Network Engineers have to manage a lot of information. Products, technologies, textbooks, study notes and research material as well as new protocols and features. Just simple tasks like keeping product manuals handy for 40 or 50 products is a real problem. How do you keep the information organised, referenced, accessible and useful ? Your employer [...]
Screencast: Knowledge Management in Technology – Part 2
3rd January 2013 by 4 Comments
Network Engineers have to manage a lot of information. Products, technologies, textbooks, study notes and research material as well as new protocols and features. Just simple tasks like keeping product manuals handy for 40 or 50 products is a real problem. How do you keep the information organised, referenced, accessible and useful ? Your employer [...]
Thought for My Day: My Intentions for 2013
2nd January 2013 by 6 Comments
I’m not the sort of person who sets myself goals because I believe that settings goals is practicing failure. I would prefer to think of my life as a work in progress or a continuous cycle of improvement. Just because I’m doing something well today doesn’t mean I can’t do it better tomorrow, or be ready for a new opportunity.
Your thinking & attitudes should never be limited by a milestone or goals. That sets a stage for u proposition nderachievement or limited horizons. If you are focussed on a goal, you could miss a better opportunity. Total focus might achieve short term goals like a certification or an exam result but life isn’t a short term.
For example, whatever goals I might have set for Packet Pushers Podcast, I could never have imagined that we would exceed a 1 million downloads in 2012. I mean, Packet Pushers podcasts are downloaded on average 2000 times a day! Hard to imagine or plan for that.
I aim to achieve excellence every day and at everything. There isn’t a single goal I could set to achieve that.
OK, that sounds like I’m a tosspot, but hey, that’s what I do so I’ll own it.
Here is a Mind Map that I put together to consider what my “resolutions” are for the new year. These are ‘things’ that I need to work on, attitudes I need to change, rules to judge life choices by, and create a good outlook on life.
Screencast: Knowledge Management in Technology – Part 1
30th December 2012 by Leave a Comment
Network Engineers have to manage a lot of information. Products, technologies, textbooks, study notes and research material as well as new protocols and features. Just simple tasks like keeping product manuals handy for 40 or 50 products is a real problem. How do you keep the information organised, referenced, accessible and useful ?
This three part screencast is about how I manage all the “inputs” so I don’t feel lost in information after many, many people asked.
Getting Less Interruptions and More Time by Not Answering the Phone
22nd October 2012 by 6 Comments
I have a problem with interruptions as distractions. I spend a lot of time concentrating on writing and researching and concentration breaks are the worst thing for me. I rarely recover when it happens.
My primary source of interruptions was phone calls. I used to have many many phone calls asking for assistance, advice and input until I realised I wasn’t doing real work. In fact, I spent most of my time doing someone elses work. Then I would spend more of my time doing my work. That’s wasn’t fair to me or my family.
My solution to this problem was simple but it took sometime to work it out. It’s really simple and anyone can do it but it takes learning a new skill.
Thought for My Day – Networking Childhood
17th October 2012 by Leave a Comment
When I was a young man, it strikes me that everything seemed like it possible. I could be anything, I could do anything. As an adult, I’ve made choices and have deep commitments that prevent me me being able to do “anything”. I can only choose from the available options. What’s left in my power [...]
You Don’t Have to Hit the Ball Out of the Park to Have a Home Run
23rd August 2012 by Leave a Comment
When planning your career you need to make several path choices. And everyday work is part of taking a single step down that path. Somedays you just need to get the job finished to be a success. You don’t have to be excellent and awesome every single day. In fact, sometimes it’s preferable to finish [...]
My Knowledge Management Process With PDF Files – Part 2
13th March 2012 by 7 Comments
I’ve been asked a few times about how I organise my PDF files and keep track of documents. This post looks at my workflow for capturing, storing, tagging and organising my Knowledge Management system. This is Part 2
My Knowledge Management Process With PDF Files – Part 1
12th March 2012 by 11 Comments
A few times I’ve mentioned about how I manage collections of PDF documents, Text files and the accreted detritus of a Network Engineer. Since a number of people have asked me to talk in more detail about how I organise this and what methods I use, here is some rough description of how I perform knowledge management.
PacketPushers- Ethan Banks: Why Salespeople Sell to Others in Your Organization but Not You
3rd February 2012 by 3 Comments
Ethan Banks does it again. This exactly describes what happens to me when I’m discussing technology with a vendor. Whether it’s as a #TechFieldDay delegate, or as a customer it’s I’m always reworking my mental picture of how a a design change could impact a system.
