Sys Admin - Professional Advice

Here's some notes on Mentoring and Professional development to read and consider.

1. What are *your* expectations, desires and intentions for this?
2. I can only preach what I practice... Ghandi did this, who am I to do different?
There are areas, like career planning, where I *cannot* help you.
3. If it isn't written down, it didn't happen.
4. You already have *great* resources in your life - are you accessing them now?
* Getting Things Done breaks down into 4 areas:
- Goals, Tasks, Actions, Blocks.
* Figure out where you have 'unfinished business' and do some work on that.
Create these 3 lists.
- Plan the actioning of seeing people.
- Start of record your goals and outcomes for later analysis.
- Record the times/events you go on 'autopilot'.
Later you'll figure out how to address them
5. There are three regions of time - past, present, future.
You operate in the present, learn from the past and plan for the future.
6. Knowing yourself.
The better you know yourself, the better you can perform, both by leveraging
your Strengths and Talents, and by covering your weaker suits.
There are three regions:
- what you're good at, poor at - and your blindside - both good and poor at.
7. Knowing your values, What matters to you.
8. "Perfect" and "good enough".
9. Your Life comes as a whole.
10. 80/20 Rule - Only 20% of a job is about Technical stuff.
11. Quality is a mindset, not an after thought.
12. This model came over coffee with a friend: Passion, Urgency, Self-Management.
13. Project Management is a key skill.
14. You become those who you surround you - like Friends, Family, Colleagues.
15. Books - Gotta have 'em, Gotta manage 'em.
16. Curiosity, Understanding.
17. Carpe Diem.
18. Denial, Avoidance, Procrastination, "Busy Waiting"/"Furious Inactivity": - Find your Motivation.
19. Organisation, Processes, Systems and Spring Cleaning/Weeding.
20. Teams, Management, 'Star Performances' and Quality Software.
21. Essential Professional Skills.

1. What are *your* expectations, desires and intentions for this?
    How far do you want this work to go? 
    What are the criteria for you that will make it 'good' (or 'bad')??
    What sort of commitment in time, energy and attention are you willing/able to make?
    [Set expectations, limits and goals] 
    
    Any manager/coach/mentor cannot not put in more commitment than the person shows.
    And I'm a fallible human as well.  I have limited energy and do over-estimate my energy
    [and under-estimate time needed] all the time.  I need you to be aware of this and not
    expect more than I can deliver - and also have your understanding when I under-perform.

    Spend time considering this and write down your "top 5" [or 3 or 10] list.
  
  
2. I can only preach what I practice...  Ghandi did this, who am I to do different?
   There are areas, like career planning, where I *cannot* help you.
  
   Look around at the people you know or could get introduced to - who's done well in a
    area you want some ideas on?? Approach them and ask how they did it, what's important.
   Who's the most successful person career-wise in the family or your circle? Talk to them.
   [The corollary to this is: It's what you *do* that counts, not just what you *say*]

   But in your work-place - look for people who do well and specifically ask for guidance.
   The more targeted your questions, the more specific they can be -
    but the most important thing is finding out things you don't know...
  
   Write down the circles of people you have in your life and create some lists
    of people you do things well that you need to learn. Go talk to them, make notes,
    ask when you can/should come back and talk to them again and if they'll help
    you from time to time if you hit problems.
   A stretch goal is to identify a (small) number of people outside your immediate
    circles you'd like to emulate - meet them and run the same process.
  

3. If it isn't written down, it didn't happen.
    Consistently, the best advice on Sucess and Professional Development I've read is
     to keep a journal or notebook(s).
    This is the *one* common theme in biographaries of all very successful people.
    It's not about keeping a diary of events, though that is useful, but mining both the
      events of the past and your reactions.
    * At work you need some sort of day book, log book, lab notebook,...
    * For other areas of your life, suitable journals. 
  
    Go grab two notebooks, an organiser, a Blog or files on your PC and
     start to write. And keep writing. I know when I stop writing, that's
     when I most need to write - I'm overwhelmed, overloading or depressed...
  
  
4. You already have *great* resources in your life - are you accessing them now?
   One really big regret I have is when cleaning up my Dads' records [they were good],
    I realised that he never sat me down and said "this is what I've learned, this works".

