Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Welcome to the Honor Roll, part of ServiceNow University. The Honor Roll brings you the stories of ServiceNow learners who have transitioned and advanced their careers with ServiceNow University. Listen and be inspired to take the next step in your ServiceNow career.
32af4241-115f-49c8-8f85-2f3c52fa6eef-0
You are listening to ServiceNow
University Radio,
32af4241-115f-49c8-8f85-2f3c52fa6eef-1
your ultimate source for the latest
product news, inspiring use cases,
32af4241-115f-49c8-8f85-2f3c52fa6eef-2
expert selling tips and success stories
designed to empower go to market teams.
5fe186bf-e83c-4709-8381-8f502b229f95-0
Sometimes the first step toward a new
future happens long before the
5fe186bf-e83c-4709-8381-8f502b229f95-1
opportunity arrives.
86818844-43b8-42db-9662-cff3352d1789-0
It can start with how you carry yourself,
what you believe is possible,
86818844-43b8-42db-9662-cff3352d1789-1
and the choices you make when no one else
can see where they might lead.
990dbbc7-eb17-44da-ab04-d4dc9a2ba4fb-0
For Devon,
that preparation happened years before
990dbbc7-eb17-44da-ab04-d4dc9a2ba4fb-1
ServiceNow and eventually met him at a
pivotal moment in his life.
44469946-aa7f-437b-8e56-36952e981962-0
Welcome to the Honor Roll,
a ServiceNow University podcast
44469946-aa7f-437b-8e56-36952e981962-1
celebrating the people and experiences
behind careers and the ServiceNow
44469946-aa7f-437b-8e56-36952e981962-2
ecosystem.
2d57ba09-3699-4528-8e5b-569c392ba974-0
I'm your host, Jasmine,
and today I'm joined by Devon Tyson,
2d57ba09-3699-4528-8e5b-569c392ba974-1
Principal Platform Operations Strategist.
bd88246c-dc6c-4b24-b408-1c0958a1f98b-0
Devon's story is 1 of preparation,
intentionality and being ready when an
bd88246c-dc6c-4b24-b408-1c0958a1f98b-1
unexpected opportunity arrives.
124fe923-07ee-443b-b8fc-55a37120a07a-0
In this episode,
he shares how his upbringing and early
124fe923-07ee-443b-b8fc-55a37120a07a-1
habit of thinking beyond his
circumstances and a pivotal introduction
124fe923-07ee-443b-b8fc-55a37120a07a-2
to rise up helped shape his path into the
ServiceNow ecosystem.
fbcdfefa-901c-4840-8ef5-5a377bd1c5de-0
Hi, Devon.
3d386b2d-bf8c-4f3d-8239-864fab9c55b4-0
Welcome to the honor roll.
9443c9ee-be95-4e5b-84da-5050bd93947d-0
Hi, Jasmine.
f8396aa0-4925-4ffd-8318-72ef45336e88-0
Thank you for having me.
07238126-3c67-469c-af78-39ebe48fc1e2-0
Yeah, of course.
96ddaf1d-7383-4c48-92ef-4928d9a196c0-0
I'm so excited to tell your story and
we're just going to jump right in and
96ddaf1d-7383-4c48-92ef-4928d9a196c0-1
start at the beginning.
2ca0e707-8086-4d12-9fcf-962950f74c52-0
Before we get into service now and how
you entered the ecosystem,
2ca0e707-8086-4d12-9fcf-962950f74c52-1
tell me a little bit about how you grew
up and how that shaped your perspective
2ca0e707-8086-4d12-9fcf-962950f74c52-2
of success and long term thinking.
055f76f6-acb3-457c-abc5-d1097eaa11d1-0
Sure.
84f4ada2-3edb-480d-ba88-79c4dfd16431-0
So I grew up in two different places,
right?
