Managing Technology

My PC was ripped apart and parts were scattered around my office. The hard drive had failed again and needed to be replaced. I looked up into an unfamiliar face. "I'm looking for the director." "You're looking at him," was my reply. Ummmm, (big pause). When the stranger did speak again he asked a question that I've often heard. "What is a director doing working on his own PC?"

Two major reasons. One, my staff was very busy and didn't need to be bothered with supporting me any more than necessary. And two, I enjoy playing with technology. It's just that too many management issues distract me.

My goal is to be technically literate and capable. I don't like being referred to as a non-techie any more than the technical guys like being referred to as "management".

Last year I set a goal to develop a Technical Training Forum for management. I admit that not much has happened over the past year. I need to change that. I envision turning my office into a lab. It would be cool to have a rack and work bench to tinker with routers, servers, switches and such. My interests are in the following areas:

Ethernet: Not only do I want to have a grasp on the major issues about ethernet, I really want to have experience with this technology. I buy into the idea that it will be better when we have one seamless technology across the first mile, metro and core networks.

Intrusion Detection Systems: Security issues have been neglected for too long. It may already be too late to avoid major network problems caused by mischievous, albeit creative influences. My management team must get familiar and comfortable with all effective security tools. I must get into the guts of security and have a working knowledge of how to deal with this important issue.

BGP Routing: Of all the technical areas I feel the best about this one. I've spent 12 hours being tutored by Jason Sullivan, Cisco engineer. He has shared his knowledge of BGP and this has been very helpful. I have concerns about routing design and documentation methodologies & tools. As a result of this training I have been able to carry on some informed conversations with Pete. I hope to be more informed and have more influence on our future BGP directions.

Java, Java Script and XML: Yes, I realize that the scope here is very big. I have a great desire to be more involved in the software development environment at UEN. This has always fascinated me. Tom Gourley has recently stepped up to the challenge of managing this area. He has some great ideas. He is very skilled. I need to be supportive and informed.

CCNA: Yes, I would love to be certified in this area. It would be a great accomplishment. I just can't justify the expense. Either in terms of training dollars or my time. But I will continue to pursue expertise in this area.

Linux: Another dream that I'm looking for time to fulfill. Linux is a happening technology. I'd hate to miss it or fall too far behind.

802.11G: I don't have any problem justifying this one. I can buy the gear for my house (with my own $$$$$) and play with it until I'm content.

There is no end to what I would like to do with technology. I've had difficulty finding the time and the right approach to keeping up with the hands-on part. Sure, I get to read about all of this. I spend huge amounts of time reading about the direction of technology. That's not the point or the problem.

So I will continue to have set the goal of hands-on technical training. And I'll keep looking for ideas that will make this happen.

That's all for now.......
11:22:13 PM    comment []