On my one-year anniversary with IBM, I'd like to share a few insights. I will add to this post as I think of things, but first and foremost:
It was strange changing jobs in the middle of a pandemic lockdown.
Leaving Deloitte after eleven years was simultaneously underwhelming, anticlimactic, awkward, and humbling. I was excited to start something new, but saying goodbye to my friends and "table pounders" via Zoom was both sad and unfulfilling. On my last day, I went into the office to grab my belongings, and the Digital studio was exactly as we'd left it, minus the people. The air was completely still. It felt like part museum, part abandoned bomb shelter, not the active, vibrant culture center I remembered it as. There by myself, packing up my books and office tchotchkes, I felt wistful. It was a super energetic place to work, and my colleagues kept me on my toes.
Likewise, joining a new team at IBM via webcam was strange, but for different reasons. My manager lives in Seattle, and my other nine team members are spread all over the US and India. Ordinarily we would connect at client engagements and team events around the world, but that hasn't really happened except for one dinner here and another happy hour there, both in DC. Still, they've all been quite welcoming.
And I definitely made the right choice.
Things I love about working at IBM:
It was strange changing jobs in the middle of a pandemic lockdown.
Leaving Deloitte after eleven years was simultaneously underwhelming, anticlimactic, awkward, and humbling. I was excited to start something new, but saying goodbye to my friends and "table pounders" via Zoom was both sad and unfulfilling. On my last day, I went into the office to grab my belongings, and the Digital studio was exactly as we'd left it, minus the people. The air was completely still. It felt like part museum, part abandoned bomb shelter, not the active, vibrant culture center I remembered it as. There by myself, packing up my books and office tchotchkes, I felt wistful. It was a super energetic place to work, and my colleagues kept me on my toes.
Likewise, joining a new team at IBM via webcam was strange, but for different reasons. My manager lives in Seattle, and my other nine team members are spread all over the US and India. Ordinarily we would connect at client engagements and team events around the world, but that hasn't really happened except for one dinner here and another happy hour there, both in DC. Still, they've all been quite welcoming.
And I definitely made the right choice.
Things I love about working at IBM:
- The people, the projects, the clients.
- The bias for value, and the opportunities to make an impact.
- The constant focus on justice, equity, diversity & inclusion, across multiple axes.
- The incredible openness about neurodiversity.
- Learning: the culture, the tools, the instrumentation. They have got this down to a science. It is so easy to take courses, earn badges and advance your skills.
- Arvind Krishna is the most grounded and nerdy CEO ever.
- Working in a different sector than US Federal: I'm currently covering Healthcare, Life Sciences, State & Local Gov't, and Higher Ed, which are all strangely lumped together into a single industry called Public Market.
- Having "OpenShift" in my title... something I've wanted since Gunnar Hellekson first told me about it nine years ago.
- Enterprise collaboration tools that people actually use, globally, and consistently! WOW! And no silos when it comes to the GEOs: I can interact with any IBMer in the world using these same tools, and form diverse teams for any project or need.
- Having an army of IBMers and Red Hatters I can call upon for any enterprise Open Source, app mod, security or container question is just beautiful. The two companies are quite independent of each other, and it's working well.
- My mentor, Lysa, is a gift. I consider myself very lucky. We take turns mentoring each other, and it's good to have them in my corner.
- Working "down the hall" from IBM Research is another gift without measure. Their innovation is real. I'm working on a project with two top-flight Quantum specialists and it's been magical.
- A corporate directory app where you can indicate your pronouns and preferred mode of communication. People actually look at this before they get in touch with you! This is not hard.
- The commitment to volunteerism. I track all those hours that I spend helping Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, and after every five, IBM.org will make a financial donation to any charity I choose. Naturally, I chose Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail! They get my time and a financial donation, and I get a sense of accomplishment and community. Talk about a real win-win!
I will add to this post as I think of more things. For example, not everything is rosy, and there are different areas of improvement that I see. More to come.
Finally, are you a fellow IBMer or have questions about it? Hit me up if you'd like to connect!
Finally, are you a fellow IBMer or have questions about it? Hit me up if you'd like to connect!