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 winethinker http://winethinker.com/?p=453 ]]> 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!


]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2009/11/15/how-to-prepare-for-an-interview/feed/ 3 winethinker http://lindabonanno.com/2009/05/08/saying-goodbye-is-never-forever/ http://lindabonanno.com/2009/05/08/saying-goodbye-is-never-forever/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 11:38:03 +0000 winethinker http://winethinker.com/?p=344 ]]> I’ve left a number of jobs. The excitement about what comes next is always electrifying and I’ve always been a person to look forward to the next thing. That is the fun part about leaving. Hopeful optimism as I step into the unknown. Good thing I am a “grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” person and not a “stick with the evil you know instead of the evil you don’t”.

One thing that has never changed for me is that it is always so hard to say goodbye to the good folks that will be sorely missed. Once someone isn’t a coworker anymore I tend to lose my “game face” and my emotions leak out. It’s hard not to feel sad when I get a big hug from someone I really liked seeing every day. When I leave I always try and say goodbye to every person I worked with. Every single one. It is a taxing day, and this time I didn’t quite manage it. There were a few folks (and some of you read this blog) that I missed. It wasn’t intentional, our timing was just off. Goodbye – it’s been fun – best wishes – may we meet again.

There are people from each and every company that I’ve worked at that I wish I could still work with. They are all different. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some are always serious and business-like. Some are always looking at the funny side of work. Some really pushed my buttons but they made me a better person in times of confrontation. Some are sensitive and helped me to realize when I might be stepping on toes. I’ve tried to keep in touch with most of the people I developed a connection with. Sometimes it is difficult because work was the only common interest. Other times old coworker became lifetime friends. And, one of my favorites is when old coworkers become new coworkers under different circumstances. It’s so nice to see a friendly face that I know I can trust.

When my old coworkers and friends found out that I lost my job, I received a huge outpouring of support. Frankly, I was shocked. I got notes and phone calls from people all through the span of my career. I heard from people in CT at UTC where I worked fresh out of college, I heard from IBMers from 15 years ago that I haven’t seen since, I got great support from ex-Nortelers, those that went through the Caspian days, and of course from some ex-coworkers from my recent position. Thank you everyone – I hope to see you all again in another company someday!


]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2009/05/08/saying-goodbye-is-never-forever/feed/ 1 winethinker http://lindabonanno.com/2009/05/05/more-on-social-networks/ http://lindabonanno.com/2009/05/05/more-on-social-networks/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 11:16:09 +0000 winethinker http://winethinker.com/?p=335 ]]> In my January 9th post I referred to an article about cultivating weak ties in social networks to assist in networking and job searching.

Recently the Wall Street Journal had the following article dubbed “Should Over-50 Job Hunters Join Facebook?”. The article itself wasn’t that remarkable to me – I think that social networks can be really useful.

What I liked about the article is that one of my contacts – Chuck Hester from Raleigh, NC was specifically called out in a national magazine article. Chuck is a LinkedIn master. What is really outstanding about what he does is that he considers “paying it forward” instead of “paying someone back” to be the key to networking. The first time I met Chuck he asked me – what can I do for you? He wasn’t worried about how I could help him. He wanted to figure out if there were ways that he could use his network to assist me in my endeavors. As part of his desire to help others, Chuck runs a regular “LinkedIn Live” gathering in the area to help people connect with one another. I don’t think that I’ve met anyone quite like Chuck in this respect.

I think that everyone can learn some lessons from Chuck. Networks are meant to be nurtured. They aren’t mean to be used only when you need help. I know that when someone in my network is looking for an opportunity I will provide them with whatever help makes the most sense. I’ve spent hours editing resumes for people that I hadn’t seen in 15 years. I’ve provided references for coworkers that I trust and would love to work with again. Sometimes I’ve spent time giving people insight and perspective on an industry that they are trying to break into. It’s worth the time and effort to do these things. Pay it forward.


]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2009/05/05/more-on-social-networks/feed/ 0 winethinker http://lindabonanno.com/2009/04/02/the-changing-employer-employee-relationship/ http://lindabonanno.com/2009/04/02/the-changing-employer-employee-relationship/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:16:16 +0000 winethinker http://winethinker.com/?p=318 ]]> From Business Week – Bad times affect expectations on both sides. But managers can turn downturns into an opportunity to build employee loyalty

“To attract, retain, and motivate employees, employers made promises that really could be kept only if the pace of growth in the business continued. Expected growth in profitability and in opportunities were the fuel that fed the “deal” that employers were able to offer employees. At many companies growth plans have since been shelved in favor of retrenchment plans. This recasting of the employment context raises a number of important questions, among them:

• How should we expect the nature of the employer-employee relationship to evolve?

• How have the tools employers have to attract and reward employees changed, and what does that mean for how managers must manage?”


]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2009/04/02/the-changing-employer-employee-relationship/feed/ 0 winethinker http://lindabonanno.com/2009/03/26/the-changing-nature-of-leadership/ http://lindabonanno.com/2009/03/26/the-changing-nature-of-leadership/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:36:46 +0000 winethinker http://winethinker.com/?p=302 ]]> This Forbes article is almost 2 years old, but it is still worth reading.

“You see, as the more heroic, charismatic styles of leadership were grabbing the headlines over the past decades, another more silently effective leader has been taking hold. Jim Collins in Good to Great calls these individuals “Level 5″ leaders, and he once referred to them as “tofu leaders”–executives who are somewhat bland, mix really well with everything around them, and still provide necessary sustenance. Sure, a more heroic, Welch-esque approach is still needed in some circles and business environments, but in a by-gone era, results aren’t enough.”

I think that we’ve all been taught that a good leader has to be really charismatic and results oriented to be effective. I think that in some instances it can help, but in others it really doesn’t. In today’s environment caring only about the results and not the relationships will really hurt a leader. Right now employees are not feeling particularly loyal to their employers in this age of downsizing, outsourcing, and paycheck and benefits reductions. If their leaders just continue to push hard for results and maintain their larger than life personas without any regard to how it is impacting their teams there will eventually be mutiny in one form or another. Productivity will go down. Morale will be affected. When the job market opens up people will leave.

The corporate leaders that I found to be most effective were the ones that were pragmatic and open. They expected results – no doubt, but I would not say that they had a movie star super high energy personality. They engaged the companies that I worked at by sharing almost everything that was going on, allowing all the employees to contribute to solving the problems in their own unique ways. By fostering this openness in the entire organization it helped forge stronger relationships across the various teams. When employees knew exactly what the sales pipeline and revenue numbers looked liked and what the corporate burn rate was on a month to month basis it helped them make much better decisions when it came to spending money. Knowing what problems the sales team was running into in the field informed the product management and engineering teams as well. Being open about the strengths and weaknesses of the product helped marketing and sales do their jobs better. In these companies the silos were limited, and communication was good. There was a distinct sense of “we’re all in this together” and we all know what the company priorities are. We didn’t need a ra-ra leader to spin tall tales full of hype. In fact, the times that I worked for companies with those kinds of leaders it seemed that the organization as a whole recoiled from slick messaging as if touched by a hot poker.

My advice is that leaders should reward and promote the quiet influencers and relationship builders. They can get so much done without leaving as much as a ripple in their wake. They aren’t noisy, they aren’t polarizing. What they are is effective and their people will generally do whatever it takes to be successful because of the relationships that they have within and across their teams.


]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2009/03/26/the-changing-nature-of-leadership/feed/ 0 winethinker