1b35440f-7394-4adf-aed5-c86f38120c83-0
So I grew up in New York City,
the South Bronx.
fa073990-7e82-4ef5-b5d2-79fb422d494d-0
I grew up between there and Southside,
Jamaica, Queens,
fa073990-7e82-4ef5-b5d2-79fb422d494d-1
and I spent the first half of my my
childhood in the South Bronx where,
fa073990-7e82-4ef5-b5d2-79fb422d494d-2
you know, we were raised in a brownstone,
but we didn't have like brownstone
fa073990-7e82-4ef5-b5d2-79fb422d494d-3
resources.
5cf9bb1c-060c-4689-82e9-8432298d9b90-0
We weren't, you know,
the part of the family that procured it
5cf9bb1c-060c-4689-82e9-8432298d9b90-1
and set it up for the family.
690471a4-7ab5-492f-a1a1-acae3d9d0e42-0
We were like,
I don't want to say project living,
690471a4-7ab5-492f-a1a1-acae3d9d0e42-1
but like, you know,
we didn't have as many resources as as as,
690471a4-7ab5-492f-a1a1-acae3d9d0e42-2
as some families that we were lower class.
32ca36e3-07c6-4f4f-8222-73972074b4a2-0
We've been,
but we made the most with what we had.
0f7bdc1c-ac39-47fa-87ea-e60cea853a96-0
And that's something that I carried
throughout my life,
0f7bdc1c-ac39-47fa-87ea-e60cea853a96-1
just always making the most with what I
have.
d6c9a899-dd7f-4784-a31e-b1dcaebe71de-0
When I moved to Southside Jamaica,
acquaintance, I lived with my dad.
bef65632-10af-4c26-be23-6c53ecf31355-0
I was 11 years old and I went to high
school there and went to junior high
bef65632-10af-4c26-be23-6c53ecf31355-1
school there.
56c70fb8-141a-43c6-b82b-2d6d8b93dc55-0
Most of that part of my life,
I learned how to just conduct myself as
56c70fb8-141a-43c6-b82b-2d6d8b93dc55-1
an individual and treat people with
compassion regardless of circumstance.
bb130da2-f7c8-42d6-b346-4ec161b4727b-0
I was one of those kids that was always,
you know,
bb130da2-f7c8-42d6-b346-4ec161b4727b-1
always had always had to go to church,
even though I'd rather be home playing
bb130da2-f7c8-42d6-b346-4ec161b4727b-2
video games or outside with my friends.
25b13be3-062a-4dd6-b854-e950d0e7eb32-0
My dad made sure that I had some sort of
stability and, and routine in my life.
a4842651-5e59-4102-8e99-61acebe265df-0
And through that,
I learned just how important stability
a4842651-5e59-4102-8e99-61acebe265df-1
was.
e4c91513-cb23-4c5a-9e13-61a0c14b2a02-0
But outside of stability,
taking some risks, some calculated risks,
e4c91513-cb23-4c5a-9e13-61a0c14b2a02-1
and just always treating people right no
matter where I'm at,
e4c91513-cb23-4c5a-9e13-61a0c14b2a02-2
always offering and a helping hand and
always trying to put myself in a position
e4c91513-cb23-4c5a-9e13-61a0c14b2a02-3
to be a resource to others.
ea8799c2-b2bf-4774-9cf6-dd0d31cd1f57-0
Those are some of the things that I
learned and you know where I grew up in
ea8799c2-b2bf-4774-9cf6-dd0d31cd1f57-1
those type of environments.
9885c7c8-62cf-4358-9369-64c3b46d6843-0
I think sometimes you can get caught up
in what you see and what you think is
9885c7c8-62cf-4358-9369-64c3b46d6843-1
possible for yourself.
1f97bd1f-7b75-436a-a2c5-e509dcef5f51-0
How do you think that your environment
shapes those beliefs?
03028f0e-38a2-43bc-9678-e2d08d950692-0
Whether that was positively or negatively?
00b5589d-830a-4b29-9801-81d73ec132de-0
It shaped my beliefs in a number of ways.
42c937a4-c3cc-4b90-8baf-8e00d4407e58-0
It taught me that people were more
important than things because I had many
42c937a4-c3cc-4b90-8baf-8e00d4407e58-1
long lasting relationships,
friends that I still have to this day
42c937a4-c3cc-4b90-8baf-8e00d4407e58-2
since I was three years old.
