What have you accomplished in your professional life/career since your 40 Under 40 selection?
I turned 40! But, beyond that stunning accomplishment, our company remains a strong Wisconsin-based organization and we’ve now expanded business throughout the U.S., including some international presence. Growing and acquiring businesses has presented new opportunities for us to enhance our culture, opportunities, value, and presence. We’ve additionally advanced our offerings to align to contemporary and future needs of the market. The role of cloud computing, automation, security, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning has only increased, if not emerged, in the short time since joining the 40 Under 40 club. We’ve changed the look of our organization to be 70 percent technical resources with a major investment in ideation specialists. These are high-end resources chartered with providing visions for the next five years and a bridge plan for organizations to leverage in aligning to their mission. That means the technology for health care has to align to help patient care and physician experience, for education to improve student outcomes and instructional effectiveness, and so on. It’s not just about the fastest or best technology, it’s about mission alignment.
I’ve also recognized the need to enhance our impact on the communities we are privileged to serve. I’ve personally devoted more time and resources to programs serving youth and the disadvantaged. Through organizations like the National Center for Women & Information Technology and Pathways to Prosperity, we are helping ALL children have limitless options in life. Let me elaborate. Being in the technology field, I see an industry that is very male dominant, with only 20 percent of technology jobs going to females. These numbers only become worse when you add in filters based on race, geographic resource limitations, or financial inequalities. As an employer and technology leader, our company is committed to changing that. As a father of three young girls, I’m committed to changing that. Formally serving within these organizations helps us enlighten paths for youths to pursue that dream without boundaries and with support.
What accomplishments, milestones, or endeavors have you attained in your personal life since your 40 Under 40 selection?
A fun thing that’s happened since then is I learned how to walk a tightrope. Fear and curiosity drove me to do it. To think of being able to walk on something the size of your pinky was just too interesting not to try.
I learned many lessons from this, but a few that I’ll share:
- The first step is the hardest! You have to have courage to try.
- Once you’re on the line, don’t look down! A tightrope is actually twisted wires and at a hand’s touch feels pretty darn sturdy. But when you put your full body weight on, I was surprised to learn at how much a line actually moves. It’s constant! The key lesson here? If you ever look at your feet, you’ll fall immediately because you see the line moving. Your eyes never lie to your brain, so you immediately fall.
- Always keep your eye on where you’re going, not where you are! The trick is to have your eyes looking at the destination the whole time. There are three reasons for this. First, it’s not moving on that end, so your eyes tell your brain “all is good!” Second, this provides you a visual anchor. Third, this ensures that every action you take offers a clear vision of your mission.
- Use help! Doing this with only your body for balance is tough. Instead, when you hold a long stabilizer bar, you’re able to distribute weight differently and this becomes significantly easier. Key lesson — use support if you have it!
- Go for it! I learned an interesting thing the first time I was successful with this. At some point in the journey, things become calm. Your eyes assure you. Your support balances you. You see that you are getting closer to your destination. As you get closer to the anchor point at the destination, the line is sturdier. You can see you’re going to make it. Then a funny thing happens — you almost sprint to the finish. When it’s right there in reach, go for it!
- Celebrate! When you set your sights on something big and achieve it, don’t just immediately shift to setting your sights on the next big thing. Take time to breath, reflect, and celebrate.
What I found is that these lessons became transferrable to many aspects of life, whether it be personal, professional, or spiritual. Be courageous in pursing something new/big/important to you! Don’t get stuck in your current moment — you can never advance! Visualize success, pursue it, and make sure every action brings you closer to it! Leverage your help (community, resources, etc.)! When your target is in reach, don’t hesitate — go for it! And celebrate! When you accomplish something new/big/important, take time to enjoy it!
Finally, in this journey, you’ll fall. And when you fall, get back up. The more falls, the more rewarding it is when you finally accomplish your goal. I have bruises to prove it!
If you were to “do it all over again,” what (if anything) would you do differently throughout your career?
If I’m honest in looking back, I can find plenty of head scratching moments, bad decisions, things I should have been more serious about, etc. But no matter how much I dissect my past, I’ll never be able to change it. Instead, you learn from it, grow from it, and be thankful for those bonehead moments.
Thankful? Yes, because while I can recognize my mistakes, I wouldn’t change one of them. They are the precise recipe for who I am today. Flawed but focused. Imperfect but purposeful. Confident, grateful, and faithful.
I have a beautiful bride, three beautiful daughters, a great group of family, friends, and co-workers, and I walk with Christ. I would change nothing.
How did your 40 Under 40 selection help your career?
Being named to 40 Under 40 was a great honor. It was humbling to be associated with the other people in my induction class, as well as other winners. It certainly also provided me a level validation and confidence.
I believe In Business has done a tremendous job not only recognizing people throughout the state, but also in connecting them. No matter what line of business we’re in, or how much technology reliance and automation exists, life is still a human experience. We associate with humans. We do business with humans. Being a part of this group has opened up the human network for me. I’m appreciative of the effort to bring people together to collaborate, celebrate, and grow.
Another side benefit is the fact I never say what year I was named to the 40 Under 40 club. That way, without lying, some people might think I’m still under 40!
What is something that you have a new passion for since the time of your induction — either professionally or personally?
I really enjoy public speaking through keynote addresses or master-of-ceremony opportunities. This really started from within my company with larger events that we host and has now extended into other opportunities for companies and organizations.
What I’ve found is if you want to lift people up, make them feel something, not just hear something. Don’t just give them education, instead take them on a journey.
It’s my firm belief that a person’s legacy is not what you leave behind for others, but rather what you leave within them.
I’m trying to do more along those lines. That means being vulnerable in showing your flaws and personal experiences. That means helping people understand the implications of those experiences and how we can learn and grow from them.
So, while I’ve done some new things recently from learning to walk a tightrope to completing my first Tough Mudder, these weren’t just personal goals to see what I could do with this old “IT dude” body, they were also about a journey and parallel lessons I could discover. It’s challenging yourself in new ways that opens up those “aha” moments of clarity.
I’m trying to do more of these experiences and passing along what I’ve learned.
Based on your experience, do you have any advice for today’s young professionals (under 40)?
Your age is not a restriction on impact. One of the organizations I support is an awards ceremony for Aspirations in Computing. This annually honors high school girls throughout Wisconsin who are pursuing technology career paths and already making a difference within this pursuit. For the first ceremony, I brought my then 8-year-old daughter to hear the stories of these young women. We honored girls on assignment with NASA, a girl building an app to help her grandma take her medicine, a group of girls building technology aides to help handicapped classmates, and on and on. I brought my daughter to help her see the limitless possibilities and to be inspired. And while she was, it was my moment of being inspired, as a now “over 40” guy, that was more telling. I knew what to expect coming in, but I still had jaw-dropping moments hearing what these girls from across the state do. I was SO incredibly inspired. These girls, who live in world in which only 20 percent of technology jobs are filled by girls. These girls, who are all 18 or younger. This is just evidence that impact is not defined by age or experience. It’s up to you! Dream big, achieve big.
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