Goals: The Next Chapter of My Improv Life

Sometimes that offer comes along that makes a difficult choice easy. A few weeks back, I got that call. Well, I got the Twitter DM (since that is my mobile office). After three years at VMware, and ten years on the vendor side of the tech world, today is my first day at Dick’s Sporting Goods as Senior Director, Office of the CTO.

Circumstances being what they are in these pandemic times, I was wearing my soccer kit for my first interview. Not what I would typically choose for first impressions, but a perfect fit and metaphor for this one. I’m incredibly excited to get to work with a team I’ve only met virtually so far. I’m a long-time customer and a fan of the DSG mission.

Before I started the interview process, I didn’t even know a role like this existed. All of that time in the interviewer’s chair with my fellow Geek Whisperers and this one never popped up. I’ll be doing for pay many of those things I did on the side of my previous jobs (translating the value of tech into business, listening for and telling the good stories, serving the customer, fostering strong team practices).

#vSoccer in Barcelona

As mentioned above, I was wearing my kit in that first interview–turns out my new boss played soccer professionally and our first conversation ended with a classic topic, who is the GOAT, Messi or Ronaldo? We had the same answer, and for similar reasons. (The answer is Messi, by the way, and I will happily have that discussion with anyone.) That’s the moment I knew this was the right path for me.

It’s my first foray into the customer side of the tech business, my first role outside of marketing, and a role I can grow into. I like to try new things, and this DSG opportunity is all of that and more. Of course, I’m nervous, but I am also grateful for the support of the community in helping me get here and cheering me on. I won’t be at all the shows and events I once attended, but I’ll still be recording podcasts and speaking on the things that matter to me.

I’ve spoken to many of you over the course of this lockdown (one benefit of this terrible time has been more time to catch up with folks I only had the opportunity to see in passing at a conference in Vegas!), and I’m so fortunate to have wise counsel in innumerable forms. From on-point tech questions, market trends, diversity in hiring, org chart analysis, resume reviews, and more, y’all showed up big for me and I am so thankful and inspired to give back even more.

For everyone out there looking for a new opportunity in the midst of this madness, I want to close with this: it only takes one call to take you to new places. Don’t give up, don’t quit.

Don’t Quit: The Footie Report

On June 8, 2019, I’m celebrating a milestone. I’m one year into my footballing career. Now, considering the level of women’s soccer in the US, I doubt I’ll be called up for the World Cup, but I’ve spent the last year reclaiming an identity I put down after high school: athlete.

My Footie Life

We all have a vision of soccer moms—they drive minivans and pack snacks and cheer their precious pumpkins on to victory. I suppose that’s me too, sort of. I drive the carpool (but not a minivan!), and I’m all about the good snacks and the pump-up songs (Metallica rolling out of the parking lot anyone?), but I got tired of sitting on the sidelines. I’m a method actor—I learn by doing. And I really can’t back down from a challenge.

My life is so distributed, I have a house in one place, by my work travel time means I don’t have a traditional community in my hometown. I’m fortunate to be connected to a worldwide community. I’ve watched a whole lot of soccer in the last few years as a newcomer to the sport—my footie fluency has even impressed more than one cranky Brit. I really enjoy the beautiful game.

But how do you move from the couch to the pitch? Enter a friend with a challenge. She’s played for years, and she invited me to an over 40s, no contact league Seemed safe enough for a beginner. Admittedly, I’ve practiced with my girls for years, and I have the good fortune of an in-house coach who is a lifetime player and a great teacher. I’ve even coached when no one else showed up. I’ve always taught my girls to show up and help when you can.

 

Slipping on the socks and the boots for the first time is very very different. People are watching. Most of them have played for 30+ years at this point. They have no idea why you look like a spastic giraffe who panics when you touch the ball. But I kept practicing, I kept showing up, I kept working. Get up, dress up, show up. For me, slipping on those soccer socks (I have 3 pairs, hot pink, electric yellow, and my Chelsea orange ones—life is too short for boring socks), which I only wear on the pitch, transforms me. When I wear them, I’m a footballer just like everyone else.

