A Cloud Perspective

When is the last time you updated your Resume/CV?  

There was a little bit of chatter in the MSPGeek Discord last month about what actually needs to go on a resume.  (MSPGeek Website | MSPGeek Discord)

It got me curious: how many of my friends in the MSP space have an up-to-date resume, and one that they’re proud of?  

Uh-oh, have you not dusted yours off in a few years?

Let’s talk about why you might want to change that even if you’re happy where you are and some practical advice for updating yours into something you’re proud to showcase.  

What is a Resume and how is it different from a CV?  

Let’s start with the basics.  

A resume is a generally a concise document highlighting your professional experience, skills, and accomplishments. When I’m coaching others, I use the analogy that a good resume is just a firm handshake. It's what gets your foot in the door for hopefully further conversations. You’ll want your resume to be tailored to your current interests and objectives, whittled down to reflect your story and expertise.  

On the other hand, a CV, or curriculum vitae, comes from Latin words curriculum, which came from the original word currere which translates to run, as in a race; and vitae, meaning life. Curriculum has since been adapted as an educational term for what you’d be learning in a class or program, but it originally just meant “what race are you running?”  

With that in mind, a CV literally translates to course of life, and as such it’s a beefier document than a resume, reflecting a detailed account of one’s professional journey, path, and achievements, showcasing a full history of your education, research, and work. I coach my people to keep both on hand, considering the CV as the “source of truth” for everything you’ve ever done with complete timelines and full descriptions, and creating multiple child resumes depending on your specific job application or use case.  

In general, in the MSP (Managed Service Provider) space and in the employment arena, these words are often used interchangeably but I encourage you to default to providing a simpler resume, and as such we’ll be focusing on that term in this article. However, there are places and times that it makes sense to provide a full CV and we’ll address that as we go.  

The Value of Keeping a Resume on Hand

Having an up-to-date resume is a good practice to keep even if you’re not actively looking for jobs.  Some companies that bid for work include team member resumes and CVs as evidence of that company’s competence and fit to win a particular Request for Proposal (RFP).  

It’s also helpful because you never know when the random person you meet at a conference, church, or bar, likes the cut of your jib and wants your resume to see if you’re a good fit for their company!

If you’re in Sales or Marketing, knowing what your technical teams’ Resumes and CVs look like can be a wealth of data for building proposals or providing accomplishments to prospective clients. It’s worth seeing if your team has up-to-date resumes so you know the high points of their skills and accomplishments and can brag about them accordingly.  

So enough about the why of a good Resume. Let’s talk about the how.  

Building a "Good” Resume

As someone who has applied for many jobs, read a good number of applications for my own businesses, and coached others in cleaning up their own, let’s talk about what makes a resume or CV successful to me and how I applied those ideals in my own resume. As you’ve surely noticed, the word good is in quotation marks – every bit of advice in here is built on years of learning and experience, but is by no means dictatorial or the final word on the resume that will get you the job of your dreams.  

My goal is to give you inspiration on revamping and practical advice further editing your own! If you follow these ideas, hopefully, you'll take your resume from "meh" to "good" and as you build your idea of what good looks like, you can make it "great."

Here is my current resume, for reference:  

What are your first thoughts? It’s ok if you hate it, it won’t hurt my feelings. The fact that you’re thinking about what could be a resume is the exciting part for me. We’ll use my resume to tear apart some of these rules so you have practical ideas for what to do, or not!

Rules I kept in mind:  

1. You’re the Hero.  

2. Lead with action.

3. Context, context, context.  

4. Show your Work

You’re the Hero.  

For the uninitiated, Doctor Who is a BBC Family Show about a millennia-old time-traveling alien who consistently finds himself saving the human race while meeting historic people and events from the past, present, and future.  In the 2024 Christmas special, Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor finds himself trapped in a crappy hotel room by himself, for a year. “The long way ‘round” rings in the viewers’ ears as we are then escorted through the next year of the Doctor, watching his character development as he performs menial labor and often comical tasks. It’s heartwarming and tearjerking, and....