711000e9-885a-4f12-aa91-a55b6e1e8c08-0
And it taught me that if you put your
best foot forward and you have a plan,
711000e9-885a-4f12-aa91-a55b6e1e8c08-1
that the Sky's the limit.
15e27a26-a083-4bc0-8c0b-0f0b4f064e17-0
Some people, I would say,
in my experience,
15e27a26-a083-4bc0-8c0b-0f0b4f064e17-1
have always shared with me how they
didn't believe that what they were
15e27a26-a083-4bc0-8c0b-0f0b4f064e17-2
pursuing was obtainable.
83e1cb6e-601e-4082-b197-ce9a7d42e792-0
But I always believed in the kind of
humbling,
83e1cb6e-601e-4082-b197-ce9a7d42e792-1
the expectations of what I wanted and
kind of seeing everything that came after
83e1cb6e-601e-4082-b197-ce9a7d42e792-2
that as a bonus.
41e28f06-f67d-4939-9da4-64632ebc2a14-0
And I think that the energy that you
derive from those bonus feelings, right?
94245cc8-d83d-4bd9-974d-bd200edc408b-0
Just knowing that growing up where I grew
up, you know,
94245cc8-d83d-4bd9-974d-bd200edc408b-1
sometimes we didn't have lights for a few
days.
49b39866-6bfe-4f65-9395-2016d21770f1-0
Sometimes, you know,
it was water instead of milk and your
49b39866-6bfe-4f65-9395-2016d21770f1-1
cereal.
c110aca3-3b05-4ad3-be58-cf612a799b24-0
Like we just made do with what we had.
d6758542-2b31-4770-8f2e-a189ce86f6d0-0
And many people where I come from did,
I'm not, you know, like a special case.
e23ddb06-bb64-404a-9503-7c0147d52226-0
But I believe that many of us,
including myself,
e23ddb06-bb64-404a-9503-7c0147d52226-1
that come from those environments,
understand that what it means to have
e23ddb06-bb64-404a-9503-7c0147d52226-2
little to nothing.
de057f4a-16fb-4635-978c-0181faebd3dc-0
When you get a little bit more than that,
it's important to humble yourself as you
de057f4a-16fb-4635-978c-0181faebd3dc-1
become a little bit more successful in in
your your area or your field.
8c689ba1-6283-4cb7-9de3-fdd8eb2d404d-0
Definitely.
7434d560-cf51-42a3-aad9-d93b8191bb56-0
Yeah.
6c6dcf81-a099-4ac8-9929-c40c3ce008e0-0
It sounds like those early experiences
definitely gave you this strong sense of
6c6dcf81-a099-4ac8-9929-c40c3ce008e0-1
responsibility, like you said,
and resourcefulness.
05587a4f-b801-4b58-87e6-22560c56a0f8-0
But it also seems to have shaped your
ability to imagine something bigger than
05587a4f-b801-4b58-87e6-22560c56a0f8-1
what you saw in front of you.
ce1c1f8e-3920-4a41-a42d-65ee5f95d86c-0
And like you said,
just making sure that you're very mindful
ce1c1f8e-3920-4a41-a42d-65ee5f95d86c-1
to be a good steward of the opportunities
that are presented to you.
f9322c02-e8df-4861-b25d-9437a851349e-0
So with that being said,
we're going to kind of Fast forward a
f9322c02-e8df-4861-b25d-9437a851349e-1
little bit growing up in the North and
now you're past school and everything
f9322c02-e8df-4861-b25d-9437a851349e-2
like that.
66233865-c371-4d0e-ae75-28723ccf52e7-0
What did your career path look like prior
to entering ServiceNow?
1a127ce1-2ebb-44e5-a72a-3d402b646726-0
What were you doing and kind of what did
you imagine yourself getting into in the
1a127ce1-2ebb-44e5-a72a-3d402b646726-1
long term?
086cbc00-a54d-44b6-a7ce-02cc700f3bfc-0
Before I was introduced to service,
now I was in in management.
