Throughout any career, you inevitably meet people who are standouts in your life. Whether they are your direct reports, your boss(es), banes of your existence, friends who support you and/or just let you vent, or people with whom you've interacted or to whom you've been exposed, I believe that each one leaves an indelible mark. While some are not great, others are incredibly influential and deserving of recognition.
Since –aside from the CV home page –this site is entirely self-indulgent, I am creating the opportunity to highlight a few of those here.
(I could attempt to follow some sort of order in naming them, but... let's face it... that's just not how my brain works.)
*I simply HAD to try this font because it is named "Brandon Grotesque," and now I really want to know more about "Brandon" and what he did to deserve this.
Meet My "Superstars"
Kelly Vass-Webster
Kelly has been my BFF since the 7th grade –seriously –but those words sound incredibly trite in the context of our relationship and the overuse of that term in today's age. If it is possible for two people to be identical, yet complete opposites, that is us. 100% "ride or die."
I think that I've been the catalyst for each giant leap of faith in her life, so it's a wonder that she doesn't hate me! I moved to Georgia, and somehow talked her into moving a few months later. I got into a serious relationship and considered getting married; she actually did it. I called up a friend to put her in touch with an old boyfriend when I thought she needed perspective; now they're engaged/married. I went to a workshop for team building and thought it would be an awesome idea for us to open up a franchise location when we retired; she actually did it!
On the professional side, she is quite simply a bad b*tch. She can run a company or run YOUR company while making it look insanely easy. Negotiating contracts, cultivating relationships, managing people, and creating order in chaos, all while looking flawless and perfectly dressed and accessorized.
Kelly is amazing in every way that I am not. She makes me a better person, gives me accountability, knows [almost] every thing about me, and yet still somehow loves me as family. (And anyone who spends time with either of us knows that they are stuck with the package of two. We are family. Luckily, everyone knows that.)
Michael Best
When I flew to Atlanta to do my "in person" interview for G&R, Mike was part of the panel that I met. He picked up on more of my personality traits than anyone should in that meeting, and even managed to get me to drop my pseudo-professional front in a side conversation about Atlanta traffic.
I was placed on his teams for the majority of projects, and he always gave me JUST ENOUGH room to get myself in trouble, without ACTUALLY letting me fail.
He basically forced me into participation outside of work with the rest of the teams when it was obvious that I was struggling to find my place in a new town all alone.
Mike placed the bar for my career and was always one step ahead of the game --and me --in knowing what should come next. Whether he realizes it or not, he was the model for my own approach to management. He was always patient in explaining concepts and approaches to whatever level of detail I needed. What resonates (especially in hindsight) is that he never once came across as condescending or "man-splained" things..
In a field that seems to be increasingly populated with "smug-norance," Mike has never been that, and is one of a very select group of individuals that I would be willing to follow somewhat blindly.
I would not be capable of the things that I am today if he hadn't been there.
Geoffrey Smarada
When I first began consulting, in Baton Rouge, Geoff was a network/infrastructure manager at one of the first client sites at which I was placed. To say that he makes an impression would be an understatement.
I had never seen someone manage to accomplish so much, seemingly running on [at the time] caffeine and cigarettes. I didn't work in his department, only in the same cube farm, but would see him leave an hour-long meeting and then dig in with his team to rebuild a server overnight.
While he is still one of the smartest people I know, that was never enough for him and he has common sense and old-fashioned "hustle" for days.
I was lucky enough to become friends with him outside of work, and he is one of my go-to people for any number of things –more than 20 years later!
I still remember him stopping by my cube one day to casually say that I shouldn't use my dog's name as my password –and I've been completely neurotic about security ever since!
He likes to think of himself as a grumpy old man now, but I'd put him against anyone in the industry to this day.