Motivators / Demotivators: Human Catalysts for Change
I’ve had reason to reflect on my career of late. From time to time, I take stock of my situation to see where I’ve been, where I’m at, and where I’m going. The “where I’m at” bit is easy enough to...
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You have a new manager – now what do you do?
We’ve all been there – a recent re-org or maybe your boss gets promoted or your boss leaves and you end up with a new manager. As I have mentored people over the years, I’d say that the most common...
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You got promoted, now what?
Leadership in most companies is not really something explicitly practiced. Generally, a few people who are naturally inclined kind of do their thing while the rest of the leadership ranks sort of...
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The Importance of Effective Communication at Work
There are many different personality traits found in individuals in our industry. One trait that I’ve found dominant in technical roles is that of introversion. This trait is one that often manifests...
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Benchmarking: Be Mindful Where You Set the Bar
At many fast-growing companies, there is a an organizational phenomenon that takes root as the middle management ranks swell. Early on, titles are handed out with thoughtful precision. The Director...
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There’s No Stupid Question, But…
While I’m a big proponent of people asking questions, there are a few considerations that I’d like to address. These considerations are not about looking (or sounding) “stupid” or otherwise inhibiting...
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The Only Two Ok Responses to Valid Feedback
Earlier this week, I wrote over on the Plexxi blog that the most important thing to look for in a potential new hire is coachability. If being coachable is the most important contributor to sustained...
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IT’s Not Just About Technology
There’s a lot of great blogs and resources that get really deep into specific areas of tech. While it may sound really strange, this site is decidedly not one of them. The focus of The Tech Interview...
View ArticleFive Things About Mentoring
In network engineering, a great opportunity is to be able to mentor someone else. Mentoring is that art of teaching someone else what you know. In that knowledge sharing, you help that person become a...
View ArticleBreak Those Chains
So because I’m new to this whole blogging at Packet Pushers thing (and blogging in general), I’ve been trying to decide on my place in the grand scheme of things. There are a lot of folks here that do...
View ArticleMake Like A Tree And Branch Out
Alright, so you’ve decided to branch out and you may be wondering what else you can do to help things along. You can always try your friendly neighborhood blog or message board, but there’s always the...
View ArticleLeave Your Gas Can at Home
Talking about current events with my dad recently, he gave me a sage piece of advice. He said, “Son, leave your gas can at home.” Now obviously we weren’t talking about IT, but it got me to thinking....
View ArticleQOS Your Life
So as we’re all busy network professionals, I’m sure you’ve ran into the problem of a work-life balance. I personally know lots of engineers that have burned out at one time, or their family life has...
View ArticleCommunity is Key
So in case anyone didn’t know, I got to speak at Interop Las Vegas 2016 last week. It was an amazing experience, and I think it changed my professional outlook on a lot of things. I had never attended...
View ArticleSix Coaching Principles That Took Me Years to Learn
This post is overdue. Perhaps by a few years. Finally, earlier this week, I saw a few posts on Reddit that made me thumb through stacks of papers to find my initial draft. What comes here, at its...
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