So why am I sharing all of this? What I’ve learned over this year on the pitch has been as important as anything I’ve done in the second half in my life. I can still learn new things. I’m building a local community of people from around the world. I’m a better parent to young athletes because I KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY FEEL when they have a rough practice or game. They don’t doubt me when I say I get it. 

My OG Coach

Mud happens.

On the precipice of my anniversary, I’m getting coaching from two of our veteran players. They come early and stay late to teach me. Mentoring feels the same at work as it does on the pitch. It’s amazing and I’m so grateful for it. So my unsolicited advice for anyone still reading at this point: don’t quit. I’ve wanted to walk off the pitch. I’ve wanted to cry. I’ve wanted to burn my beloved Adidas.

Ice Ice Baby

Don’t quit. Be brave. Find a way to get better. Work hard. Try something new. It is an amazing gift to reinvent yourself in the middle of your life. Find something challenging and go after it. I believe in you. I know how to drop a ball to my feet now. I can receive a pass and turn. And I’m a striker at heart, surprising no one who knows me—goal hungry and left footed, willing to run off the ball until the opportunity to score strikes. My first goal? Everyone on the pitch celebrated with me. One year in, I’ve had two hat tricks.

When things are rough at work, or as a parent to two brilliant teenagers, I can slip on those socks and claim my other secret identity.

Footballer.

The First Annual #vSoccer!

Don’t quit.

Turn the Page: Next Stop VMware

Sometimes the phone rings and it’s that phone call no one ever wants. That happened to me last week, when my house sitter called to ask where the main water shutoff valve was. No one wants to answer that question from just outside Glacier National Park at 11 pm. For the record, the family and the pets are all fine, the disaster recovery company is amazing, and there’s an “unanticipated” opportunity for re-cabling and remodeling.

And sometimes the phone rings, and it’s that one offer you can’t refuse–not just a line in a movie. After an amazing ride with SolidFire through acquisition by NetApp, it is time to take on a new challenge. Another unanticipated opportunity to build something new.

Starting today, I’ll be Director of Influence Marketing for VMware’s NSX BU. I’m looking forward to working with customers, building community, and connecting all of those people/platform/content dots. Another case of playing my position no matter where I am on the field, and working with some of my mentors and a talented team.

None of this would be possible without a lot of support from colleagues, mentors, and extended community. Thank you one and all for making this last two years the most exciting and productive of my professional life. And thank you to my Geek Whisperers and Speaking in Tech crews, and of course my own personal Snuffleupagus for walking through change first and showing us all how it’s done.

I subscribe to the “until next time” model–so to all my colleagues at NetApp, I’ll see you at VMworld, just with a different colored lanyard. To the vcommunity I’ve worked alongside for so long, I look forward to digging in and working with you officially.

#GameOn

 

Play to Your Strengths from Anywhere on the Field

This past week, after one more flight across the country, I had the opportunity to take my youngest (better known as POTUS2040) to soccer practice. Yes, I’m a soccer mom. She plays club level, and we live in Chapel Hill, launching pad of Mia Hamm. So women’s soccer is not an afterthought here, it’s the main event.

I watch a lot of soccer (I call it football typically, but for ease of translation, I’ll say soccer). I’m a coach, I took the game up in my 30s, and I admire the worth ethic involved in getting good at it.

Back to the story at hand. At this practice they were scrimmaging, small goals, not a full 11-a-side, and no goalkeepers. POTUS2040 is in the process of choosing between being a full-time goalkeeper and a field player. She’s 10 years old, and while that may seem young, we are at the point where she wants to decide and train accordingly, because on the surface, the skills are very different.

During this practice, I noticed she was playing what I would call a “number 10” role–center midfielder, distributing passes left right and center to her teammates. They won handily against a strong side. After practice, I commented on how she seemed to always be in the right place to pass, but never moved to score. She laughed and told me, “yeah, I basically decided to be a goalie in the middle of the field. I knew where the ball would be and I passed it.”