2ec62b1b-dfdc-4ee9-a867-200136dde2c6-0
I was a senior GM for a fitness
organization.
0a2f890c-d0e7-4c58-8f61-b426660f34b3-0
I got into Talent Sports International.
44525b3c-37dd-4329-8ba8-8004cd9950f2-0
Some people know it as New York Sports
Club, Boston Sports Club,
44525b3c-37dd-4329-8ba8-8004cd9950f2-1
depends on where you're at.
84395c85-30db-43ac-ae28-3131bf976b0a-0
I got into that just because I wanted to
help people in the best way possible.
10d44051-88c3-4def-a1f3-8fe534534fe7-0
I was quite successful,
so I was getting a lot of good feedback
10d44051-88c3-4def-a1f3-8fe534534fe7-1
around taking care of my body and all of
that good stuff and eating healthy.
bd21b71a-d83d-4ac7-a8b1-4f5b72deed2e-0
And I wanted to help other people to
attain those goals that they had them.
f1898375-f181-402d-95f1-454895432cd5-0
Outside of being a senior,
GMI was also doing regional management
f1898375-f181-402d-95f1-454895432cd5-1
for like a managed security organization.
52016814-56ab-43d5-b116-39b768cadc26-0
So that's like alarm systems and just
security for, you know,
52016814-56ab-43d5-b116-39b768cadc26-1
local stores and chain stores.
de4a76dc-7d43-496a-9187-e7da35899610-0
And I would just ensure that, you know,
there's they're secure and this system's
de4a76dc-7d43-496a-9187-e7da35899610-1
always functional and that the police are
showing up if your alarms going off.
f3a2c84f-fd5f-4278-a3ca-720c16b0f7f4-0
But as AGM and a regional manager,
I managed people mostly.
ba417601-4136-4fd0-b44c-efc9643b944c-0
And that taught me, you know,
admittedly so,
ba417601-4136-4fd0-b44c-efc9643b944c-1
that I was good at managing people and
there were a lot of opportunities in
ba417601-4136-4fd0-b44c-efc9643b944c-2
areas that I wasn't as good.
b45d2b46-6331-4355-a472-652c247cb781-0
It's important that we all look at our
flaws, but we're not doing well.
98a95622-657c-4b3c-89ae-7828d13453c7-0
Get that feedback,
regardless of whether it's good,
98a95622-657c-4b3c-89ae-7828d13453c7-1
bad or ugly from the people you're
working with,
98a95622-657c-4b3c-89ae-7828d13453c7-2
from the systems you're you're working on
and try to try your best to work on those
98a95622-657c-4b3c-89ae-7828d13453c7-3
areas and take full ownership of that.
64688951-9711-4da4-ab08-cb2c0e2984fd-0
I kind of just want to set the scene for
folks who are listening because when you
64688951-9711-4da4-ab08-cb2c0e2984fd-1
and I were speaking before,
you told me a very interesting or shared
64688951-9711-4da4-ab08-cb2c0e2984fd-2
a very interesting image with me,
which is that you were showing up to work
64688951-9711-4da4-ab08-cb2c0e2984fd-3
when you were working for the gym in a
suit when other people were kind of
64688951-9711-4da4-ab08-cb2c0e2984fd-4
coming in and you know,
obviously workout attires,
64688951-9711-4da4-ab08-cb2c0e2984fd-5
I'm imagining sneakers, sweatpants,
that sort of thing.
9f31a152-25a2-4a67-815d-3a59f764f494-0
I understand you were a manager,
so there were certain expectations you
9f31a152-25a2-4a67-815d-3a59f764f494-1
had,
but I'm assuming that that wasn't the
9f31a152-25a2-4a67-815d-3a59f764f494-2
norm for everyone who is in your position.
8a17e19e-7f3e-4653-a5be-33f65c991eba-0
So what was driving the mindset for you
with that?
55184bb1-cbce-42a2-9e83-ae76a33f0691-0
What did the suit represent for you?
8fdaa22a-0ee9-4a82-a1ad-71ff41d8ce9f-0
Oh, that's a good question.
