I work for a channel partner within the software industry. One reason I chose to work at my current job is the fact that we align with the customers needs, find a product that fits and help implement it. I appreciate that we go to market not because of a marketing brochure, we go to market with the clients needs first.

I had an opportunity today to learn about a new vendor that is in the space I focus, workload automation.

A big word for an industry that runs everything from your bank transactions to the Starbucks app (true story). This vendor is new to me but fits a segment of the market that we are not currently meeting. It does most things that our customers need and the company seems ethical.

I say all of this to tell you it gave me some hope today. I am in a position now where I am helping to shape the direction of my company and leave a mark.

Is that enough to go to work? I find that having purpose helps a lot. It gives greater satisfaction and focus when you have purpose.

Of course, my family helps in this regard, but family doesn’t always help with burnout. Sometimes it contributes when you’re getting woken up several times a night by the baby! Money can help sometimes, too, but I find it ultimately empty. It leaves you wanting more and never satisfied.

For me, I have found what gives me the most purpose is when my input is desired, I  heard and I contributed.

What gives you purpose?

Image credit: leesean

I have a one year old daughter who is delightful, spunky and generally pretty happy. She is also accustomed to a certain standard of living that my wife and I are now trying to change.

Specifically, that standard of living is sleeping in our bed each night. With all of our children we start the first year in our room with a bassinet that is next to our bed. It allows for us to tend to them while keeping them safe and secure as well.

With our twins the system worked where we would feed them through the night, rock them and set them back in the bassinet for more dreamland.

The process started the same for our latest but over time she resisted going to her bassinet and decided she wanted to sleep in our bed. Now my wife and I are of course exhausted and we love her so what’s the harm if she starts sharing the covers?

You would be amazed how much room a 10 month old will take up, they love to stretch and kick and pull hair. They also prevent sound sleep for the parents while doing that.

The time has come that our little lady needs to go to her own room to sleep and this leads us to our current stage of sleep training.

I am not always the best husband, but I will tell you this, if you do not get up when your partner does to tend to baby, you’re wrong. And it lead me to thinking about how this applies to work.

When there are challenges at work or time sensitive events does everyone pitch in or is it a one person show? These moments in time where a lot is on the line tend to show the true colors of your team. When stress hits it’s easy to hide or get away and is tough to stand and face the challenge head on.

How do you react when times are tough? I try to look at each event and learn. Sometimes I make a good decision and sometimes I have an opportunity to improve. However I keep the mindset of always improving to ensure that I don’t crest habits that will lead to negative outcomes.

I am happy to say the culture in my household is generally happy, with the occasional cross word said in the middle of the night

I am making it a point to have that same culture at work, too.

Image credit: Jennifer Gensch

I have small children who have deemed that it is acceptable to say no a lot. At first, we thought it was a bit cute, but my wife and I learned quickly that we needed to put a stop to it.

We would tell them to pick up toys or wash their hands, the answer was always the same, no!

We found the fastest way to stop that behavior was to send them to their room or have them stand in a corner. It works but it’s a lesson that has to be applied almost daily.

I sometimes wonder if, as adults, we find it hard to say no to things because our parents tried to get that word out of our vocabulary as children. Perhaps we get it drummed in our heads that we should say yes to things and all of a sudden we are overwhelmed with commitments.

I went to a Tony Robbins event a few years ago and one theme of his message was, “just say yes!” His idea being that if you say yes to things and eliminate your fears then you will progress in life. (This is a very distilled version of his message of course).

I came away from that event with two ideas. One that I knew I could walk on hot coals, because I did, and two being that I should open myself up to opportunities. If Tony saw me today he might say I was a lapsed disciple, but I did find the event to be worthwhile.

That leads me to my final point.

Are we over-committing ourselves and doing harm to our lives? Have we made too many lunch meetings, too many side hustles and too many extracurricular activities to really live life?

I have a successful friend who has five children. I asked him what his secret was as he always seems well rested and is able to exercise.

He said it’s simple, he doesn’t enroll his kids in a single sport or activity. They are not barred from them, but he just doesn’t encourage it, he prefers math and music for them to be involved in.

His catchphrase is, “Nerds rule the world, not jocks.”

Image credit: marc falardeau

I have been pretty busy lately and am not proud of it. Most of my time is taken up with mundane tasks, but they do keep me occupied.

I have small children so a successful day involves my wife and I getting a chance to catch up on laundry and dishes.

I also have the demands of work, which is good, because wouldn’t you rather have that than no work at all?

However, busy is also a euphemism that whatever you’re working on isn’t truly that important.

When I have work or friends that ask for my time and I say I am busy it is typically a polite way of saying I don’t want to do it or they are not a priority.

In aggregate, we see this as a society where there are silos of people who have only a few select relationships and follow a set pattern.

Those workaholics who are always at the office are often celebrated by society and condemned by those that work for them. I had a boss years ago who worked all the time and expected those below them to do so as well. I hated it.