POTUS2040, age 10, saw what I didn’t. She played her position of choice, played to her strengths. She has to be accurate in her passes in the goal, or she’ll be dealing with an opponent coming right back at her in the goal. She is practicing her craft, no matter what the drill called for at the moment.

She had a great time. She laughed and loved the beautiful game. Her team won.

And I got the memo: play to your strengths, no matter where you are on the field. If you’re technical, but work in the marketing org, don’t shy away from it. If you write well, but you’re in marketing and not comms, find a way to document what you do. If you are comfortable asking questions and naturally curious, podcast.

Goalies don’t often play in the midfield, but when they do, they know where the ball will be, and where to direct it. Play to your strengths.

You Say You Want a Resolution

It’s that time of year again: time for resolutions. I’m a fan of the exercise, even if this makes approximately the fifth year in a row I’ve resolved to do a single pull-up without succeeding. The process of deciding what matters and the struggle to achieve something new is worth it.

To that end, I have many job counseling sessions with colleagues across the industry who want to make a change, who feel stuck, who are frustrated at the plateau they’ve reached. We have the pleasure of hearing success stories on the Geek Whisperers podcast every week, but we get to hear the journey stories as well, the questioning, the doubt.

So here is some free and unsolicited advice I received during my first career pivot, maternity leave. My boss at the time (a father of four), understood what I did not—my life was getting ready to change dramatically and it was an opportunity.

Here’s the secret: Decide on a task to put down and don’t pick it back up upon return.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner, rewritten in Doge

Sounds too easy, right? How could this work?

I’m a realist, so you can’t put down the pager if that’s your role, or quit expense reports in a dramatic pull the inflatable slide and jump way, but there’s something that you can put down or manage differently. What is it? What is the extra weight you’re carrying that is keeping you from going where you want to go in your career?

Will you need to pick something else up? Absolutely, but now you have a free hand to do so, and you’ve left an albatross behind.

Maternity leave forced me to do what I hadn’t been able to do on my own (twice)—let go of less important work and focus on more important and more fulfilling work. I shifted from traditional publishing (10 years of my career!) to technology after my second maternity leave, which gave me more growth opportunities and led me to work and an industry that I love.

Ask yourself what work you do that both makes you happy and serves the company you’re working for right now. It can be an uncomfortable question, full of lizard brain roadblocks about how “they’ll never let me do that.” Or “if only,” then . . .

New Year’s Resolutions are meant to challenge you. If you move incrementally closer to personal and professional happiness at work, mark that in the 2016 win column. Why wait? What’s your resolution?

 

Mentor State of Mind

For months I’ve been meaning to sit down and craft a blog about being mentored, but my need to be mentored outpaced my ability to document the process. So big thanks to my mentors one and all for helping me transition into the new and expanding role.

As I am vocal about the value of my fleet of mentors, I’m often asked how to go about finding them.

Step 1: Look for people whose career paths, management style, technical acumen, etc. you admire.

Step 2: Shut up and listen.

Anyone can be a mentor.

Pretty simple.

Everyone can teach you something, and you don’t have to be formal about it. If your workplace has a formal mentoring program, by all means use it, but don’t feel like that is the only path forward.

Being mentored is far more about your state of mind than a magical bullet of wisdom.

However, there are a few guiding principles:

1. Be humble. You can’t learn if you know it all. Prepare yourself to really listen. Anyone can mentor you if you pay attention to what they have to teach.

2. Be ready for tough love. Great mentors build you up, but deliver the tough assessments and advice as well. If you want nothing but good news, seek minions or sycophants, not mentors.

3. Use the word “mentor” with respect. If you identify someone who is helping you with your life and career, honor them with the word and treat them accordingly.

4. Learn in secret. If you don’t have a formal or close relationship, or if someone you admire “doesn’t have time to mentor,” learn by watching, asking questions, and modeling your behavior. These people are still your mentors, but if the word causes distress, keep it to yourself.

5. Be prepared to work for it. Mentors are doing you a favor, acknowledge it. Taking good advice is often hard work. Duncan Epping has a great blog on the topic: “How Do I Get to the Next Level?” (It’s not all unicorns and stroopwafels!)

