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Hi, I'm Gary.

I have been working in IBM for the past 8 years. I started working as a product specialist working in Japan. I worked my way through the ranks through to Sysadmin.. Team Lead. .. Then I was blessed with working in a performing team, and a fire was lit inside me. I woke up .. WANTING to come to work.

What if I could be responsible for not only one, but a team of people who were energised .. engaged and could love their work as much as I did at that time. This is when I decided that I wanted to become a people manager.

I have spent the past year on an insanely steep learning curve as a new front-line manager with 48 direct reports managing Service Delivery for a commercial CRM delivery account for a different IT multinational.

There has been no shortage of challenges. Just to add a little extra complexity, my team are predominately non-english speaking and we support an array of products which are evolving at a dizzying rate.

IBM does have a wealth of tools and networks available to help learn and grow as a new manager, but I am grateful for your generous donation of experience and time. Time which I'm quite sure is required in bulk
to produce a professional quality podcast production.

I enjoy listening to your cast in the evenings when I return from the office. I load my iPod, and take the baby for a looong walk. He soon rocks off to sleep by the rhythm of footsteps and enjoys a soothing sleep, my wife gets a few hours of peace and "me time" and I get some education mixed with entertainment delivered with a dose of healthy excercise.

Thank you for your time and efforts, Sirs.

Now that I have found your site, I look forward to engaging the wider "podship" and learning from your wisdom and experience.

yours

Gary

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

Gary-

What a GREAT note - thanks for joining us, and sharing your situation.

I would think that IS a steep learning curve, going from zero to 48 directs... WOW! Glad we're helping you out.

And great job on the baby/walk/mom alone/podcast solution. I don't believe in multi-tasking... but THAT is brilliant!

It's a privilege to serve you and your family.

Mark

ctomasi's picture

Welcome aboard Gary. We look forward to hearing from you.

adrianbritton's picture

Hi Gary,

I'm the same; pounding the streets of Sydney late at night with a baby, pram and iPod. Maybe run into you (hopefully not too painfully) at some point.

Adrian. :wink:

MattJBeckwith's picture
Licensee BadgeTraining Badge

[quote="lapsiek"]
I have spent the past year on an insanely steep learning curve as a new front-line manager with 48 direct reports...
[/quote]
48 directs - that is steep!

[quote="lapsiek"]Now that I have found your site, I look forward to engaging the wider "podship" and learning from your wisdom and experience.
[/quote]
"Podship"... that's great!

Welcome to the Manager Tools forum Gary! This place is a great compliment to the 'casts, especially with the frequency of Mike and Mark's posts (not to mention the brilliance of a ton of other great posters!).