Anything and everything I write that has something to do with tech. Maybe it’s a post about the time I blew up that server in 2003 because I didn’t know what bridged networking really meant. Sorry Roger!
I know the fight for Net Neutrality isn’t over, and I understand that the FCC has been given the ultimate decision on whether to reclassify ISPs as utility providers. It’s a long road ahead, but it feels like it was a longer road behind us to get to a place where the most powerful man in the world, the president of the United States understands and supports the importance of protecting the Internet.
This makes me happy.
When I started this blog, at least the original one back in 2000 whatever, it had very little to do with anything other than a place to digitally journal. I’ve been well aware that I don’t write here as often as I do in my physical journal. I’m equally well aware that I don’t have the most read blog, or that I don’t put much work into this. I try to have a sense of humor about it.
Someone has entered my life who is much more important than this blog, and more important than almost anything else that has come before him. My son has been born. He’s a cute little guy.
A few weeks ago I had encountered the world of baby-centric tech, along with the predecessor pregnant-mom tech. I thought these would be a good topic to research and learn more about. I’ve realized that I’ll have plenty of opportunity to find out about this stuff on the way. I’ve also realized how unimportant this is.
I’ve realized how unimportant my intentions for sorting my random collection (see messy stack) of maps for the revolutionary war battlegrounds are. My fascination with FTPing files in the middle of the night is becoming far less important (except backups, always remember to backup!). That random novel someone gave me months ago because I saw it on their shelf and they didn’t want it: unimportant.
It’s not that my interests, or intentions for my career, or family have become less valid. There simply are new priorities in my life. I see most projects and tasks that weren’t really a priority before, losing ground very rapidly.
I am pursuing the same goals as I was before I had a kid, but I’ve gained a special insight into knowing when one of my projects is a complete waste of time, and when I should cut my losses.
What’s interesting is I feel this is going to give me a renewed joy and depth of interaction with the projects I do really enjoy, but don’t spend enough time on. Like this blog. Like calling my family, and long time friends.
Whatever projects I continue, or new goals I find for myself, they will all be viewed through a new daddy-sized lens.
A Compass or a Map?
The above TED talk from Joi Ito has reminded me of a recently intriguing period of time at work. A few weeks ago at work everyone employee in the IT department was asked to take a DiSC profile. For the sake of simplicity the DiSC is variant of the Meyer’s Briggs test, and similar to the Primary Colors test I was so fond of when I was in my High School Outreach program. I get a similar Meyer Brigg result every time I take one.
This test comes at a very interesting time when all new initiatives have been put on hold because of trust issues between what the business wants and what IT has been delivering. Just for reference sake I’ve only worked here for a few months, so the issues precede my arrival. A coworker of mine was particularly intrigued by his results and decided to share the section about how he should work with others. I thought perhaps I would too.
The resulting conversation was more insightful than I wanted to give any sort of personality test credit for. While I scored somewhere in the neighborhood of “I think I can do that!” and my coworker landed in a much steadier category with a focus on precision. I’ve learned a lot from this coworker, and I am thankful for the time I’ve spent slowing down and paying more attention to what his opinions are. He’s helped me understand the value in double-checking my work in my head, and doing a little research before I start offering up my time to research possible solutions.
I was surprised when during the course of conversation we reached his definition of engineering, vs. my own. I’ve always thought of engineers as a focal points for designing solutions to challenges and executing them. They are the people to have the ideas, be trusted to come up with solutions. HIs definition was different than my own, but not unfamiliar.
He believed that it was the job of an engineer to create a defined concrete repeatable process. We are both solving issues, but his focus is on the planning and designing of a solution to make it repeatable long before you start implementation. What good is the solution if it isn’t correct before you push it out the door?
Because I work in IT I hear a lot about Agile development, the idea that you should get a working concept as soon as possible, and build from there. I realized that this is how I approach problems. It’s easy for me to identify some process or system that could be made more efficient or fixed in some way. I can picture the end goal in my mind, communicate it with people that are interested and set about executing whatever steps become necessary to get from point A to point B. Sometimes I have a plan, often I do not.
I really appreciate the Compass vs. Map analogy of these two varying approaches Joi Ito was talking about. There isn’t one approach that is inherently better over the other, and their utility depends on the nature of the challenge being addressed. What is important is something else my DiSC profile let me know. I value collaboration more than other people with my same result set.
I wonder what my coworker will feel after watching the video. I recognize the importance of paying attention to the methodical way he works, as I hope to be able to provide solutions as best as I can. For as much as I dislike the pigeon-holing an assessment like the DiSC can be, I have to be thankful for the conversation and new insight I’ve gained from it.