How do you find and honor your mentors?

The Next Chapter

So changes are in the air. At the end of 2014, I’ll be packing up the unicorn and bacon show and heading over to SolidFire as Director of Influence Marketing. I’m excited. I’m terrified. I’m quadrupling the number of times I’ve ever been to Colorado in my life.

New year, new pairing.

First, huge thanks to the innumerable amazing colleagues and friends at Cisco, and to the tech community at large. It has been a lot of fun these last few years.

Just like on Engineers Unplugged, not every unicorn was beautiful, but they were all special.

From humble beginnings, vBacon, WaffleStack, BaconIT, and many other community events grew from a few beers with friends to a tree of bacon.

From a Tower Grows a Tree!

Apparently there is such a thing as a bacon seed. I have had the privilege to get to know so many amazing technologists, to ask questions, to document, to learn.

We have come a long way.

But now it’s time to take a leap, to practice what we preach on the Geek Whisperers every week, and to challenge myself to something new.

Shhhhh, the Geeks are Whispering.

Why SolidFire? The community answered that question: great people and a great culture. I’m a fan of smart and nice. Simple words, huge impact on daily life.

Great mentors. More on that in a later post, but when I made my decision spreadsheet (and yes, I made a spreadsheet), I included a row for mentors and champions. I believe in the apprenticeship model and having a champion makes all the difference in being effective. You can’t go into battle alone.

Unicorns Beware! It’s Game Time.

New challenges. Large vendor to small start-up—yes, that should keep things interesting.

I believe you should never run from, but go to—that is certainly the case here. I’m thankful for an extremely supportive management chain in my current job at Cisco, and one of the best co-workers in the business. They will rock 2015. Congratulations to the incoming class of Cisco Champions. I’ll be watching with pride.

Community FTW! #feartheears

Lastly, another sincere thank you to the many many people who have taken the time over the last 4 years to break bacon, go on camera, shoot a ridiculous selfie, answer a serious question, share an opinion, hold a purse (#feartheears), and generally be awesome.

With that, I raise a SolidFire pint glass to you all in 2015. 😉

Consume and Be Thankful

These last few weeks have involved a lot of discussions around different ways to grow and be a part of community. In our content-driven marketplace, too often there’s a hierarchy of engagement that looks like this:

Passive engagement gets the pejorative “lurk” tag. Publishing content, feeding the machine, is held in the highest regard. I’ve definitely been guilty of perpetuating this myth.

In fact, I’m sort of doing that right now by breaking a vow I made to my mentor: shut up and listen.

Well perhaps he was kinder in his phrasing, the directive was stop producing and consume. Consume content like you’re starving. There are even check-ins about this, like an accountability group. My name is Amy, and it’s been 5 days since I created content.

This forced production break has been awesome, and I’m looking forward to another content consumption binge over the holidays. I’ve been reading this:

Reading Creativity, Inc makes you a unicorn.

Which made me think about this episode of Engineers Unplugged with Josh Atwell and Gurusimran Khalsa, where GS drops the mic by reminding us that being part of the community can be as simple and powerful as saying thank you or asking a question:

Which inspired me to document this:

If you would like to consume the brainstorm in shortened PPT form, I’ve posted Influence Marketing 201: Shut Up and Listen on SlideShare.

So go forth and pay some compliments, ask some questions, and consume some content! And thank you for listening.

Why Unicorns?

Sometimes you pick your memes, and sometimes they pick you. So select wisely. Why do unicorns appear so often in my Twitter stream and on whiteboard worldwide?

Unicorns are rare indeed.

Let’s start with some functional definitions of a unicorn. At it’s core, it’s a mythical creature. Yes, breaking news, unicorns are NOT real. The mysticism and search for perfection is at the heart of the connotation of the word.

The tech world has long embraced the term to mean everything from a perfect but unattainable solution (e.g., a single pane of glass management solution) to a super high-functioning team member (see also, “rock star”) to the individual who possesses a heady blend of tech prowess and communications skills.

