This is new to me. You know, this seriously blogging business. It's not that I don't have plenty to say. Ask anyone that knows me, I always have something to say. One of my flaws. I tend to think of it as "diarrhea of the mouth". Yes. I know. Not a pretty picture.
Still, I keep telling myself I want to try blogging. Letting all the thoughts just flow out and see where they land. I've had a pretty good life. Not necessarily an easy one. As a child of divorce, I grew up jumping from my dad's blue collar working home to my mom's military and civil service working home. Lot's of brothers and sisters. And plenty of the wrong influences at the very early age of nine. But I grew up, straightened out, and have stories to share with my kids and some with you... but that's for another time.
This blog is meant to be about the trials and triumphs of my career so far. My audience? Well, it could be you. It could be your son or daughter or a friend or a stranger. What I do know is that I wish someone would have told me what a career in Information Technology (IT) could be like when I was thinking about or going to college... especially as a non-traditional student at the age of 25. I don't know that I would have changed anything, but I think it's the kind of story our kids should hear when evaluating what they want to do with their life. I'm certainly not saying IT is the career path for everyone. I'll just offer up my experience and would love to hear from others.
When IT All Started
I served in the US Army from 1991 to 1996. Met and married my wife during that time and also started my young family with the birth of my little girl. By the end of my term of service, I was met with the decision to either reenlist or separate from military service. After much debate, but driven by a desire to achieve more than I could in the military without a commission, I decided to separate and pursue my college degree.
My decision to pursue a degree that was related to computers is actually a story of its own. I'll just give the short version here. Two days after my daughter was born in 1994, we won a brand new car... tax free! We actually sold the car and, impulsive as we were, we went on a shopping spree and bought our first computer. This was my first computer ever, so I had quite a learning curve ahead of me. But I was excited! And so began my love affair with the creativity and human connection that could be achieved with technology.
Upon arriving at Cameron University as a non-traditional student (which is actually pretty common at that school), I decided to pursue a bachelors degree in Computer Information Systems (CIS). For the next 3 1/2 years, I committed to learn all that I could possibly learn about computers. Although I didn't enjoy the "coding" (the writing of the software that runs on computers) so much, I did enjoy the challenge. Faced with a problem, you basically learn how human logic can be translated into a language that a machine can understand and perform.
In the summer before my last year of school, I was selected as an Intern Programmer for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas to get my first look at corporate America (big corporate America). It was thrilling to see how things operated there. With over 3,000 folks working in their Information Systems Division, it was quite an impressive orchestration to witness. More about that in a later blog post.
Moving to Wal-Mart Country
After my last year of school and performing well during the internship, Wal-Mart decided to make me an offer and move us to Bentonville to start work. It was crazy. It was exciting. And most importantly, it was where our little boy was born and we lived among truly wonderful neighbors that became close friends. For the next six years, I embraced the Sam Walton culture at Wal-Mart and came to find my most prized professional value... Know Your Business (more later). I was promoted each year for the next 3 years from Programmer to Senior Programmer/Analyst and soon found out that there was a perceived "fast track to management" list that I was on. At 3 1/2 years, I received my promotion to Manager and was given my first team. The next year, I was promoted to the next level of mid-management and began becoming exposed to the internal politics that always occurs at some level in corporate management. Sometimes it's healthy. Sometimes, not so much. As inspired as I was by the cultural teachings left by the founder, Sam Walton and his predecessor, David Glass, I was pretty disappointed by some of the conversations and decisions that went on behind closed doors. While my first stint as a manager was served under my manager and forever-appreciated mentor, my promotion to Strategic Applications Manager and responsibility of the Samsclub.com development team was served under management that I simply could not align my values of personal / work life balance for my folks with. The demands were too high and not based on reality. I soon came to realize that my time at Wal-Mart was done. Some can thrive there, but I found that it became too demanding on me to compromise my values and desire to make decisions. We left Wal-Mart and decided to move back home to Oklahoma and found the quaint town of Piedmont very inviting.
Winds of Progress
Recognizing that I could put my talents to more effective use than I could at Wal-Mart, I put the feelers out to find a new job. I was fortunate enough to be found by the HR department of the company I work for now (side note: sorry, I'm going to have to come up with a name here. Since I still work for my company and it is a private company, it's probably best that way. We'll call it Becio). The position I was offered was to be Director of Web Development and report to the CIO. After a few interviews and an on site visit that impressed, I was presented with an offer I couldn't refuse (that's actually how she said it... "offer you can't refuse"... ha ah... godmother). That was late 2005. Since that time, we've had a lot of organizational changes as we mature into a more and more successful company. We even produced and placed our first Super Bowl commercial last year. It's been exciting and, at times, very tough over these past, nearly, 4 years now with Becio. Recently, I was promoted to Vice President of Information Technology for Becio. This comes with a commitment to receive continued grooming for the Chief Information Officer (CIO) position... not necessarily a change in responsibilities since I already run all of IT. Still, quite an achievement in 10 years. I certainly don't want to give the impression that this was all a result of my raw talent. Far from it. It was the people I worked with and learned from. Where I may have talent is in recognizing where others seem to excel and hope to set the pace and path for them to perform at their peak capacity... while also challenging them to take the opportunity to stretch out of their comfort zone and find ways to grow and expand their minds.
The Way It Should Be
I truly enjoy te people I work with and for now. It is a far cry from the environment I lived at Wal-Mart. We are a learning and growing team experiencing business success and challenged with the demands of becoming a great company. We seek to respect the people that work hard and seek ways to help them balance their time at work and home. It is a compassionate company so long as the people are compassionate. Yes. There are times when we have to work late hours or weekends to ensure the business accomplishes a significant business goal or to resolve a system issue that could be impacting our sales. But all in all, we do our best to get the work done during the day and compartmentalize that part of our lives to focus on home and pick up in the morning (unless something goes wrong that is). Could it be an even easier life? Sure. Show me anyone that is completely satisfied with their life. Life is about making decisions, overcoming difficulties, experiencing happiness, and appreciating the adventure of how fleeting it all is. I'm happy where I am... for now.
More To Come
So that's the broad stroke story of my past 10 years. Like I said, I can go on and on, but I thought it best to make separate posts so as not to ramble on too much. I'm happy to target posts to any topics you readers would like to suggest. Anything from "How did you know you wanted to be a manager of people?" to "How do I avoid being laid off during a recession?". Hope you'll stay tuned. :)
Sincerely,
Mike
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