Some ideas on how to think through your options and opportunities in the tech industry

1. Tech Survival 101
Managing Your Career
& Providing Leadership
Greg Jensen
University of Minnesota MSSE Seminar
Keller Hall, room 3-210, Saturday October 24, 2015
12:15 - 3:30pm

2. This will be a little different…
Think less Steve Jobs and more
Forrest Gump :)

3. I have no agenda other than to share, to
keep it real and be as open, honest and
transparent as I possibly can.
And I am going to ask you for a few things
in return...

4. ( 1 )
Even though we will have a few pauses for
Q&A along the way, please jump in at any
point and use your questions and
comments to help drive this presentation,
surface issues and challenges, push any
boundaries that are important to you and
help fill in any gaps…

5. ( 2 )
Please continue the classroom spirit of the
MSSE program by sharing openly and
leaving the names of both the innocent
and the guilty to be ghosts in this room
and never leave. This works best when we
trust each other, and when we respect and
support each other.

6. Overview
● Finding Your Path
○ Activity 1: Getting Started - forming a career narrative
● Building Your Personal Brand
● Evolving Your Mindset
○ Activity 2: Office Challenges - growth opportunities
● Providing Leadership

7. Finding Your
Path
Understand the industry landscape
and how to plot your own path
through it:
● How does it all work?
● What is your best fit?
● Common Personas
● Taking care of yourself
● Telling your story

8. How does it all work? (common titles)
CEO, CIO, CTO, COO, CPO, CSO…
EVP, SVP, VP, Senior Director, Director
Chief Architect, Head Engineer, Fellow, Associate Fellow, Senior Staff, Staff..
Senior Engineer, Engineer, Associate Engineer, Intern
Senior Manager, Manager
Senior Analyst, Analyst

9. How does it all work? (many roles)
Architecture / Infrastructure / Networks / Devices / Security
/ Software Development / DevOps / Testing & QA / Program
& Project Management / Business Analysis / Requirements
Management / Process Engineering / Team & Department
Management / Business Intelligence & Reporting / UX /
Product Management

10. How does it all work? (many variations)
Information Architect, UX Architect, Security Architect, Data
Architect, Network Architect, Software Architect, Systems
Architect, Application Architect, Solution Architect,
Capability Architect, Enterprise Architect, Cloud Architect,
Chief Architect

11. What is your best fit:
Technical Depth
● Keep digging deeper into what is possible
● How it works, how to leverage or apply
Technical Breadth
● Follow connections, look for synergy
● High level views, components & modules
People Management
● Like to coach and mentor
● Care, share and support
Art - Craft - Science
● Logic and Rules vs Creativity
● Tools or Systems vs Applications

12. Compensation = i* salary + j* stock options
+ k* benefits + l* who they get to work with
+ m* where they get to work + n* what they
get to work on + . . .
What is your best fit:

13. ● Timing - be patient, company and
position first
● Base compensation
● Benefits
● Contracting vs FTE (30% plus or minus)
● Startups and Stock Options (vesting
schedule, shares, and shares outstanding)
Sidebar - let’s talk about...

14. Common Personas
Biz Stakeholders
Why does this take so long,
why can’t I change this or
that, when will it be
ready???
Senior Management
Time and cost estimates?
What will the ROI be for
each phase? Do we need
this many people? Lowest
contractor rates?
Engineers
We need these new tools.
That is not best practices.
We have to service our
tech debt. This won’t work.
That is not enough time!
Ops & Security
You will need a new
license. That is not
supported. This does not
comply with policy. Not
approved for deployment!

15. Common Personas
● Not a good strategy for
engineers
● Don’t say “NO”, give options
● Explain tradeoffs
● Be positive, consistent, and
rational

16. The single most important leader in an
organization is your immediate supervisor.
—JIM KOUZES
You can safely assume all perceptions are
real, at least to those who own them.
—JOE FOLKMAN

17. You don’t have to like or admire your boss,
nor do you have to hate him. You do have
to manage him, however, so that he
becomes your resource for achievement,
accomplishment and personal success.
—PETER DRUCKER

18. Taking Care Of Yourself (first, then your job)

19. Taking Care Of Yourself...
Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (Greg McKeown):
● Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying Yes
too quickly and not saying No soon enough. Josh Billings
● Flow, The Genius of Routine - Routine, in an intelligent man,
is a sign of ambition. W.H. Auden

20. Taking Care Of Yourself… diet, exercise & budget
● YMMV - but we all have to guard against burnout
● Time to do my job, 32 hrs
● Time to communicate and manage (up, down, sideways), 4
hours
● Time to study best practices, learn what is new, 4 hours
● Time to network, 2 hours
● Time for family (6-9pm?), time for growth, time for hobbies,
culture, entertainment???

