Q & A
Q: Why did you choose your profession?
A: Great question! I actually didn't choose it initially, but as I gained more knowledge through experience and training, I began to integrate my personal traits with what the I.T. industry had to offer. This made realize that I could chose IT Project Management and gain as well as give. Being a deep thinking, thorough person, I saw many opportunities from developing software to managing projects as a giant puzzle, or mystery. I could probably write a children's book about a computer geek that solves mysteries!
Q: Who are your main influences?
A: I've got a number of influences depending on the subject. For business and turning things around that are hopeless, I never get tired of reading about or learning about how both Brian Epstein or Sir George Martin saw diamonds in the rough with those Four Lads from Liverpool and transformed them into cultural icons.
In terms of person-to-person relationships in both business and personal life, I like Dr. Jordan Peterson, who integrates history, mythology and legends as tools into building and strengthening relationships. This is very similar to the Agile mindset.
I'm also quite impressed with Jamie Dimon. Prior to the financial collapse of 2008, Mr. Dimon was the CEO of JP Morgan Chase and is the only CEO of a major financial institution during those troubling times that weathered the economic storm and is still "captain of his ship". That's very amazing!
I've had the pleasure of meeting some very prominent leaders in entertainment, politics and business including musician/inventor Les Paul, philanthropist David Straz, businessman and politician Gary Johnson and speaker/trainer Alistair Cockburn to name some. They each had a single personality trait - humility. That made them real, approachable and probably great leaders in their fields.
Finally, my elders. I'm grateful for my Father and two Grandfathers who taught me skills and instilled in me values, both of which have kept me going and never giving up.
Q: Describe your greatest accomplishment.
A: That's a tough one! I'll give it a try and say that anything that I've done that people have recognized me for. I've had a number of people in the business world who recognized my name because of efforts that I've successfully led teams or created systems that I've built long ago and are still running. Basically, any effort of mine that is now my legacy, and there are some, are my greatest accomplishments. Reducing down time for enterprise system migrations by 75%, providing EBT cards to the state of Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, are just some of them.
Of course, being a parent and being an inspiration and a positive influence on my sons is probably my greatest accomplishment.
Q: What tools do you use?
A: I use a variety of tools out of the Microsoft Office Suite, such as Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio and Outlook. I also use non-Microsoft Tools such as Trello, JIRA and the skillsets of Project Management that are taught through the Project Management Institute and the Agile Alliance.
I also use the non-technical tools, such as pen and paper, sticky notes, white boards, critical thinking, creative problem solving and simple conversation.
Q: What are your long-term goals?
A: I am a life-long learner, so my long-term goals would be to travel and share my experiences through blogging and photography. I would like to integrate those lessons from travelling into academia and the business world. After all, Kanban is process that came out of the early days of Toyota in Japan. This method of process flow monitoring and improvement first saw the light of day in the early 1940's and it's made its influence almost 70 years later! I would like to have a similar legacy, only with a much shorter timeline.