Tech for the Rest of Us
Several years ago, I joined a software company who wanted to open a branch office in Houston as a base to cover the energy industry. They already had made some sales to energy companies, but wanted someone who knew the industry better to lead the effort. I happened to be tiring of constantly travelling for my partnership, so this seemed like a perfect match.
I got this note from a friend who was on a project that was out of control. This is one example.
I’m really torn about this… There are over 250 hourly contractors on this IT project of about 450 people that are being required to attend three-day offsite meeting by the contracting company. This wouldn’t be a problem except that:
or, How to Really Motivate Your Employees
or, The Best People Manager Doesn’t Even Manage People
They once called me Colonel Kurtz. Mind you, I’ve never seen “Apocalypse Now”, so someone had to explain to me why that should be derogatory. I guess I can see why some people considered me dangerous… I upset the ox cart. I changed the rules and I won. Mind you, I didn’t break the law or even do anything immoral. What I did was my job and that bothered them. I just didn’t do my job their way.
When it comes to relationships, I think one thing that people notice most about me is that I tend to keep my cool. I don’t “blow up” when others would. Not bad for a guy who had always been a hothead – I got into a LOT of fights while growing up. I always had problems with being too emotional and unable to hide my feelings.
From about 1987 through 1993 I worked as a contract software developer for a major petroleum exploration company. The head of the group I worked with was Tim O’Gorman. What stuck out to me about him was that he was soft-spoken.