Don’t do that.  

Yeah, you heard me. Your resume is not the place for your growth or development. It’s not the place to give the ins and outs of your day-to-day. Your resume needs to be the high points. This is just the book cover, the summary, the short review enticing someone to pick you up and actually flip through the pages.  

Ways that you can do that include:  

• Use a “Summary” and/or “Objective”.
  What is your overall story? Are you a phenomenal Tier 2 Technician looking for her next role leading a team as a Tier 3? Are you hoping to transition to leadership with your people skills? Are you wanting to contribute to a team with your depth of knowledge of security infrastructures? What should the reader of your Resume see first, and how should they read your story?  

• Keep to the point.
  A rule of thumb often used is 10 years of work experience to one page of resume. IF you have more experience that requires more words, try to shorten it first. Or, include an appendix fully describing a project or situation.  

• Maybe a picture.
  Honestly, I hate having a photo on a resume, but I was applying for a job outside of my local area and industry I wanted something that showed my character. I left it on the styling because I’m lazy. Be careful with photos, they can seem unprofessional.  

We want to know that you can speak Judoon, have commandeered a TARDIS, and are adept with both psychic paper and a Sonic Screwdriver. We do not need to know that you carjacked said TARDIS, brought someone a cheese toastie and pumpkin latte, or snogged Queen Elizabeth.  If the devil is in the details, well, leave the details and the devil out of your resume, dude.

This example is a little silly, but the point remains that YOU are the hero and YOU write your own story. Make sure the readers of your resume know what that is. And regardless of what story you write, your resume should always lead with Action.  

Lead with Action

What have you done that you have control over? Your resume should show that you’re an asset to the teams that you’re on and that the work you’ve done has shown your strength.  

Instead of framing things as being a part of a project or that something was imposed on you, stretch yourself to consider the decisions you made and how they were impactful.  

Check your resume in a grammar checker for  “passive voice” and eliminate it from your resume as much as possible. Passive voice makes it seem like you are just that: a passive bystander to things that you created. This isn’t the place for modesty, it’s a place for groundedness and intentionality! Don’t be scared to show them what you’ve got! Here are some good rules of thumb for your resume:  

1. Start with action verbs: Use strong verbs such as developed, managed, increased, led, implemented, and optimized.

2. Ask 'who did what?': When reviewing your bullet points, ask yourself who is performing the action, and make that the subject of the sentence.

3. Quantify results: Adding metrics helps make the statement more assertive and shows the impact of your actions.

Here are some practical examples for how you can update passive voice with active voice.  

• Ticket System Implementation
  • ‍Passive: “A new ticketing system was implemented to streamline support requests.” ‍
  • Active: “Implemented a new ticketing system that streamlined support requests, reducing response times by 20%.”

• Customer Care ‍
  • Passive: “Client issues were resolved in a timely manner.”
  • ‍Active: “Resolved client issues within 24 hours, improving customer satisfaction ratings by 15%.”

• Report Preparation ‍
  • Passive: “Quarterly reports were prepared and presented by me for leadership review.” ‍
  • Active: “Prepared and presented quarterly reports to leadership, providing data-driven insights that influenced key decisions.”

• Training Employees ‍
  • Passive: “Training programs were created for new hires.” ‍
  • Active: “Created and led training programs for new hires, resulting in a 30% reduction in onboarding time.”

• Security Updates ‍
  • Passive: “System upgrades were performed to improve security.” ‍
  • Active: “Performed system upgrades to improve security, reducing vulnerability incidents by 40% compared to previous year.”

Of note, it is highly possible that you don’t feel like you have the numbers or the confidence to do this, today.  There is a certain amount of intentionality and care that is required to start gathering these types of Key Performance Metrics or goals. It’s possible that your management is tracking some of these things already and you can talk to your manager about their goals for your department and roll those into your own successes.  

Context, Context, Context

Know your audience and keep it relevant in all the ways possible, I’d specifically encourage you to consider context of content and context of delivery.  

