All I have to say here is –

Has the busy-ness of your life caused you to lose touch with someone that you remember fondly? Is there someone that you’ve been thinking about recently – wondering how they are doing? Contact them! Just do it. It will be worth it.

If there are any more lurkers out there reading my blog that are old friends – shoot me a line, I’d love to catch up.

The more I think about this, the more I realize that it’s not so much what I am going to do, but what I am trying to accomplish. Goals and actions are quite different. I’m working toward very high level goals – and the actions that are necessary to achieve those goals are merely a byproduct.

• Spend more time with family and friends – Also known as the “no hermit” rule. Unless I can’t actually do something I plan on accepting every invitation that comes my way.
• Work only with people I respect and trust – Over time, I plan on doing a little consulting for “toy money”. I will only take on assignments with people I genuinely like working with and who I trust.
• Stay healthy and fit – Good whole foods comprised mostly of fruits, veggies, nuts and grains. Exercise – and lots of it. This might not be a structured program anymore, but whatever seems like fun at the time. Hiking, biking, kayaking, volleyball, weight training and so on. The number on the scale doesn’t really matter as long as I feel good.
• Become more aware of the world around me – In other words, continue to learn. This touches everything. I’ve started a list of all of the different varieties of birds that I see in my yard. I’m reading a lot more classic literature. I’m learning more about other people’s political biases that I had previously dismissed.
• Bring creativity and fun to what I do – You can never have too much fun – and every task no matter how mundane can be filled with creativity. Check out this fruit bowl that I made over the weekend. I could have just chopped up some fruit for a party that I was going to, but instead I spent part of my day learning how to make something that would delight the eye.

The thing that I like best about my goals is that even if I do a little bit more than I did in the past, I will consider myself successful. If I pick something like “hike the Appalacian Trail” (which quite frankly I would like to do, but it is just not feasible right now) and I don’t get to it, I’ll feel like a failure. In my work life I always thought that very specific goals were most important because they gave me something to shoot for. In my retired life – it’s just the opposite. The joy is in the journey. I’m picking goals that bring more joy to my life and less “gotta accomplish this” stress. How refreshing!

Key takeaways for me:

• No matter what your intentions, if you are “the boss” people will read something into whatever you do or say. As a good friend of mine once said – “sometimes my words took on lives of their own”. You need to be very careful – your people are watching you all the time trying to figure you out.
• KISS. We all know this one, but in business we forget it. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Figure out what is really important to your company, your department or your product. Bring it up frequently. If you are measuring 25 important things, none of them will get done. Find a handful – manage to those.
• Power can go to your head easily. Don’t be a bosshole ( I love this word!).
• If dirty work needs to be done, do it. Layoffs, firings, and other uncomfortable conversations are dirty work. Don’t drag them out. Do what needs to be done, people will respect you for it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a boss or aspires to be one.

Now. How does this apply to work? A lot of times there is resentment and frustration when a team member habitually expects others to pick up their slack. That’s the worst case scenario – and probably is very similar to what happens in a bad relationship.

I’ve been continually impressed with my “new” (ok, not so new anymore) team. Everyone is self directed and very motivated. When someone is out for personal reasons, others just pick up the slack. It isn’t a big deal. Nobody complains, they just work on whatever is the highest priority at the time. It’s great!

I wish I could find the source for the original quote – “you can never be too kind of too fair.” It’s a unique work environment where you see this in action almost every day.

After some reflection, my strengths were pretty much on target.

• Relator – I develop close relationship with people and my friends trust my judgment when they need advice.
• Learner – I am curious and dig deeply into topics that attract my interest.
• Command – I push people to excel.
• Significance – I need to be be independent and for people to take me seriously.
• Input – I collect information like some people collect shoes.

The one that really resonated with me is the last one – Input. I am currently reading 3 books at once. I have a stack of 4 more on my “to read” list right now and my library due date is looming large. I have more interests than I can count. I’ve always been frustrated when I hear “just take your favorite hobby and turn it into a business and you can be successful.” I think that’s because I don’t know where to start. My short list for favorite hobbies is a crazy laundry list. Weight training and nutrition. Sports cars. Volleyball. Investing. Cooking and using local produce. Business strategy. Leadership and management. Social media. Chronic disease management. Photography. Gardening and landscaping. Birdwatching. Kayaking. Eldercare. Wine. Construction. Green technologies.

