23Aug13
Hi All –
Our conversation about the “Dream” speech reminded me that I
had a dream once. In days long
since past, I was going to be a hot-shot software designer, destined to be a
shooting-star, rising quickly to stardom in the Aerospace company for which I
worked. Quite an achievement for
someone who had started life developmentally behind the others, even needing to
attend a transitional kindergarden for awhile.
I knew that I had competition in the race up the ladder;
seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry in those days was aiming for the same
goal, a fast-track career in software development. To management, I was just another John Doe. I needed something to set me apart,
some new razzle-dazzle code, which I could write, that would cause their jaws
to hit the floor. To that end, I
worked long hours and finally came up with a masterpiece.
My supervisor was a tough cookie, a hard-boiled but
good-hearted guy who had come up through the ranks and knew his stuff. I knew that I needed him on my side. He was a straight-shooter who meant
what he said and I needed to play straight with him. So I squared my shoulders, marched into his office and told
him that I was there to talk turkey.
He had an appointment right then so I had to take a rain check. Finally, late in the afternoon, we were
able to meet. I got to the point
right away. Being a man of few
words, he appreciated getting down to brass tacks so I told him of the code I
had written. At first, he thought
I was full of hot air, surmising that no one could write software to do what I
claimed. I started to quail,
realizing that not having his support would throw a monkey wrench into my
career plans. I marshaled up my
arguments and was on the brink of convincing him of the reality of my project
when the alarm went off and I woke up.
Oh well, some day I’ll dream this dream again and I’m not going to hear
that alarm. Then I’ll know what it
is like to be to be a rock star software designer.
Have a great week!
Kevin
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