Content

We allude to this in the section on being the Hero, but keep multiple versions of your resume on hand depending on the role and company you are applying for! Review the business’s website and job listing for key words, phrases, or values to show you are a good fit. Remove work experience that isn’t applicable to the role. Don’t keep things in if they dilute what you are actually seeking to present yourself as. Customize your bullet points: Swap in key accomplishments that fit the job description. If the role focuses on leadership, highlight examples of mentoring or leading a team. If it’s technical, detail relevant certifications, tools, and projects.

Formatting

Use consistent headers, bullet points, and spacing to make your resume easy to scan. Avoid excessive detail that clutters the page. Stick to clean, professional fonts and clear section breaks.  

Keep it simple, but don’t be afraid of a little personality: A pop of color, a different font, or slightly unique formatting can be memorable—but don’t overdo it. Use section dividers, subtle lines, or an (one!) accent color to guide the eye. Include icons for contact info if appropriate, but ensure they don’t distract (choose SIMPLE icons with only one color and make sure all icons are from the same family pack).  

Keep font choices professional yet modern, such as using sans-serif fonts like Calibri or Lato. In general, I recommend not using more than one typeface, and limit the times you change it. Regular, bold, italic should get you far, and try to keep font sizes to three variations: title (36pt), header (18pt), body (12pt). Keep things consistent like you would be if you were marking up a webpage or application. And please, whatever you do, don’t express yourself through clever or cartoony fonts, this is for business, not your personal art gallery.

Delivery

How are you submitting your application? In person, by email, through a digital system?  

Will the person be reading this on a mobile device or printing it out?  

If in person, don’t be afraid to print off a color copy on nice, weighted cardstock for an in-person interview, and bring copies for other people who may be in the room as well, for a peer interview.  

For digital submissions Check the format based on delivery method: Ensure your resume reads well in multiple formats—digital (PDFs), ATS-scannable text, and print. Run tests to see how it looks in each form.  Do screenreaders or convert to plain text to see (or hear) what a computer-read version of your document turns out to say. Does it make sense? If not, rework it.  

Show your Work

As mentioned multiple times in this article, your resume is a tool for opening doors, so don’t let it be a dead end for the reader. Where do you keep your portfolio or where should they go to find more information about you if this resume piqued their interest? Don’t keep them guessing, give them access! Some things you may want to include on a modern resume:  

• Links  
  • Github
  • LinkedIn Profile  
  • Blog or Portfolio

• Personal Projects or Achievements section
  • Speaking engagements
  • Community Volunteerism
  • Open Source Projects you contribute to

• References or Testimonials
  • While your references should be separate from your resume, don’t be afraid to list quotes from people about your work or link to reviews

Now, it’s your turn!  

What do you think? If you look at your resume, does it follow my suggestions of making yourself the Hero. leading with action, considering appropriate context, and showing your Work?  Where did I deviate from the rules, do you think it works for me, or not?  

On the flip side, what rules do you think I am missing?

I hope I’ve inspired you to update your resume and/or CV this month and to encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same! If you need help cleaning up your resume, you can find me on any of the social channels listed on my resume, or through Rising Tide if you want to pay me to just do it for you.  

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Over the years of training and assisting various technicians, I've formed a set of guidelines that I've been known to drill constantly. The other day while talking to a newer technician and working with them I realized that I now have the time I didn't have before to actually write down what I've been ranting about for 14 years. I've dubbed them as the Laws for the Practical Technician.

‍

1. Keep an open mind when approaching the problem and avoid falling back into the "End User" mindset
2. Read and explore everything on the screen! Pay attention to what's being done and what its telling you
3. Understand the problem at least as well as the person asking you for help
4. Be intentional in your troubleshooting, closing your eyes and throwing darts at the wall is not helpful
5. Question everything you think you know and are being told
6. Always have a way out, make sure you can undo anything you do

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There's a lot of nuance in each "law" so now that we got the TLDR version out of the way let's dive into the specifics. Note for the purposes of this post, each law has been given a title.