    * Go and ask your parents [and maybe past teachers/lecturers/bosses/???]
      + The general question - what's the good oil?
      + What's really worked for you? How do you do that?
      + What's the best things you done/learned?
        e.g. Your Mum is very, very good at Budgeting and Cooking and ...
             Your Dad is a fierce competitors and hugely dedicated to both
             his work and family.
  * Getting Things Done breaks down into 4 areas:
        - Goals, Tasks, Actions, Blocks.
      + If you try to do things, are motivated but can't do make it happen,
        you've got a 'block' [could be "Writers Block"].
        Discovering, Naming and addressing Blocks is a Lifetime Task.
        Be gentle on yourself about working these out - everyone *always*
         does the best they can with what they got and, looking back,
         you'll always wonder why you did less than you might have...
         Remember "You Did Your Best" at the time.
      + If you set Goals and they don't happen, most often they aren't a Real Priority.
        Your Priorities are what you actually *do*, not intend to..
        Reset your Goals in-line with what you *do*.

    * Figure out where you have 'unfinished business' and do some work on that.
      These 'daemons in the closet' do and will control your automatic responses and
       reactions. It's how our brains are built. You have to be in control of your
       actions and reactions to do well.
      They are not that hard to deal with - mostly just take Naming and Facing.
      Sometimes a single, sharp shock will evaporate them, othertimes you have
       to regularly revist them. Always, having addressed them, you will benefit
       if you stay aware and are not tempted back to them.
      Always, limiting patterns and responses developed as Adaptive Strategies - they
       worked and had Good Payoffs. You have to step away from the Payoff as well.
      [In general terms, unfinished business comes as: regret, resentment, and guilt]
      [Look up the literature on 'Mindfulness']

    Create these 3 lists.
     - Plan the actioning of seeing people.
     - Start of record your goals and outcomes for later analysis.
     - Record the times/events you go on 'autopilot'.
       Later you'll figure out how to address them


5. There are three regions of time - past, present, future.
    You operate in the present, learn from the past and plan for the future.
    Doing all three well is probably impossible for one person:
     - we all have an preferred area, and we tend to get trapped in our usual modality.

    You have to address all three areas adequately to achieve your goals:
     - Do what you do well, and keep improving your performances.
     - Mining the past for lessons
     - Planning for the future.

    Consider this and come up with some ideas on how you're going to manage all three areas.


6. Knowing yourself.
    The better you know yourself, the better you can perform, both by leveraging
     your Strengths and Talents, and by covering your weaker suits.
    There are three regions:
     - what you're good at, poor at - and your blindside - both good and poor at.

    The Gallup organisation did worldwide research that led to the book:
      "Now, discover your strengths".
    * they make the very simple point that the highest returns on your time
      are by building your strengths.
    * I don't think weak areas can just be ignored - but they do have to be managed.
    * And the universe has a nasty little rule:
      - you *will* be bitten by things you ignore...

    We have to come up with some sort of map of both
      what you excel at - what strengths, skills, abilities and talents you have.
      And the areas you don't do well.
    Then we can work on the how's and what's of building your strengths.

    Write down your "top 7" list of both sides...
     And make a stab at where you suspect you have blindsides.
     Then go talk to people in your circles who will give you honest and
     insightful feedback. First get them to list your A and B sides, then
     what they see as your blindside. Then show them the relevant parts of
     your lists and discuss.


7. Knowing your values, What matters to you.
   Over time, your priorities change.  Things assume different relative importance.
   A useful exercise is to write down and order your top ten...
     And to repeat this from time to time.
    
    Create a section in your notebook that you'll come back to every 3 months.
     Onto slips of paper, take 10-15 minutes to 'braindump' everything you hold dear.
     Place these slips in order by comparing pairs and asking two questions:
      - How would it be *without* this in my life?
      - Which has the strongest postive pull for me?
     Write the number you need into your notebook.
     Schedule a time with yourself to mull over how well you are fulfilling
      these needs and living your values.


8. "Perfect" and "good enough".
    'perfect' is the enemy of both Quality and Execution (getting things done).
    It's rare that I feel that something I've done couldn't have been done better
     in some ways 
     - but at the end of the day, 80% of something is better than 0% of 'perfect'.
    
    Consider how you are going to set "good enough" goals for things.
    You'll need an on-going list to manage this, and to periodically set aside
     time to evaluate your performance.