However, I have followed a pattern lately where I am in that same condition.

I work a lot but feel like nothing is getting done.

I have been in this place before and typically the way I get out is by setting small priorities that I can work towards and build upon that.

How do you get out of the hamster wheel of work and become productive?

Note that HBS claims there is some good that can come of it.

Image credit: Roban Kramer

I am in Chicago this week for a mini conference and learned a few things about the importance of attention to detail and preparation.

When my team and I arrived to set up our booth the first thing we learned is we had not paid attention to the details. We had not completed a step in our registration to have our badge scanner work. Initially I thought this would be an issue, but when I had valuable conversations with people on the floor I started asking them to write down their info in my notebook. The result was actual eye contact while speaking and getting a sense of the problem in their own words.  Crisis averted but a rookie mistake.

During the course of the conference it was clear that the person in charge of setting up the event is a rockstar. She worked long hours, was dedicated to her role and was literally running around to get things done the day of. The venue was amazing, the speakers fresh and the food was on time.

However, about mid way through the morning the unexpected happened. The power went out.

Power outages and tech events typically do not mix well. As the information became available we leaned that it was not just the venue, but a few city blocks that were without power.

I’m not sure this event was in any contingency plan, but adjustments were made right away. The guest speaker lost his slides, but was able to speak from memory without a microphone. The attendees were forced to look up from laptops without WiFi and have true conversations. And the windows were opened to allow fresh air with the AC out.

The power ended up being out for 2 plus hours and it was interesting to see how people adjusted. The end result though was a memorable experience that led to some positive reviews from attendees. They appreciated that we could not control the power, liked the venue and enjoyed the conversations. Perhaps we can repeat the process next year.

Image credit: Miriam Delirium

I wrote a piece last week on the idea of embracing the rush of our lives and how it’s a human condition. While to some degree I do think it’s a sign of our times and not altogether negative, I do see the impact it has made.

In school I read about the effects of coffee on the industrial revolution. The idea was that the widespread use of the stimulant allowed shift workers to operate all hours of the day and night.

Of course, we, in the modern day, have benefited on the backs of their labor; however, we have also learned from the negative aspects of that society. At least in this country, we no longer employ children, we have tougher safety laws, and regulation.

Back to my point of embracing rushing, I was wrong to take it on from a single standpoint. Through this past week I have searched out resources to learn more about the effects of our gadget driven world and what it has gotten us.

I titled this post “Start with why” and it’s a rip off from a great book of the same name by Simon Sinek.

That book focuses on sales and challenges sales people to start by asking why someone would want to buy their product/service and then shape a solution around that.

However, he also speaks about the current state of our society and it’s character.

If we could sum up the modern First World in one word it would be addiction and not just to drugs.

Many in my generation are addicted to our phones, our streaming services and our reliance on same day delivery. We can order anything, watch any show and contact any person in the world. In an odd twist of fate I can get live tweets from our current president and tweet him back.

As a current digital addict I tend to look at others and see it as normal.

When I am at the park I tend to not use my phone and see that others are. As a result I figure I must be balanced.

However, first thing in the morning I check my phone and look at my notifications. If you were to follow me on a social network you would see that I don’t post a ton. In reality I tend to not think I have much to say that is important for the world to know and I limit my posts for food recommendations while in new cities.

However, I check all the networks multiple times a day. I get updated on the latest coffee from the person I had 10th grade English with and also get to see the latest from our President.

It’s an odd time to be alive.

Why do we do this?

One reason is dopamine. It is the same drug that opiates release and it’s triggered naturally when we see activities or people responding to our posts. That’s why we look to see the comments, the likes and the re-shares.

It’s also why we tend to get worse over time with our usage. We need more and more dopamine to feel good.

I wrote all of this to say one thing.

Maybe we shouldn’t always embrace the rushing and start with the why.

Why are we doing this; who do we care about; why are we not happy.

Image credit: Ksayer1

I spend a lot of time in airports and as a result I get time to people watch and observe folks from all walks of life. One thing is constant despite their background, they are in a rush. Now this could be a symptom of the location, however I think it is a bit wider than that.

I ate lunch with a good friend recently, we used to be colleagues and still keep in touch. One common topic is career progression and job hunting.

My friend is currently looking to move into a new phase of her career and one thing she invested in was professional resume help. She has connected with a service that will rewrite your resume and ensure that it passes the software filters most recruiters use now. In addition it provides a guarantee that you get a call back for an interview within 60 days.

When I asked why she was using a service she said simply, it was a faster way to her next move.

As I thought through these two stories it made me wonder if this is a modern incarnation or a human condition.

I don’t have the breadth of history to know what people 100 years ago thought on the subject. However if I am using an antidote I know that papers were printed with morning, afternoon and evening editions. This was before radio and TV, but it indicates something.