1. The "Technician" Mindset

Keep an open mind when approaching the problem and avoid falling back into the "End User" mindset

If you run around with your eyes closed expecting nothing to get in your way, you're bound to smack into a wall (or something) and fall down.  If you keep your eyes open and aware of your surroundings you can navigate the obstacles and overcome them.

End users typically expect systems to work seamlessly and view issues as problems needing external help. Technicians, on the other hand, approach systems with the expectation that things might not work and are prepared to "figure it out" each time.

Key Points:

• ‍Expect Issues: Approach every situation with the mindset that things might not work as expected. This keeps it fresh in your mind and allows you to figure out what should or should not be happening each time, and usually during that process you'll identify the disconnect that's causing the issue.
• Problem-Solving Approach: View issues as challenges to be solved rather than insurmountable problems. This proactive mindset helps in finding creative solutions.
• Context Matters: The difference in mindset is less about the person and more about the context! Everyone (for the most part) handles their own problems for their personal lives daily. The moment it becomes a work or tech issue suddenly its hands-off. Be aware of the context you're in, this affects Clients escalating to IT and IT escalating to a higher tier! Don't fall into the trap.

Example: When dealing with a software bug, an end user might see it as "broken" and wait for a fix. A technician, however, will explore various angles—checking logs, considering recent changes, and testing different scenarios to identify the root cause, or find a viable workaround

2. Read the Entire Screen

Read and explore everything on the screen! Pay attention to what's being done and what its telling you

Computers and software are designed to be used, (it's actually the only way they make money!). Therefore, the information needed to operate or troubleshoot them is generally available on the screen or in logs, (although the language can be context-specific for the industry). To effectively identify and solve issues, it's crucial to explore the interface and ask questions. Thoroughly reading on-screen messages and prompts can provide insights into what might be wrong and how to address it.

When encountering an error message or unexpected behavior, don’t rush to conclusions, AND DO NOT SKIP IT! 

Instead, read all the details provided. Error codes, system messages, and even seemingly minor details can offer significant clues. For instance, a message that seems obscure at first glance might make sense when considered within the context of the application or system you're working on. Even comparing against a computer that is working, looking for differences in behavior, or order of operations, screen activity, and so on, can provide clues (for example an error that takes a while to appear is likely caused by a timeout, vs an error that appears immediately is likely caused by an immediate rejection).

Example: If a user reports an issue with a software application crashing, instead of just noting "application crashes," you should read any error messages, logs, or system prompts that appear when the crash occurs. These details can guide you towards understanding the root cause and potential fixes.

3. Understand the Problem

Understand the problem at least as well as the person asking you for help

To effectively troubleshoot, ensure you can recreate the problem and understand its significance. Start by asking the person reporting the issue why it's a problem and why it's important to solve it. Gather as much information as possible to understand all sides of the issue. You should be able to understand the problem at least as well as the person reporting it to you, otherwise how do you expect to fix it? Or even explain it to the next escalation point if you have to reach out for help?

Here are some ways you can work to understand the problem.

• ‍Recreate the Problem: Attempt to replicate the issue in your environment. This step is the best option because it allows you to see the problem firsthand and understand its nuances, at the same time as testing to see if its a problem with their computer only or a wider issue. You can also choose to recreate the problem on a different system, if it requires specific applications or files you don't have on your computer directly.
• ‍Understand the Impact: Determine why the issue is significant. Is it causing data loss, preventing critical operations, or just a minor inconvenience? Understanding the impact helps prioritize the issue and communicate its importance to others.
• Gather Detailed Information: Ask the user detailed questions about the problem. When did it start? What were they doing when it occurred? Has anything changed recently (e.g., new software, updates, hardware changes)? What's normally supposed to happen?
• Prepare for Escalation: If you cannot resolve the issue, you might need to escalate it to a vendor or higher-level support. Having detailed information and a clear understanding of the problem will make this process smoother and more effective.

Example: If a user cannot access a shared network drive, ask them about any recent changes to their system, any specific error messages they receive, and how critical this access is to their work. Look at what the shared drive is mapped to, and if other people have access to it that are working. Identify the network the user who is complaining about is on and if it has connectivity to the shared drive host. This comprehensive understanding allows you to troubleshoot more effectively and escalate if needed.