21. Telling Your Story
● First things first, pause for some gratitude… we are lucky
to be knowledge workers and in such a healthy industry
● Do you fill squares or fill a role?
● Why are you here, right here right now, what brought you
here?
● If we created the perfect job for you, the one that would
fit you best and position you to bring the most value and
make great contributions, what would it be?...

22. Telling Your Story
● Now create an arc that connects the dots from your first
interests and activities to this ideal landing zone of a
perfect job. This is your career narrative.
● You are now the main character in your own lifetime
movie, you have an arc to follow with lessons learned
from both failure and success, with a supporting cast
that helped educate, challenge and collaborate with you
on your journey.

23. Activity - Build a short narrative and “tell me about yourself”
Early Interests
● Passions
● Aptitude
● Influencers
● Talent
● Energy
● Fun
Skills & Experience
Think through each step
of your journey:
● What did you do?
● What did you learn?
● Quantify and qualify
results
● Why did you leave?
● Why did you pick
the next step?
Direction & Vision
Weave it all together and
smooth out your arc:
1. Fine tune and revise
as needed
2. Show true north
3. Develop the overall
value proposition

24. This is my true passion - and it informs my daily
work if I stay focused and balanced

25. My Journey
1982 Apple II (first love), 1983 TRS-80 (first line of code), 1984 Z-100 (first IT job)
Bioenvironmental Technician, Computer Programmer, Intelligence Analyst,
Counterdrug Intelligence Analyst, Unix Systems Administrator, Scientific
Programmer, Team Lead, Sales Engineer, Systems Architect, Director of Systems
Integration, Director of Research & Development, Consultant, Founder & CTO,
Consulting CTO, Interim CTO, Technology Practice Manager, Unemployed, Long
Term Unemployed, Executive Consultant, Acting VP of Enterprise Architecture,
CTO, Program Manager & Lead Technologist, Product Manager, Acting VP of
Engineering, Solution Architect, Senior Program Architect, VP Engineering, MSSE
Adjunct Faculty Member

26. Building Your
Personal Brand
Bringing your career narrative to life
and finding what is essential:
● Authenticity
● Performance
● Linkedin
● Community
● Participation
● Permission
● Just Ask...

27. Authenticity
● So easy to underestimate the importance of this
● No mask, no fear, be true to who you are, be in touch with
your own gut and intuition, and feel the connection to
your heart - Patty Jensen (my wife)
● Build a support network, start with one person you really
trust

28. Performance
Results = Results
Anything Else = Results

29. Performance...
How you do anything is how you do everything -
Buddhist expression
How you do what’s next is how you do what’s
next - Greg Jensen

30. LinkedIn
● Why bother with a resume anymore?
● Just do it
● Google is your friend, learn best practices and dig
through examples
● Don’t keep changing it for every job opening
● Your profile is your passport (not your narrative)

31. Community
● You are a “company”, an army of one, and your brand
matters
● Everyone you interact with is a “customer” and their
experience matters
● Be positive and communicate thoughtfully, be helpful
● Don’t do it well because people don’t forget, do it well
because you don’t forget, you have muscle memory

32. Participation
● It’s hard being an introvert, but there are so many
benefits… (and extroverts are still OK too)
● Make the effort to come out and play
● Think about what best supports your narrative and spend
your time wisely
● Choose your moments at the office, there is plenty of
oxygen to go around

33. Permission
● It starts with you
● Grade yourself on a scale of 1 - 10 and be honest, but
know that people rarely rank you higher than you are
willing to rank yourself
● Rich vs Poor (and not just in dollars) often comes down
to what you think you deserve, to your sense of self-
worth

34. Just Ask...
● Not me, I mean anyone, anytime, for just about anything
● This is the single biggest blocker in our own daily career
standup
● Don’t bring any pressure or obligation or expectation, just
ask people if they can help you with whatever you need
help on… and make it clear you are happy to reciprocate
in any way that you can

35. Evolving Your
Mindset
We could complain and criticize, or
we could grow stronger and
happier:
● Your Tech Radar
● Core Values
● Culture of open and honest
collaboration
● Growth & Learning Mindset
● Imposter Syndrome
● Staying above the line...

