When I first finished college and started life in the IT trenches, I often wondered about those people that moved up from the bottom to become IT business people. It seemed like an impossible goal. A number of people around me were trying and never succeeding. Most of those that were promoted eventually reached certain levels that they could not seem to exceed. Some were promoted to incompetence and moved to a new job back as a grunt to ‘get back to their roots’. Some even left IT altogether.

A number of acquaintances of mine and I would ponder this here and there and never could come to a solid agreement.

The foregone conclusion was that just about all IT folk hit some sort of plateau in their careers and that’s about the best it ever gets. Jobs may change, but the role generally stays the same.

But… occasionally someone did rise above those ranks to become very successful in the business side of IT. They had everyone’s respect. They were great to work for. They could bridge the two sides successfully. They were professionals and were at the top of their game. To this day, a number of them are still doing phenomenal work. They enjoy their work most days. They seem genuinely happy.

What was the difference?

I’m still not sure. But I have my suspicions. And I’m going to post here and there on certain things that I notice these rock stars do that helps them stand out and excel. I want to help all of us who have these ambitions get there some day.

Common trends:

• They never stop learning.
• They never stop caring.
• They genuinely enjoy their work.
• They are truly happy to freely share their knowledge with those who are willing to learn.
• They are willing to work. Hard. Very hard.

In my budding career as a professional geek, I’m constantly struggling to do the right things to excel. I want to be the best geek that I can be. I want to be one of those uber-geek masters that successfully bridges the IT ladder to the corporate ladder. I want to be the person who can successfully apply the right technologies to benefit business, and do it with a smile.
I feel grateful to and empowered by the global SQL Server community that has so many of these fantastic individuals who have undergone this transformation. The wisdom and warmth demonstrated by them in person and in electrons fills me with the hope that I can follow in their footsteps.

I will have more posts from time to time on this topic.

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them!