4. Be Intentional

Be intentional in your troubleshooting, closing your eyes and throwing darts at the wall is not helpful

Being intentional in your actions means making deliberate, thoughtful decisions rather than taking random stabs at fixing an issue. This approach prevents exacerbating the problem and leads to more efficient troubleshooting. Most technicians below Tier 3 will perform troubleshooting by way of "trying different thing to see what works", this is essentially closing your eyes and trying to pin the tail on the donkey, make sure you understand what is going on, and the logical reason why what you're attempting will affect (either negatively or positively) the current outcome so that you can make progress with every step.

Expand on This:

• Map out the "Attack" Chain: Before diving into fixing an issue, outline the Chain that exists to allow the system you're troubleshooting to work during normal behavior. What are the potential areas for disconnect? What steps will you take to test that the chain is working throughout?
• Progress is Progress (both good and bad): Any change in outcome is desired, as it'll help provide information about the underlying behavior that we don't have visibility into. Look for error messages, success messages, timers, lags and so on. No detail is too small.
• Evaluate and Adjust: After each step, evaluate whether it has brought you closer to resolving the issue. Adjust your approach based on these evaluations.

Example: If a printer isn’t working, don’t randomly try different fixes like restarting the printer, reinstalling drivers, or changing settings. Instead, follow a logical sequence—check for error messages to help point you towards a connection issue or a driver issue.

5. Question Assumptions

Question everything you think you know and are being told.

Always be prepared to reassess what you know. Technology and systems evolve, and what was true yesterday might not hold today. Keeping an open mind and questioning assumptions can lead to discovering the true cause of an issue.

Expand on This:

• Expect to be wrong all the time: When you're right about something there's no reason to go back and check because you know you're right. If you're wrong about something then you'll be looking to validate that you are wrong, or what the right answer is. This mindset helps keep your knowledge fresh and reminds you to double check everything you think you know or are being told.
• ‍Seek Out Information: Be proactive in seeking out new information and learning from others. Forums, user groups, and official documentation can offer insights you might not have considered. Often times all it takes to help find the answer is asking the question, not to the person next to you, but even to yourself! Use the Rubber Duck method if you need to.

Example: If a network issue arises, don’t assume it’s due to the same cause as last time. Reevaluate the situation - start the troubleshooting process from scratch everytime until you've identified the root cause to the be the same as last time.

6. Never Do Something You Can't Undo

Always have a way out, make sure you can undo anything you do

Always have a contingency plan before making changes. Ensure that any action you take can be reversed if it doesn’t resolve the issue or causes new problems.

Expand on This:

• Backup First: Before making destructive changes, find a way to keep a good copy of what you're changing. This ensures that you can revert back if needed.
• Test Changes: Where possible, test changes in a controlled environment before applying them to the live system.
• Document Reversible Steps: Ensure that every action you take can be undone. Document the steps if necessary so you can revert configurations and settings.

Example: Before modifying a system registry, backup the registry or export the key in question. Rename something instead of deleting it, or cut/paste it somewhere else. This way, if the change has unintended consequences, you can easily revert to the previous state.

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Edit 2024/11/13 | This article has been presented and recorded at The IT Nation Connect 2024 in Orlando, Florida! You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/ZJqhT48pnLU

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Welcome to The Care and Feeding of Meat Computers

The article you've stumbled across is the first in a collection of five blog posts meant to be an extension of The Care and Feeding of Meat Computers series which I’m releasing on the Rising Tide YouTube channel, born from a talk I shared at MSPGeekCon 2023. These companion guides are intended to help provide links to resources, research, and books that informed parts of this collection. The goal is to give you enough information and connections so you can dig into these concepts, including things that I cut from the talks for time or other organizational, boring reasons. I am also going to include some questions at the end of each guide to help you facilitate conversation with your team or to further deepen it!