9. Your Life comes as a whole.
    You always need to be aware of your Work-Life balance - to actively manage it.
    You are comprised of physical-mental-emotional-spiritual parts
     - and need to feed and manage all aspects of yourself.
    Your life is comprised of relationships with yourself, your partner,
     your family (up, down and out), your friends and all your other circles.
    To get the best out of your life, you need to get the best out of yourself
     and your relationships.
    
    The same parts of you that operate in personal relationships, will operate
     in the workplace, with friends, ...
    
    Mining *all* parts of your Life for lessons is important.
    And so is applying your best tools and thinking to all areas of your life.
    Which implies that you allocate time to rest, relaxation, recreation
      - as well as work, study, play :-)
    
    One thing I know to be very true for myself, without a supportive partner,
     I can't be the best I can be [in fact, I can't even be a very good version of me].
    And things I never planned to happen, like children, never happened.
    
    Consider how you can going to manage your *entire* life, including your work.
    Sketch a few Life Goals into your notebook.
    Make some notes on how you are manage the competing demands and priorities.


10. 80/20 Rule - Only 20% of a job is about Technical stuff.
    The really important things are how you relate to people, manage yourself and your time.
    The Technical Stuff is important and I will do the best I can to help you there...
     In a separate doc.

11. Quality is a mindset, not an after thought.
    It is also the bed-fellow of high-performance and professional development.
    Because both depend on examining your past performance,
     identifying "errors", "mistakes" and "failures" [undershoots] as well as
     successes is vitally important to build High-Performance and High-Quality.
     [Mistakes are repeated Errors.]

    Both arise from *caring* about the outcomes for others.
    This is being both conscious and *learning*.

    Setting processes in place so that it's hard to repeat errors and failures,
     and so it's easy to turn-in your best performances, is the basis for both.
    Which subsumes that you both intentionally review and learn,
     and design and plan ahead.

    Start sections for "successes", "errors", "mistakes" and "failures".
    Schedule time with yourself to consider what is working for you, and
     what isn't. You will figure out a system that works for you.


12. This model came over coffee with a friend: Passion, Urgency, Self-Management.

    * What would make you leap out of bed in the morning?
      [Where's your passion?]
    * Things only get done if there is a deadline.
      [Sense of urgency]
    * How do you get yourself to do things?
      [Self-management]

    You will have to address all 3 aspects over time.
    Do you have particular concerns going in?
    Capture your thoughts and run them by someone close and trusted.


13. Project Management is a key skill.
    You can already do it well enough for smaller projects,
     now we're going to apply it to a larger stage.

    All projects start with Goals/Objectives.
      The best ones come with Criteria for Success and Pulling the Plug.
    Good projects have a workable/realistic Plan.
      [SMART Goals - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Timed]
    And if it's worth doing, it worth writing down...
    When things gets done, it's vitally important to know they are done.
    Celebrating Achievements is important too.

    Write up a few goals you have for a few areas of your life.
    We'll work out plans in requisite detail...
      - Too much detail, too soon is deadly and begets the "Analysis Paralysis" trap
      - Too little detail will result in lots of "surprises"
      - No Planning: "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail"
    Tracking them will be part of future work.
    Mining them for Lessons will be our goal.


14. You become those who you surround you - like Friends, Family, Colleagues.
    If you can surround yourself with people on the same track and good values,
     you will all achieve far, far more.
    This implies that you must choose to remove people from your life that
    don't affirm or enhance you. If people don't make you more, they aren't good for you.

    This can be conscious and intentional.
    With a group of your mates, you can both create a (mutual) support group
     and develop your leading, coaching, mentoring skills.


    I'm not sure if you can build a support group to do this work.
     But it'd be really useful.


15. Books - Gotta have 'em, Gotta manage 'em.
    They bring new ideas, perpectives and concepts into your life.
    - don't buy them unless you schedule time to read them
      [I've many untouched books that seemed a 'really god idea' at the time]
    - Budget: don't spend more or less than you're happy with.
    - if a book you read is useful, capture some notes on it.
      You will build up an impressive catalogue over time, and
       you'll be able to easily review and remind yourself of what you know.
      Create and refine your own 'Knowledge Base'.
    - You don't have to read every book cover-to-cover, but don't skip an
       author without giving them a chance.
      Life is too short for Bad Wine and Poor or Empty Writing.
      Money is replacable, but time can only ever be lost.
    - Your tastes, interests and passions *will* change over time.
      Sometimes more suddenly than you can believe - as in the middle of a book
       you started totally engaged in.
      Accept this when it happens, tie up any loose ends, put away the past,
       and move into your new area.
    - Allow time for undirected browsing, Allow yourself the odd impulse buy.
      Put yourself in the way of unexpected gems.

