I travel to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday with my family for a relaxing break. It is a beautiful area of the country and sits on the Red Sea. It will be a shame to leave the cold and the rain behind. I won’t be leaving my brain behind though… I need to Come Up With A Cunning Plan.
This trip is an excellent opportunity to contemplate the future. I am sure, amidst splashing around in the pool with my 2 year old son, that I’ll be looking ahead to what will be a tough year for the IT industry and we folks who work in it.
The outcome I want from the trip is to clear my frustration.
You see, I see everyday the effect of this recession. I’ve said in my tweets , ‘Screw The Recession’ – and I stand by that, but I can’t escape from the fact that it’s having a very real impact on the industry, employment, prospects for the future, and the enjoyment of our work. So I thinking, what can I do to help ? My frustration kicks in when I look at the number of comments on this blog and see only a handful per week. Something isn’t right, but I don’t know what it is…
– are people listening?
– do they need help?
– do they want my help?
– am I fishing in the right pond?
– is my niche too narrow?
– am I fooling myself?
I don’t know! So next week is the time I will Come Up With A Cunning Plan. A Plan to turn things around so I am standing in front of the people who I can help and want my help. It’s that simple.
I am looking forward to next week then – for the sand, for the fun, and for the chance to get my Plan into shape.
And if I am lucky, there will be WiFi there too, so if your generosity extends to giving me a suggestion, then I’ll welcome it with gratitude!
Simon,
Perhaps your contemplation is coming from a place on denial? (sorry, poor joke time 😉
Practically speaking, with the January tsunami of layoffs in US and UK, maybe lots of IT folks are in “keep heads down mode”.
In such cases, discretionary spending on coaching when perceived as a “career enhancer” goes out the proverbial window.
Seems to me the trick is to find where the “deal flow” is and then stand in the middle of it with your bucket 🙂
Good advice Mark, and I have a big bucket! I hope, with no holes in it, dear Liza.
I’ll email you when I get back with the results of the contemplation!