Before we go much further, it's important to me to also extend my gratitude to the people who helped me make sure this talk happened in the first place. Heather and Brian at Gozynta encouraged me as I wrote and honed this concept the first time and generously sponsored me to attend MSPGeekCon and give this talk. Matt Fox, for the reliable perspective, fresh jokes, and tots. Alicia Gregory for academic and psychological insight, a cache of useful journal articles, and listening to me cry basically bi-weekly for nearly a decade.

Of course, last but not least, my business partner, Mendy Green, for believing in me and that this concept needed to see the light of day at all instead of just our five-minute-long WhatsApp voice notes.

Who this talk is for? You.

If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’re involved in technology, whether you follow Rising Tide, are a part of the MSPGeek community, or otherwise found this series while searching the depths of the internet. Regardless of who you are or where you’re from, come on in, make a cup of something warm, and have a seat. I hope that you will find each word expressing my sincere love to the tech community, specifically to those often-unsung heroes, the nerds whose daily, Sisyphean job is to balance the science behind tech with the increasingly important art of human understanding.  

This series is for those of you who may feel (or those of you who manage and collaborate with those who feel) more at home with your hard skills compared to soft skills. It’s completely understandable: in our society, and especially in tech, we tend to believe hard skills are the “real” skills, while soft skills are secondary or nice-to-have. But don’t let your imposter syndrome about the places you feel weak dictate what is real or true! Just because something can easily be expressed through certifications doesn’t mean they are more valuable or will help you live a more fulfilling life. In fact, you may have even been called “gifted” when it comes to technology, and as such, choose to feed that part of you, first. If we consider some of the theories about giftedness, specifically Renzulli’s three-ring conception of it, giftedness for any skill comes from ability, creativity, and commitment.  

My goal with this series is to challenge the view that hard skills are respected and most prized; and to encourage us to reframe “soft skills” not as something separate or less-than, but as essential, accessible, and attainable, intertwined with our technical expertise. We may not come by it naturally, as in an above-average-ability, but with creativity and commitment, we can develop these skills as well!

I specifically want us to look at soft skills in a way that outright refuses the notion that as you are, you are bad, undesirable, or unacceptable. While there are certain social standards that you may have been trained to adhere to, I want you to put those rules aside for these conversations. If you’ve ever felt like you’re expected to fit a mold to be successful—whether to be more charismatic, more structured, or even more proper—this series is for you.  

Being you is a good thing to be.

I’ve held a ton of jobs in a wide variety of industries and tiers of responsibilities. Despite my breadth and depth of experience and knowledge, I’m not interested in being revered as an expert. Experts tell you what you’re supposed to do and exactly how you’re supposed to do it to guarantee success. I’m sure my disdain for this snake-oily social power dynamic shows consistently in things I say and my approach in this series. Why the sass regarding experts? I want you to know and truly embrace the fact that your value as a tech professional goes beyond fitting into the boxes people want to put you in. Your value as a tech professional goes beyond fitting into the boxes you want to put yourself in! I’m not an expert, experts want you to be like them. I want you to be like you.  

You have these skills: you have social skills, you have people skills, you have soft skills. Regardless of if they fit into what some expert tells you is “correct,” if you’re a little bit weird, I want you to embrace it.

You’re here because you’re passionate about technical solutions, and you’re here because you’re looking for ways to develop further yourself and your community. I propose to you that your passion for technology is actually a powerful tool, if not the most powerful tool, in developing your soft skills. You can use your technical intelligence to boost your Emotional Intelligence.

It’s time to stop kidding ourselves that hard skills are technical and measurable while that soft skills are just a “personality trait” exemplified by gentle people like women and mothers. This belief implies two terrible, not-true things:  

1. some people just “have it” and are naturally good team players while there are others who are destined to never expand beyond their personal hangups.  

2. people with only hard skills and no soft skills are the only ones who make good business people and leaders.  

This is a disservice to you and those who you work with. You have soft skills, and developing and enhancing them is vital to your personal and professional growth. Here’s the thing: soft skills are hard. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth shaping or that they’re out of your reach as a technical, linear-minded person. Soft skills are hard-won through life experiences, loss, pain, and PRACTICE.

