Network Assurance Exam

 

Recently I cam across the Domestic Preparedness site for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which can be found at http://www.teexwmdcampus.com/.  I passed the first exam, Network Assurance.  Here is my certificate.

My team launched the Central Business Licensing application for the State of Maryland (https://egov.maryland.gov/easy/) and then Governor O'Malley had a press release about it. You can read a story about it and watch a nice video at technicallybaltimore.com here: http://technicallybaltimore.com/baltimore-2-0/gov-omalley-unveils-central-business-licensing-system-at-betamore-video/

My team worked hard to get this done. Very proud of the entire team!

Management Philosophy: behavioral versus training issues

Many years ago I learned a management philosophy. It was my first time being a manager. I was young and I was ignorant. I was also more fortunate than I deserved. My district manager never used the word mentor, but that is what he was. Like a good mentor he was wise and he was patient.

When I would talk to my district manager about employee issues he would ask if it was a behavioral issue or a training issue. Sometimes it was easy to answer, sometimes not so much. However, he wouldn't quit asking questions until I could answer this question.

The answer to this question did not affect what was done. It affected when it was done. Showing up late, leaving early, insubordination, fighting, bad attitudes as well as more grievous things like theft, drinking, drugs, illegal activities are all behavioral issues. These must be addressed immediately.

Other types of issues are training issues. How to do things - frying burgers or building servers - are trainable. Sometimes the training is for the manager. Did the manager make it clear what the expectations were? I talked about asking what success looked like here. These things you address over time.

For me, having learned this distinction has really made my management easier. I am a big proponent of categorization. You can't predict the million ways things can go wrong or at least the million ways things can go not right. Therefore, you figure out what right looks like, manage toward that, and then address the problems as they arise. Of course, there are times where it isn't a case of a problem, it is a case of defining better. These are generally educational issues, so you address them over time.

Two questions I keep asking...

Somewhere along the road of my career I learned the value of asking two questions. I have repeated them over and over. Recently I heard a former colleague ask the first question. My ego hoped he had learned it from me. I don't know, really, but I won't risk bruising my ego by asking. You would think that these two questions are fairly intuitive, but people fail to ask them and then they can't figure out why they are not successful. Of course, just asking the questions does not immediately make you successful. However, without asking, you are as doomed as the dart thrower in a blackout or the blind pig. So, even though I know there is a chance of getting an acorn or even hitting the target and possibly the bull's eye, the chances are greater when you can see what the goal is.

The first question is "What does success look like?" I remember when I was younger and dating this nice girl. Her mother was a seamstress. She would be there sewing away or cutting some fabric. You would ask her what she was doing and she would say, "making a dress!". She knew what success looked like. It looked like a dress and one that was the correct size, the correct fabric, the correct print, the correct buttons, the correct ribbons, the correct everything.

So, with anything in my career, this is the first question that I try to ask. I am amazed at how many people don't have a good answer to this question. I am equally amazed at how many people have a bad answer to this question. For my career, an easy example of what success looks like is Eric Schmidt of Google fame. Do I think I am Dr. Schmidt? Of course not. However, I do see here a man who knew what success looked like and pursued it. I love seeing Dr. Schmidt's videos. I get encouraged when I see videos of him earlier in his career as well as those from later in his career. Not only do I learn an example of what success looks like (and sounds like), but I also get an insight into his management style, his speaking style, and his presentation style.

"Where there is no conflict there is no life... " Machiavelli

I think it is particularly interesting to compare two people on the same stage. Eric Schmidt and Larry Page is a good example.

The second question I like to ask after asking "what does success look like" is to ask, "what are the barriers to success?"

This is the one that I think separates people from leaders. The example that I gave above shows a good example of people asking for how to remove the barriers. It is certainly interesting to watch from that aspect. Here you have an internet company talking about the barriers that they can't control. It is also interesting to see what they are talking about and then looking at how they have changed since those statements. I get the valuable insight of time! I also get the valuable insight of repetition. I can watch hundreds of hours of video of Dr. Schmidt and I can catch on to patterns that he has used and has been successful with. Dr. Schmidt is very intelligent and has a research focus. He uses this research to help him remove barriers to success. He also uses "tag words and phrases" and is very repetitive.

So, what does success look like for you and how do you remove the barriers standing between you and your success?