“Unicorn” can be used adjectivally (that’s a unicorn solution you’ve just proposed), but is most commonly a noun (see, “Interview with a Unicorn“).

A quick search led to some fun results charting common usage:

• VC Unicorns: Welcome to the Unicorn Club
• Unicorn Hiring Practices: Scaling Teams
• And More Tips: How to Hire Unicorns
• Tech Slang: Unicorn Defined on Quora

Since I need to be working on a PPT slide and not writing this blog, I’ll let someone else hunt the first use of the term. I couldn’t find it, but feel like it was coming into prominence within the last 2 to 3 years.

Beware the dark side.

Now turn back time to the Summer of 2012 when I was developing the Engineers Unplugged concept with Brian Gracely. By developed with I mean he told me to stop being boring and produce something.  We whiteboarded out the basic concepts that very afternoon.

Brian challenged me to find some connective thread through the narrative of varying tech talks, something everyone could do and that would set the tone of an otherwise serious and technical show.

Secretly, watching highly intelligent people scramble to draw a unicorn is both highly entertaining and disarming.

The unicorn challenge was born in the second episode.

I didn’t create unicorn lingo, I just borrowed it from the community I was joining. For the record, I never owned a single unicorn-themed anything as a kid. Now I have a rich variety of unicorn items and toss the word around like a native.

Punk Rock Unicorn: My Spirit Animal Phone Case

Another fun fact, in 6 seasons of shooting Engineers Unplugged, with an average of 12 episodes per season, no one has ever refused to draw a unicorn.

So the better question may be, why not unicorns?

 

Next Up: Why bacon?

Is This Seat Taken?

It’s August again, and for me that means both preparing for back to school and kicking off tech conference season. For my kids, it’s getting school supplies, new outfits, and a pep talk about dealing with getting shuffled in with a new bunch of students.

Warming up for conference season. #TBT (I hear cloud is going to be big.)

Ironically, for the tech conferences, it means getting new promotional supplies, new outfits (or at least a pair of heels I can run in), and a pep talk about getting shuffled in with a new bunch of community members.

In 2011, going to my first VMworld, I knew maybe 3 people, and that’s rounding up. I was the new kid in class. Another little secret—I’m actually a rather shy person, and 50/50 on every introvert/extravert test. So I ate most lunches alone that year and sat near the booth trying to convince people to go on camera for an interview series (before Engineers Unplugged!).

What brought me out of my comfort zone was knowing I had a job to do. I was being paid to attend this conference in large part to engage with other people and I was failing at it. So I smiled brightly and went for it, remembering the wisdom of a colleague: don’t ever sit with people you know.

Is This Seat Taken? Anyone, anyone?

That was very easy, as I knew so few people. “Is this seat taken?” became my new catchphrase. The advice stuck, though, and became a bit of a personal quest. I work for a big company, so there’s almost always a co-worker to sit beside, but isn’t that what the office is for?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to spend face time with all the friends and colleagues I usually see on a small screen—but what about everyone else? After all, somebody out there is the new kid this time, just like I was. Lots of people don’t come with 20 co-workers in tow, it’s just them. If you want to become influential outside of your own cube, this is your chance! (This would be the “Show Up” part of the Get Up, Dress Up, Show Up.)

Trade secret for people who manage tech events: make it easy for people who attend alone to feel comfortable and you’ll have a great turnout. 

What’s a v0dgeball tournament? It’s charity dodgeball event run by EMC at VMworld, and a definite icebreaker.

If you’re the new kid at an event this year, please say hello, to me, to other people in the community, to a speaker you admire. If you’re an established community member or a seasoned conference vet, make this the year you shake things up by sitting with someone new every day at some point. Our community is that much stronger by growing.

I’ll close with sharing one of the first videos I ever made in my conference career, which led the handful of people who watched it and recognized me to yell “hey legwarmer girl” at the show. If you’re concerned you’ll make a fool of yourself trying to meet new people, take comfort in knowing I’ve already got that covered.