These concepts fold neatly into coding ideologies like Human-Centered Design and Human-Computer Interaction. You are technical, you are practical. Humans are hard. Let’s reframe this to help ourselves be more successful. I propose that soft skills aren’t the opposite of hard skills, but an evolution of them, and if you find them hard, perhaps you just need to look at humans as what they are: complex meat computers that really just want to do what they can to survive and thrive in the world they’ve inherited, just like you.  

So together, let’s flip the script and let’s start with reframing a questions we often ask, to see how we can better harness our natural penchant for hard skills and alchemize them into above average soft skills.  

Join me as we elevate the question, “Why aren’t people more like computers?” to “Why might people be too much like computers?” Instead of following a set of rules, I want you to ask yourself, “what if I treat people with just as much care and curiosity as I treat computers? What would my life, my job, and my relationships look like, instead?”

Video Chapters

• Soft Skills are Hard It’s ok to admit that soft skills are harder to you than hard skills. It’s not ok to never develop them further. Know your limits. And then dare to go further.  

• Nuance rules over Rules Life is complicated. You don’t need a list of rules to know what right looks like. What is the heart of the laws you’ve been given? Mindlessly following rules will rarely get you the results you dream of.  

• People over Tech Services work is rarely about the technical part and more about being curious and care-full about the people in our care!

• People over Stack Success comes from bringing your entire self to the table. No two people, no two MSPs are alike.

• People are Puzzles worth solving How do we, as technical people who love to solve puzzles, look as humans as solvable puzzles instead of pain points?

• People are Tech It’s not that humans are not like computers, it’s perhaps that they are too much like them.

Additional Resources and Recommended Reading

To deepen the concepts discussed in this series, here are several resources for further exploration:

Terms and Concepts

• MSP (Managed Service Provider) - Companies that remotely manage a customer’s IT infrastructure and systems

• Sisyphean - A task that feels endless and difficult, based on the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who had to roll a boulder up a hill forever

• Hard skills - Skills that involve specific knowledge or abilities, often technical, that can be measured or certified

• Soft skills - Personal skills like communication, empathy, and teamwork that help you work well with others

• Imposter syndrome - A feeling that you’re not as capable or skilled as others believe, even if you are

• Snake-oil - Something that is falsely advertised or exaggerated, originally referring to fake medicine

• Social power dynamic - How power and influence are distributed in social interactions or society

• Human-Centered Design - An approach to creating products that considers people’s needs, wants, and limitations.

• Human-Computer Interaction - The study of how people interact with computers and design technology that is easy and enjoyable to use.

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ) - The ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions in yourself and others.

Books and Research

• Emotional Intelligence ‍
  • How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence - Professional & Executive Development | Harvard DCE

• Human Centered Design ‍
  • What Is Human-Centered Design? | HBS Online  ‍
  • Full article: Knowledge is not everything

• Giftedness
  • The Renzulli Model: Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness | Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development
  • Giftedness + ADHD + Autism - Tending Paths

Questions for Team Reflection

If you’re watching this series with a team, here are some questions to guide your discussion and help you make the most of these ideas:

1. Favorite Tech: What is your favorite piece of tech? What is the best device or tool you’ve used or owned? Why is it your favorite? How much time did you spend configuring its settings and developing your own abilities to use it?  

2. Self-Assessment: Which soft skills come naturally to you, and which feel more challenging to develop? How do these impact your day-to-day work with clients or teammates?

3. Curiosity as a Tool: Have there been times when a “difficult” user or teammate surprised you with their insights or perspective? How might approaching people with curiosity change your interactions?

4. Rule Reflection: Are there any industry “rules” you follow that don’t serve you or your team well? Where did they come from? How can you find the “why” behind those rules and adapt them to fit your context? If there isn’t a good “why”...why are you still doing it?  

5. Growth Areas: What soft skill do you most want to develop? Consider using the resources linked above as a starting point to dive deeper into that area.

That’s it for Episode 1! Tune in for our next Episode: The most expensive piece of technology you’ll ever see.  

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