This opened my eyes. My favorite hobby is processing information. Weird way of looking at it, but that’s exactly what it is.

The book is small and a quick read and I’d recommend it.

When I was an engineer starting a new job my focus was always on the technology. I almost always came into companies that were launching new products. In this respect I was really fortunate. I was part of the team that was defining the design, and a lot of times the technologies that were being used. That didn’t mean that there wasn’t anything new and different to learn right up front. For example – almost every company that I have ever worked for used a different code management system. I’ve used proprietary, PVCS, Clearcase, CVS, and Perforce. On the bug tracking side I’ve used ddts, bugzilla, and devtrack. I’ve utilized a number of programming language environments, and dealt with a lot of different processors and operating systems. The good news is that unless you’re coming in as the architect of a large project the scope of what you need to learn is rather focused. You will own something specific and hopefully manageable.

As a manager the scope of the things to learn is much greater. Not only do you need to have a high level understanding of the technology and the product you are building, you need to understand some of the more amorphous details.

Who are you managing? Did any of them aspire to the job you were hired to do? Are any of them unhappy and looking to leave? Any performance problems to suss out? How do you build trust? When you lead them, will they follow?

But this is just the beginning. Who are you peers? How do you need to interact with them?

Still not enough – what other groups are stakeholders in the technology you are managing? Project managers. Product managers. Sales. Marketing. Consulting.

It’s time to drink from the fire hose.

More than anything else I want to thank my husband, all of my good friends, and my previous coworkers who supported me during the last 11 months of my job search. You kept a roof over my head. You introduced me to hiring companies and helped me get interviews. You convinced me not to sell myself short and to hold out for a position that I really want. You told me to focus on what I am best at. You took me out for a beer and a burger or a nice lunch when I was down (Now I owe YOU lunch/dinner! You know who you are!)

Words just can’t express how thankful I am!

Linda’s back….

Balance is different for everyone. With it, you’re pretty comfortable and happy. Without it, you feel like your life is out of control.

Now I am going to go spend some time with a good book!

1. Transparency – I think by now you all know how I feel about this one. Companies are much better off when leaders share more than rather than less.
2. Doing Good – I want to make a difference, don’t you? If I had my druthers I would work on technology that improves the quality of life. This might be a medical advance, an alternative energy play, or even something like software that makes managing IT infrastructure easier and reduces manual labor. There are many ways to look at this.
3. Learning – If I am not learning something new, I am not growing. Earlier in my career I read tech books and volunteered for new projects. These days I read management books, and I like to learn from people I work with. Leading teams working on new technology is also fun for me. Read about my learnings in this post.
4. Smart People – What I really mean is working with people that are smarter than I am. I like to identify people to hire that are wicked smart – and motivated. Delegating is easy with folks like this! I also learn a lot more too.
5. Collaboration – I enjoy working in a culture where people collaborate rather than compete. It is no fun if work turns into a proposition where if one person wins the other loses. I’d rather have everyone succeed together.
6. Respect – Everyone, and I mean everyone on the team deserves respect. One of the best ways to demonstrate it is to really listen to what people are saying. You’ll learn a lot about their opinions and what really motivates them. It’s the best way to understand what is important to each member of the team. Some of my thoughts on respect.
7. Diversity – For me this isn’t just a buzzword. The best team that I’ve ever led had geographic, ethnic, gender, and perspective diversity. Folks didn’t always agree – but that’s what made the team so powerful.How diversity can help you.
8. Balance – Work is important, but there are other things in life besides work. I’ve done the 100 hour weeks and I can tell you that it really leaves nothing for your personal life. I’m willing to work hard, but I always make sure to take some time for myself too.
9. Fun – If a work environment isn’t fun the days drag on forever. A sense of fun and play helps foster camaraderie in the team.
10. Trust – This cuts both ways. Management needs to trust their team to do their jobs to the best of their ability without micromanaging. This includes the flexibility to work how, when, and wherever the person is most effective. In return, the team needs to trust that management is going to steer the company in a fiscally prudent manner and make appropriate strategic decisions.