    Make plans in your notebook for how you're going to create and maintain
     your catalogue and reviews/summaries.
    Document your current "Hot 5" topics, research a little on the best
     sources on the topic. Sketch a rough plan to

16. Curiosity, Understanding.
    This, I believe, is the single most powerful trait that separates us
    from all other creatures. As a species, we posses an intense and deep
    curiosity that is driven by a *need* to understand. This is the source
    of the wonderment of small children.
    To deny or curtail this aspect of yourself will limit your whole life.


17. Carpe Diem.
    Synergy, Serendipity and Synchronicity are powerful forces, use them
     to your advantage. Purposefully create situations where they will
     come into play. Consciously put yourself in the way of New Things.
    Grab opportunities as they arise. There *will* be times you see or hear
     something and it 'clicks' immediately.
    Trust your instincts, 'gut', non-conscious or intuition - 'tis how
     we make good decisions without "full information".
    Don't be a slave to Plans, they are maps only, not the country.
     Though without them you'll not get very far.
    A habit of Not Acting is insidious - it will increasingly limit your life
     over time.


18. Denial, Avoidance, Procrastination, "Busy Waiting"/"Furious Inactivity".
    Find your Motivation.

    To be successful, you need to discover your unconscious ways to *not* do things.
    You can address these by overcoming them or not allowing the situations to
    develop. Unaddressed, you will underachieve and feel unfulfilled.

    You have to discover your own Process/Method.
    Leverage your notebook, Mine what you've captured there, Seek help when needed.


19. Organisation, Processes, Systems and Spring Cleaning/Weeding.
    "Death and Taxes" are inevitable - and so is the minutiae of modern living.
    * Having a Filing System that works for you is a necessity.
      - capturing documents is easy [like a box], the art if finding them
        again, quickly, as you need them.
      - that means occasional culling, pruning or spring cleans
    * Achieving Tasks
    * Scheduling and keeping appointments
      - Find what works for you... Organiser, Phone, PC, paper diary, ...
      - the only satisfactory performance level is "100%". Forget nothing.
        If it's important enough to schedule, it's important enough to keep the promise.
   * David Allen's "Getting Things Done" or Kerry Gleeson's "Personal Efficiency Program"
     are two good places to start. 
   * Kathy Waddill's "Orgainsation Sourcebook" and 'theuntangledweb.com' list
     "9 strategies of Reasonably Organized People'.
     Is as close to a definitive guide in the area as possible. 
   * Successful people are "Organised Enough" and embrace "Good Enough"
     (sometimes that's 'perfect') both in their professional and personal lives.
    
    Develop a Plan, set some reasonable targets and Execute it.
    Use your Notebook and other tools to drive this.
    You will have to revisit this regularly as your responsibilities and needs
     evolve.


20. Teams, Management, 'Star Performances'  and Quality Software.
    Here are some other resources I believe to be necessary and definitive.
    
    * Teams, not groups, are necessary for High-Performance.
      I've not found a book that proves this, though many make the assetion.
    * David H Maister's "Practice What you Preach" is the definitive text
      for what matters in management - looking after your people.
      He proves through real research it's cheaper and more profitable.
    * Robert E Kelley [kelleyideas.com] in "How to be a Star at Work" reports
      definitive research on becoming/creating very high performing individuals
      (Star Performers).  His team came up with 9 strategies that are learnable.
    * Jerry Weinberg's 4 Volume set "Quality Software Mangement" is as close
      to the definitive tract on IT/IS. It's as complete as Donald Knuth's,
      "Art of Computer Programming". Jerry's a prolific author (50 books). All good.
      His website, 'geraldmweinberg.com', has many links to his community.
    * Dr Robyn Skinner and John Cleese wrote some books on who we are and how we
      tick. They are clear and accessible, and look to be as definitive as possible
      on the topic for non-professionals.


21. Essential Professional Skills.
    Keyboarding has been an essential skill for all white-collar or knowledge
    workers for the last ten years.
    
    What other skills are there for you? Such as: where do you go for Information?
    What's your plan to a) discover them, and b) become proficient?
    Your Notebook is your friend...