People wanted access to the news, fast. They didn’t want to wait and that sounds very much like our current culture.

So I’m not going to suggest you stop and smell the roses and meditate. I say embrace the rush and love it to its fullest knowing you are fulfilling a human condition that has existed for some time.

Image credit: Jon S

I had the opportunity to attend PoweredUp 2018 hosted by Tampa Bay Tech. It was an opportunity to meet with others in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that are involved in tech, see the latest trends and learn what is working.

One takeaway from the event that I was not aware of. Tampa Bay is the largest tech hub in Florida and one of the fastest growing in the Southeast.

You may think of Florida as white sand beaches, warm weather, and retirees; and you would be right! However certain parts of the state are changing significantly.

I live in St Petersburg, Fl and learned the median age is 38. We have world-class museums, excellent restaurants, and a thriving arts scene. We also have some of the largest public access to the water in all of North America.

Other things else contributing to our growth is a large university system, thriving downtown and lower cost of living than places like San Francisco and New York. Why do I say all of this? I say it because I live here and I did not know that about my own city.

Tech has been primarily centered in large metropolitan areas along the major coastal cities. It makes sense but times are changing. As markets become too constricted and families grow there becomes a need to look outside of the bubble to see what else is out there.

That is where places like Tampa Bay come into play. They offer all the amenities that one needs and a value-add.

There are many offices opening in our city for companies that are Silicon Valley based and venture backed. Those organizations recognize that there is a talent base here that has yet to be tapped.

So this takes me back to the event I attended. Part of the reason for the event is to educate the tech community here that we are not alone.

We are a thriving part of the economy and its only getting better. Senior leaders in companies live and work here; its no longer God’s Waiting Room and we have a bright future.

So if you’re looking for a place to open an office or move, look at the St Petersburg/Tampa area and I’m sure you will feel right at home.

Image credit: Antoine Gady

I’m here this week in Dallas, Texas for our company’s sales kickoff. Most of my company is remote and this also gives us an opportunity to meet in person for some quality bonding time.

I have found that these face-time meetings can create tremendous value as a company and as an individual rep. As companies continue to find talent from across the nation and world it becomes obvious that some time spent together can make a lasting impact.

Since we’re in Texas there are a few things that we must experience and do as a team. BBQ is top of the list. One of the executives within my company has a ranch in Texas and we had an excellent BBQ on the grounds of his property.

Basically, every cliché you can think of took place. Horses, cowboy hats, country music and great BBQ.

One takeaway that I learned during the evening was this, folks that travel for work get tired of restaurants. When we did the BBQ it was a moment for people to relax, spend time actually talking and not worrying about if we have tipped the server enough to stay longer.

It’s a good lesson to keep in mind when visiting clients as well. Give them some space to roam and you never know what you may find out.

Texas being Texas the week is not complete without going to a gun range. Now I realize that the gun debate is raging right now and even this week we have had another terrible school shooting. However, the experience at this range was able to cross political divides for at least one day. We had folks that are very experienced with shooting and those who have never touched a gun in their lives.

The feedback from the group was they were very happy to have had the experience to learn about gun safety from professionals and build a little confidence in what the weapon can do.

I am of the belief that weapons require respect and I carried that lesson into the events of the day. We conducted this event with clients and many of them walked away with a smile on their face after firing a gun for the first time. My takeaway from this is to get someone out of their comfort zone and you may just see who they really are.

So I went into this week with no expectations but learned three things:

Proximity matters. Give people space to roam. Create opportunities to expand your comfort zone.

They all help in business and in life.

Image credit: bryan…

I read something today that made me take pause. It mentioned that in the early days of the internet, hen chat rooms were prevalent, you would tell people you were taking a break and would be back soon.

It was announced when you wouldn’t be there, because you had to literally sit at a computer to chat. Nowadays, we don’t need to do that as we are always on and always connected.

Until I read that post it didn’t occur to me how true that is. We can be at work, home, the beach and still be connected.

This is a topic touched on quite a bit and I have been intrigued by it for some time. When we are younger we can go to work and then home. They are separate entities. I had a job working at Pizza Hut as a teen. I can recall not once did I get home thinking about work or responding to emails. ( I did love it though, as I’m a huge pizza fan).

One result of that job was that I didn’t learn the lesson that sometimes work does need to be done at home or after hours. And now, as a professional, I struggle to figure out a balance to it all.

I had a CEO tell me one time that work and life are actually a blend.

There will typically not be a true balance, but both bleed into each other. As a father I find myself on my phone too much at home. Sometimes it’s work and sometimes not.

The blend idea teaches that the most important thing is to be present in the moment. It will pay dividends in the long run.

Being present may be the most important lesson I have learned on this topic.

And perhaps if we, as a society, put it in practice then work-life balance would not be such an issue.

I don’t believe there is one simple solution, but that would be good start.

Image credit: Laura LaRose