I have been a Software Engineer since 1982, after graduating from Oregon State University with a BS and BA in Computer Science. I worked at Intel as a New College Grad, then at a small graphics company for a couple of years before starting to contract in 1987. I have worked in all areas of the Product Life Cycle from architecture and design, to implementation/development, quality assurance, build, release, maintenance, end-of-life, and transfer of technology.
In 1990, when EASE Software was formed, I became the corporate treasurer in addition to my software engineering duties. I've learned a lot about what it takes to run a business, reading financial statements, and such. I like the fact that we can use EASE as a vehicle to practice our values, while providing good service to our clients, and a good working environment for our employees. Since all the EASE founders are engineers and have worked as contractors, we know a lot about our business.
My EASE Software title is "Senior Software Gardener." I like gardening, and the more I thought about it, the more things I found in common with Software Engineering:
If you plan a garden (software program) well, it is easier to maintain
There are always a few bugs and weeds to get rid of
You transfer plants (code) from one plot to another
You spread a certain amount of fertilizer (bs :-) around
Sometimes you end up maintaining someone else's garden (code)
Sometimes you just have to throw everything out and start over.
Which is where I am now (in regards to my garden).
I aspire to practice the philosophy of the "servant-leader." Because engineering can be a fairly sterile experience (are we really saving the world by building another widget, or a faster whoozit, or by building products that encourage people to disconnect from people and connect to machines?), I consciously look for ways to improve peoples lives. It isn't always possible to work on a project that changes the world, but I can improve the world of the people I'm working with by making their lives easier, more productive, and more efficient. Maybe they, in turn, will do something to improve someone else's life.
The servant-leader is a servant first. S/he may or may not be in an official leadership position, but by serving, the servant-leader can encourage collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. By trying to ensure that other people's highest priority needs are being served, s/he can help those served to grow as people (become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous) and more likely to become servants themselves. I try to apply this philosophy both in making decisions that affect EASE and EASE employees, and when working at a client's site. [For more information on the servant-leader, visit: www.servant-leadercenter.org or www.greenleaf.org]
This is a picture of my dog Buddha, a sweet Newfoundland who has taught me a lot about life (his "formal" name is "Baba Ram Dagg"). Buddha has two cats, Mahar-shalal hash baz (the longest name in the Bible, one of Isaiah's son's, the name means " the hunter is quick to the prey"), and Mooshak (this means "Mr. Rat" and was the vehicle that Ganesh chose when he traveled around the world).
Here are a few good quotes, and then a riddle to end on...
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha
"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." - Buddha
"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats." - Howard Aiken, IBM engineer
"A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your step as you walk the tightrope of life." --William Arthur Ward
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I just beat people up." --Muhammad Ali
"Two can live as cheaply as one - if they both have good jobs. " --Laurence Peter
Okay, a riddle (translated from Dutch):
You are driving in a small car at a constant rate of speed. To your right is a steep drop off. In front of you is a large pig, traveling at the same constant speed that you are. Behind you is a low-flying helicopter, flying at the same constant rate of speed. To your left is a fire engine that looks like he's going to pass you, but he's traveling at the same constant speed that you are. You want to stop, but you can't figure out how to stop, or even slow down, without crashing. What do you do?
Answer (on a link?) (you ask the nice man to please stop the merry-go-round)