to the next interview. In a balmy Chicago August. In slacks and a long sleeve shirt. Carrying my MacBook Pro (why?). Obviously, by the time I got to that interview I was A) out of breath, and B) sweating like crazy, but C) on time. I don’t know what the interviewer must’ve thought, but he offered me a drink several times. I wasn’t thirsty, just sweaty.

We started talking and I found out a bit about them and they a bit about me. The bits about them were not encouraging – never had I.T. support, no infrastructure, no phone system, no experience, no benefits, antiquated systems, etc. Some of it was cool though – everyone seemed nice, their office looked like an abandoned factory turned into a studio apartment, turned into an office. And there were pretty cool projects that they needed done. But I could see that the money wouldn’t be there and there were no benefits. “Options?” you’re saying, “It is a software company after all.” I didn’t even ask.  And the job would’ve been challenging for about 3 months, then there would’ve been nothing for me to do but sit around and wait for someone to have problems. So it would’ve been, basically, a couple of years off from working to play around with this small mobile phone game company. And all this would’ve been fine, and understandable for a company of less than 30, but when the economy is collapsing around us (maybe), mobile phone games are not something people are going to be spending a bunch of money on. Certainly not enough for me to stake two years on.

I hope they do well, I really do, but I’m not at a place in my career where it would make sense for me. Maybe someday, but likely they’re going to need to find some fresh out of college kid who wants to take on a few projects and can afford to get canned when the company needs to shed employees.

Last Day

So, after just over a year, yesterday was my last day as I.T. Manager. I met this with mixed feelings. While I am confident that my replacement will be able to handle my duties, I am nevertheless reluctant to leave such a great job. My coworkers were great, my boss was great, the commute was awesome, and I learned lots of great things.

While I will be back in three weeks or so as a consultant on the project that we’ve been working on, it will likely be different when I return. At least I hope so. I hope that they will have moved on as a company, getting necessary things done in my absence, completing projects I hadn’t finished, starting new ones, etc. I hope that my replacement will have figured things out, gotten over being the new guy and be working hard at it all. I hope that when I return I will be a consultant, here to finish a project, and be able to move on with little more than a hiccup in the day-to-day. I also, however, hope that I will be welcomed when I return and sent off with more fanfare than other colleagues have received.
This has been a great job and I hope that I am able to find another.

Thanks, Bill

As you may or may not know, today is Bill Gates’ last day as a full time employee of Microsoft.

There are a lot of lists of the best and worst of Bill’s tenure, reminiscences of what he’s done (and should’ve done), and a lot of snide comments about his legacy.

Say what you will, but I can’t imagine anyone who has had a bigger impact on personal computing, business computing, and the industry in general.

Directly or indirectly, Microsoft has, I suspect, created more jobs than anyone. Besides the thousands of people that work directly for Microsoft, worldwide there are probably millions of people who have jobs because of Microsoft.

Think about it: What if Microsoft’s products worked quickly, easily, intuitively, and with little or no maintenance!? How many people do you know that would be out of jobs? How many fewer international phone calls would you have made? How much less stressed, more productive, and more happy would you be? How much less would you spend on Advil, Excedrin, Tums, stress-reduction toys, therapy, etc.? How much less would you get to spend on manuals, guides, training, certification, seminars, etc.?

What if personal computers were like tools? How many hammers do you buy in your life? One. Maybe two – if you lost the first one. Conversely, what if everything you used on a daily basis was as reliable, trustworthy, simple, and easy as your computer? Ugh.

Unfair comparison, I know.

This was actually supposed to be a sincere “Thank you,” to someone who contributed (and wil continue to contribute) a huge amount to the world around us. So, before I start ranting again: Thanks, Bill. You may be hatefully remembered, but you will certainly not be forgotten.

Coffee Service Update the first

The coffee is good.

You have to use one and one-half to two of the pre-measured packages to make a pot of good, strong Portland-style coffee, but it tastes good. Not Peet’s good, but certainly drinkable good. Somewhere between high-end gas station and low-end coffee bar. Like deli coffee.

Also, with our coffee service we apparently get to try an espresso machine free for a month. I suspect that this “dealer” has learned something from other “dealers” of “stimulants”. I didn’t think anyone in our office knew how to use it, but this morning I found out that our receptionist does.

The espresso machine is by Lavazza, and so is the espresso coffee, which comes in little pre-measured, pre-packed cup things. It’s better than you’d expect it to be, for pre-packed espresso, but not great. Good enough to serve in a deli.

We’ll see if the espresso machine sticks around. I’m sure that it’ll turn into a huge mess if it does. But until then, I’m going to see if I can get an irregular heart beat going.

Man I’m typing fast.

Coffee! COFFEE ALWAYS!

When I first started at this job I thought “Awesome! Free Coffee! All day!”. Then I tasted it. It tasted like they were using cigarette butts in place of coffee filters.

At my last place of business, they used Folgers. Which always reminds me of camping and never tastes good. The first scoop out of a freshly opened can tastes exactly like the last scoop out of a six-month old can. Congrats to Folgers on consistency, but when every scoop tastes like it’s six months old, something’s gotta change.

So I started springing for office coffee out of my own pocket. Peet’s. It was glorious. Fresh, delicious coffee. Only I was paying for all of it for everyone in the office. While it was uncool, it was better than drinking Folgers.

At my current employer, everyone drinks coffee all day. That’s too much coffee for me to spring for it myself. So after I had my first taste, I started trying to make things better. I replaced the airpots (which smelled terrible and that must affect the taste), and got bids from four different coffee service places to figure out how to move away from the Costco putrescence we were currently plagued with. Replacing the equipment was out of the question for now.

Almost a year later, finally, we have a coffee service. I’m not going to go into the details of what it took to make this minor miracle happen (it wasn’t me), but I will keep you updated on how well this goes.

Giving Notice

So, yesterday I gave the official notice to my company that I’ll be moving to Chicago this fall.

FYI – here’s some good information on doing so: LifeHacker, WikiHow.

I thought that by including “moving to Chicago” in my letter of resignation, I had escaped having to have the “counter offer” discussion. I was, obviously, wrong. In addition to “Congratulations. That’ll be good for her and you.” I also got, “How much will it cost us to have you stay on?”\

Which caught me by surprise.

I am, obviously, flattered that my employer wants me to stay on enough that they’re telling me to name my price. I am also, however, apprehensive about doing so. It would mean a kinda big pain in the ass. Pains in the ass are something I try to avoid.

So, I’ve come up with this as my list of things my employer would need to cover in order for me to do it:

Flight from Chicago to PDX    $350
Rent + Util in Chicago            $850
Rent + Util in PDX                  $750
Drive PDX to Chicago            $560 (2200/20)*4+80
TOTAL:                                ~$2500
3 Weeks Vacation to move.
Remain full-time (hourly w/ benefits)

This would be a temporary thing, just until we finish implementing this big business management system implementation, but it would still mean that I’d be here in Portland for another month while my special lady is in Chicago, settling into our new home.

This is still a draft list, so if anyone has any opinions or thinks I omitted anything, please share.

One big factor in this is whether or not I have a shot at being Midway Games’ Network Administrator. That might be too much opportunity to pass up, regardless of price