A Salute to Greatness

There are two things I’ve spent my life doing: being a class clown (laughed at or with is your choice) and building my career.  Since I was 16 I’ve worked no less than 40 hour weeks and more consistently been immersed in IT upwards of 80.  I have rarely taken time off, I typically watch PTO disappear on a spreadsheet January first of each year.  If you count my five years of proud service to my country as a Marine you can do the math on the fact that a Marine is a 24/7 occupation, scratch that, life.  I’ve striven to learn, to advance and to grow both personally and professionally.  I’ve also caught many lucky breaks, more than I deserved.  Most of those breaks were in the form of mentors who saw something better than I was in me and helped me to mold myself into it (if you’re not aware the best mentors are merely guides that help you see the path.  The work is always yours.) The luckiest break I’ve had has been my employment with World Wide Technology (www.wwt.com.)  

WWT is a highly awarded $5 billion dollar systems integrator and VAR who’s has been included in the Fortune Top 100 great Places to work.  While impressive in and of itself, that does not scratch the surface of what makes WWT amazing.  WWT’s culture is the core of both its success and its position on Fortune’s list.  WWT is a culture of excellence, intelligence and talent, but more importantly of integrity, teamwork and value in its people.  In the nearly two and a half years I have been with WWT, I have built both professional relationships and friendships with some of the best of the best in all aspects of IT business.  Every day I am impressed by someone, something or the company as a whole.  The knowledge of the engineers, the dedication of the teams, the loyalty and comradery,  are unmatched.  But still that’s not everything that makes WWT such a great place.

I’ve tried to find the words to describe how WWT treats its people.  The dedication to them that the company, the executives, and the management provides.  I cannot.  Instead I have one example of many that go unannounced, are not done for publicity and in many cases are not even widely known known about internally.  Doug Kung was a WWT engineer I never had the pleasure of meeting.  He was well respected and liked by everyone that knew or worked with him.  Doug passed away in October of 2010 after losing a battle with cancer.  WWT as a company, at the direction of the executive team and directly in-line with the company core values supported Doug, his wife, and his two children through the entire process.  This went well above and beyond what was legally required but more so above what would be reasonably expected.  The support did not stop with his passing, WWT annually arranges events to raise money for Doug’s family and matches the donations made.  While the story itself is a tragedy, the loss of a great person, this brief piece is an example of WWT’s character as a company.  As I said, this is one example. 

The friends and connections I’ve made, the opportunities I’ve had, and the support I’ve been given at WWT are unmatched.  I thank WWT and the people that make it great for those opportunities.  With that being said it is with great regret that I’ve come to the decision to part ways with WWT.  Events in my personal life have brought me to this decision and I will be taking some time for myself.  Over the next couple of months I will be spending some much needed time with family and friends.  It is long overdue and that is the silver lining in everything.  I will do my best to stay abreast of technology trends and intend to immerse myself in technology areas that stretch my abilities (one can’t remain completely idle.)  As a note this is not an issue of health, I am as healthy as I’ve ever been (mmm bacon.)

If anyone is interested in contributing here and “Defining the Cloud” the SDN, the Big Data or any other buzzword please contact me.  I’d hate to see a good search ranking go to waste