36. Tech Radar
Neal Ford, Thoughtworks
https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/build-
your-own-technology-radar
Split into 4 quadrants: Techniques, Tools, Platforms,
and Languages & Frameworks with four rings, from
outer to inner: hold, assess, trial, and adopt.
What makes sense for you? Modify to suit your needs
and go through the exercise of building one.

37. Core Values
● What are yours, what are your employers and do they
align? Some examples:
Clear Communications Ownership
Craftsmanship Recognition
Customer-Centric Thinking Respect & Humility
Dogfooding Results Over Politics
Intensity Warmth, Fun & Laughter

38. Culture
● Open and honest collaboration (we are getting better)
● Diversity - a safe, open and welcoming environment for
everyone (why can’t we get this right?)
■ Stupid is as stupid does - Forrest Gump
● No one of us smarter than the rest of us
■ Not a fact but an important daily philosophy

39. Growth & Learning Mindset
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh0OS4MrN3E

40. Imposter Syndrome
If you feel anxious or feel like your confidence is slipping
away, look this up and read about it and take it all in. This is
extremely important for many of us and we need to step
back and know that we are OK, that we belong here and have
in fact earned our seat at the table.

41. Staying Above The Line
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership,
Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, & Kaley Warner
Klemp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrVv_RlCMw

42. Staying Above The Line...
I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances
of my life at LeadPages, and I commit to supporting others
to take full responsibility for their lives.
I commit to blaming others and myself for what is wrong at
LeadPages. I commit to being a victim, villain, or a hero and
take more or less than 100% responsibility

43. Staying Above The Line...
I commit to growing in self-awareness. I commit to
regarding every interaction as an opportunity to learn. I
commit to curiosity as a path to rapid learning.
I commit to being right and to seeing this situation as
something that is happening to me. I commit to being
defensive, especially when I am certain I am RIGHT.

44. Staying Above The Line...
Breathe, Pause, and Shift
Be aware that you have drifted below the line and commit to
leading and interacting with others from a place of openness

45. Activity - Office Challenges
Quick Exercise
● Please focus on the
worst situation you can
remember at work
● DId you Freeze, Fight or
Flight?
● Stand Up, Deep Breath,
think about trust and
openness
● Sit down, how do you
feel now?
Challenges?
● Frustration
● Complication
● Stuck in a rut
Navigating
1. Take care of
yourself
2. Stick to your
narrative
3. Look for support
4. Change your
organization or
change
organizations

46. Providing
Leadership
Take your pick, macro or micro or
something in between, but you
must learn to provide leadership:
● Why this is so important
● Knowledge and experience
bring a “point of view”
● You are part of an ecosystem
and your role will evolve
● Getting points on the board
● Building a team
● Servant Leadership

47. Management is about human beings. Its
task is to make people capable of joint
performance, to make their strengths
effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.
—PETER DRUCKER

48. Tracy Simmons, LeadPages
Do you hate all people or just your employees?
Poor team performance is nearly always due to poor leadership. If you’
re constantly frustrated with your team, it’s time to face facts. You have
a leadership issue, not a team performance issue. The poor performance
is the symptom, not the cause.
https://blog.leadpages.net/whos-on-your-team-how-leaders-build-
dream-teams/

49. Servant Leadership
“SOMEONE WHOSE PRIMARY MOTIVE IS TO HELP
OTHERS SUCCEED.” - SIMON SINEK, LEADERS EAT
LAST

50. Building A Team
● Culture Fit
● Holding out for the right talent
● Seed, Feed, and Weed

51. Thank You