]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2009/12/03/what-is-really-important/feed/ 4 winethinker http://lindabonanno.com/2009/11/15/how-to-prepare-for-an-interview/ http://lindabonanno.com/2009/11/15/how-to-prepare-for-an-interview/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:09:56 +0000 LBonanno http://winethinker.com/?p=453 Continue reading →]]> Have you ever wondered exactly what you are getting into when you go on an interview? I have. I remember what interviewing was like before web pages, social networks, and Google searches. It was really hard to get any information about a company without knowing someone who worked there. If the company was public you could go to the library and look at microfiche (dating myself!) newspaper articles and business results. That was the extent of it. Unless you were interviewing with someone famous, it was next to impossible to learn anything about the people you would be talking to. These days it is so much easier to be prepared.

I have a few things that I like to do before I interview with a company. Depending on the company and the information that is out there, this can be quite a bit of work – and a lot of times I can’t quite get to it all. Most of this is common sense I hope, but I thought I would write it down for others to think about.

I’ll start at the point where you’ve done enough looking into a company and a position to know that you want to send your resume in for consideration. At this point you should know a bit about the industry, the company and its publicly available financial information. You’ve made it through the resume screening process – and you’ve been contacted for an interview.

First off – ask a lot of questions when the recruiter or HR representative calls you. Find out exactly which group you are interviewing with. This will help you determine what product(s) they are responsible for. Many times the job description will not clearly state this. Don’t forget to ask for the interview schedule and names of the people you will be speaking with during your interview and what their roles are. Knowing if someone will be a peer, a superior or a subordinate and knowing if their role is technical or administrative can help you figure out what to expect when you talk to them.

Next go to the website. Many companies have an entire section devoted to “working at the company”. READ IT! if you haven’t already. You’ll want to concentrate on anything related to corporate culture to understand how you could fit in. Company blogs are great for this. Some sites even have hints about what your interview will be like. You’d be foolish not to pay attention to this information. One company that I talked to required a technical presentation to executives and senior management as part of their process. I knew about this far in advance of my interview day so I could plan for it carefully beforehand.

While you are on the website read as much as you can. If it is a large company with a huge amount of information on the web, concentrate on the appropriate line of business. What I mean by this is to read about the products that the group you are interviewing with is working on. Read the last 6 months worth of press releases from the company to learn about any interesting acquisitions, product releases or corporate sponsorships. Read the company’s most recent report to shareholders. If the company is not publicly traded, do some research on any investors that they mention. Expand your search from there if you have the time.

Once you feel like you’ve hit the important areas on the corporate website, start to branch out. Take the company name and search for the competition. Go to wikipedia and look up the company and its history. Go to yahoo finance or another finance site that you have access to and learn about the company’s recent performance if they are publicly traded.

Take those product names and search for the competition online. Search for product reviews online. Read them.

Ok – that’s a good start regarding the company. Now, the people. This is the fun part. Don’t think of this as stalking – think of this as market research. Keep in mind that the company probably has already done these types of searches before talking to you. This will help level the playing field. Google everyone on your interview list. See what you can learn about their industry involvement, where they’ve been quoted in the press, and maybe even what their personal hobbies are. Read their blogs if you can find them. Look them up on Facebook. A lot of people have public profiles.

My favorite is to look them up on LinkedIn. You’ll find out where they’ve worked and where they went to school. Sometimes you’ll find that they have worked the same place you have, or they have worked with a friend or old coworker. Once you have that kind of information you can learn more about their personality by talking to your contacts. You can also use this to form a bridge – knowing the same people – provided they are people that you both like and respect can help you develop a relationship with your interviewer.

Obviously all of this research won’t help you if you’re not qualified to do the job you are interviewing for. What it will do is make you more comfortable with the company and the people you will be talking to. This will help you come across as more confident and knowledgeable.

Oh – and don’t forget to make sure that you are prepared for skills and knowledge based questioning. Know your resume inside and out!


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