New Gig Week

Welcome back!  Last time I wrote about my job transition from AudioCodes.  I had a great gig at AudioCodes and I left to regain some semblance of family/work/life balance.  I think we can all agree that "balance" is a misnomer.  It's not really a balance.  It's more of a tension to be managed.  And I wasn't able to manage it well.  So, Tuesday March 5, I turned in my "badge and gun" and rode off into the sunset from AudioCodes.

What have I done since then?  Well, frankly, it's been a nice break.  I had full intentions of visiting a few friends, work on a few "honey do" items at home, etc.  But, as is often the case, life threw a curve ball.  The JCPS (Jefferson County Public Schools) teachers are in the middle of a season of "sick out" times.  There are a number of controversial political battles taking place in my home state of Kentucky.  I am not going to get into any debates or pros/cons here.  But, since the Teachers have been "sick" a number of days recently, we were given the gift of multiple family days where I was off work.  So we took several day trips and it was great!  I really enjoyed our time at museums, and visiting family, and visiting the Toyota Plant where they make the Camry and such like that.  I was able to sleep in every now and then and spend some extra time with my family.  I haven't had a lot of that recently, so, to be granted five or six extra days together – well – that was nice.  It felt like an extra Spring Break!

This Monday though, it was time to begin my trek towards my new gig.  I woke up, had breakfast, drove to Hertz to get a rental car, and then headed about 5 1/2 hours Northeast to Cleveland.

Cleveland?  Yes, Cleveland.

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My new role is with Eaton Corporation.  Who is Eaton?  Well, for those of you that don't know – Eaton is a Power and Industrial Company.  A nice tagline is "We make what matters work."  You can read a little more about the nearly 100,000 employees in hundreds of sites in roughly 175 countries around the world on the "about us" page of the Eaton.com website.  I started Tuesday in a newly formed role of Solutions Architect – Collaborative Technologies.  It's in the Infrastructure Center of Excellence (INFCOE) and helps design and implement creative technology solutions across the gamut of Eaton itself.  Here's a little copy/paste from the job description itself.

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The Solutions Architect โ€“ Collaborative Technologies will be responsible for providing the technical strategy and supporting IT frameworks to guide the successful design, deployment and operations of IT solutions; project based. The scope of this role includes multiple technical or functional areas at Sector level broad solutions and standards for a particular business area (Human Resources, Supply Chain, Finance, etc.) and/or a particular platform (Oracle, Java, etc.). Strategic horizon (3 – 5 years) 
Making what matters work at Eaton takes the passion of every employee around the world. We create an environment where creativity, invention and discovery become reality, each and every day. Itโ€™s where bold, bright professionals like you can reach your full potentialโ€”and where you can help us reach ours

  • You will plan for future-state technology portfolios and IT program investments
  • You will develop, communicate, and deploy architecture governance processes
  • You will drive the application of emerging technologies to current Eaton environments
  • You will drive solution architecture, develop cost models, ensure technical alignment and facilitate technical solution delivery.
  • You will develop integration methodologies between new and existing technologies
  • You will be accountable for maintaining high levels of solution adoption, performance, availability and capacity, demonstrating a commitment to quality.
  • You will work within Eaton's IT Organization to successfully influence the direction of key technical elements of the solution environment.
  • You will own Strategic Planning process

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I'm crazy excited about the new opportunity.  Some of my first areas of attack will be related to Voice, Video and Collaborative technology – so – pretty much right in my sweet spot.  I've been in Cleveland this week and head home tomorrow.  I'll remain in Kentucky and continue to work from home.  Eaton does have some presence in Kentucky that I may visit from time to time; however, my primary workspace remains comfortably nestled in the confines of the Hunter Complex ๐Ÿ™‚

I've got a lot to learn, but, I bring with me significant, relevant technical and leadership experience.  I certainly don't know all the answers; however, I've enjoyed meeting many of my new colleagues and look forward to engaging more and more not only on these first few projects, but also creatively slaying new dragons along the way.

So, that's a glimpse into DW-land.  What's going on with you?