Postcards From My Life

Dear Reader,

I am pissed off…at myself.

Recently, I got a call from a recruiter. She gave me her name and company, then asked me about the weather. She jokingly berated me for my answer. It threw me off.

Then, without warning, she launched into a critique of my resume. I won’t go into the details but suffice to say that the conversation went downhill quickly.

After the second time I apologized because she said “There’s no call to get snippy with me” – I honestly did not think I had – I explained that I really didn’t feel the need to be lectured today by a recruiter. (This time I was snippy) I thanked her for her time and curtly hit the end-call button.

The whole call made me mad. The more I thought, the madder I got. As I was sitting there stewing, I began to realize why. I wasn’t mad at her, I was mad at myself. I was mad because I had let her get under my skin. I was mad because I reacted poorly.

I cannot control what people do to me, but I dang sure can control how I respond to their actions. I reacted badly, that made me mad.

Until next time,
I <3 |<
=C=

Dear Reader,

I have been working to educate developers for 13 years now.

My mission it to enrich the current generation of developers, but also, to raise up the next generation of developers.

— Uncle Cal (@CalEvans) April 8, 2019

My mother was a school teacher. My father ran music education programs for every church at which he worked. I was raised to think that it is normal to help others understand the things that I do.

That’s why it’s really no surprise that when my career took a left turn in 2006 and I started working on ways to educate developers, I took to it like a duck to water.

As I’ve talked about before, I try and stick to the things I am qualified to teach, PHP, MySQL, programming, and building teams. These are the things that I know. These are the things that I understand well enough so that I can share with others.

It’s not just my vocation to teach developers, it is my passion. I want to help the current generation of developers become better developers, and I want to help raise up the next generation of developers.

I teach because I know something other’s don’t.
My unique perspective on a problem is something that others with the same problem may not have considered.

I teach to elevate others.
If I can bring developers to my level, then it is easier for them to climb to the next level, and bring me up.

I teach, because it makes me happy. 
By helping people, I work to make my corner of the world a little better.

Until next time,
I <3 |<
=C=

Dear Reader,

In training for a PADI Dive Master, they drill into you being a role-model.  How can you expect other divers to dive responsibly if the ones in charge don’t? This means no skimping on my BWRAF, no ‘accidentally’ slipping down below my max depth to get a better look at something. It is my responsibility to show others how they are expected to behave.

Our society is fractured. Call it tribalism, identity politics, or whatever term de’ jure you wish to use, it’s happening world wide. So I am going to make it my responsibility to model the behavior I expect from others. I literally am going to take to heart ‘be the change I want to see’.

The change I want to see is not more scisms.

The change I want to see is not more dog-piling on someone because you disagree with them.

The change I want to see is understanding. Only through stopping to understand the other person, can we begin to hold a conversation with them on our differences.

It starts with me first.

Until next time,
I <3 |<
=C=

Dear Reader,

We each see the world through the filter of our own personal point of view. Stated another way, we each see the world through our own rose colored glasses.

When I see someone shouting about “X” or that person “Y” will bring about result “Z”, I always have to stop and think about that person’s worldview. This is especially true if I do not see the outcome they are seeing.

This does not mean they are wrong if they don’t share my worldview, it doesn’t mean they are right either. it just means that they see the world differently and have drawn different conclusions.

We need to try to understand people we disagree with. Understanding does not mean agreeing, it just means that we can understand why they think as they do. Until both of us understand the other’s worldview, neither of us can have a conversation.

Dr. Covey put it best in “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People“, seek first to understand, then to be understood.

To look at it another way, we need to see the world through their rose colored glasses, so we can understand what they are seeing.

Until next time,
I <3 |<
=C=

Dear Reader,

Co Worker #1: Did you hear? Bob is leaving.

Co Worker #2: Bob? He’s been here 10 years, why would he leave?

Co Worker #1: He wants to spend more time with his kids. He used to work form home 2 days a week to be close to them but since corporate implemented the “no telecommuting policy”, he can’t do that anymore.

How many times do companies have to watch years of institutional knowledge walk out the door before they get it? Having someone who understands the problems and knows how to fix them are more important than being able to see a butt in a seat.

In the case above – yes, a real situation I watched play out – you have the salary and benefits for 10 years walking out the door, but that’s not all. For 10 years, Bob solved problems and became the domain space expert. You may be able to replace the butt in his seat, but it will take you exactly 10 years before you have someone who has the knowledge he has.

Don’t watch a million dollars walk out the door.

If your managers are not comfortable managing remote workers, get better managers.

Until next time
I <3 |<
=C=