4b725574-034a-4ce0-9496-2a0edc29c326-0
Yes.
671bf7b4-e5ae-4397-941b-3eaa84973a7b-0
I was the only GM major that any,
any employee.
f1b565bc-f9be-424c-9218-77dc4a111330-0
I was the only employee within the entire
company that was showing up to work in a
f1b565bc-f9be-424c-9218-77dc4a111330-1
suit.
a62aa974-ef1f-4975-b6f4-0112df25a4b4-0
Yeah, it was a gym.
12147550-80b1-4047-ad42-b5a6e530ddfc-0
People are coming in and I think our gym
attire was like the,
12147550-80b1-4047-ad42-b5a6e530ddfc-1
the team shirt and slacks or not slacks
like khakis and for some people,
12147550-80b1-4047-ad42-b5a6e530ddfc-2
shorts are just like casual attire.
33aae401-4c8f-4804-b353-c0b40cc4062f-0
So sneakers because you're picking up
weights and you're doing stuff like that,
33aae401-4c8f-4804-b353-c0b40cc4062f-1
right?
689dd299-0de6-4b79-9140-10529c15e2c0-0
What was important to me was that I
always showed up as who I saw myself
689dd299-0de6-4b79-9140-10529c15e2c0-1
becoming as opposed to who other people
told me I was or where I currently AM in
689dd299-0de6-4b79-9140-10529c15e2c0-2
life.
19ae9080-89e3-4b3b-a871-2557cde74594-0
I always saw myself as a professional who
wanted to look his best at all points in
19ae9080-89e3-4b3b-a871-2557cde74594-1
time.
da444b9d-7284-48a4-aa12-41aaffe056a3-0
But I also liked the routine coming from
like private schools and stuff like that.
79a1cab1-ed0a-4030-905c-b19bff46e1e2-0
I like.
681875c0-c60a-4c0f-acca-27236b03ab0f-0
I thought it was just easier to wear a
suit as well.
6b49309d-b0d4-4812-bd72-dfd3bab02c4d-0
But before I became a GM,
it was always my dream to like run my own
6b49309d-b0d4-4812-bd72-dfd3bab02c4d-1
business.
1e14b630-7427-4216-aa04-48edd256d894-0
I always wanted to be in a position to
have something to call my own.
c7c00587-2085-4e2d-ae9d-07fb7b02bc71-0
And when I got that job,
it was so important to me that I show up
c7c00587-2085-4e2d-ae9d-07fb7b02bc71-1
the same way I would have shown up for my
own business because I was in charge of
c7c00587-2085-4e2d-ae9d-07fb7b02bc71-2
all of the numbers and you know,
the profits and losses and hiring and
c7c00587-2085-4e2d-ae9d-07fb7b02bc71-3
expansion, all of that.
8a08684d-730b-4309-ad92-eba63485ddeb-0
And I wanted,
I wanted to approach it like I would have
8a08684d-730b-4309-ad92-eba63485ddeb-1
had I opened a local store or had I
opened a bakery or anything.
182ca2e2-2ffa-496f-ad83-a5ea15613f25-0
I would show up to work in a suit
regardless of how everyone else is
182ca2e2-2ffa-496f-ad83-a5ea15613f25-1
stressed or what the dress code is,
because it's just how I saw myself.
84c3ef7b-0307-47af-8632-0a89d0de9c40-0
I always saw myself as someone in a suit.
886dac79-35ab-4b1b-a67a-dc9e40045eef-0
And now I go to work or when I'm doing
presentations in front of, you know,
886dac79-35ab-4b1b-a67a-dc9e40045eef-1
C-Suite execs and executive directors and,
you know,
886dac79-35ab-4b1b-a67a-dc9e40045eef-2
high level managers and just other peers
of mine as well.
c9022f16-0085-481f-b207-9ccea66b0aeb-0
I show up to work in a suit,
and it feels like, you know,
c9022f16-0085-481f-b207-9ccea66b0aeb-1
I'm right at home.
1d37bbd0-5876-4374-8bfb-2db0193d5e8d-0
Yeah.
efb21f0f-04f6-4a0e-b3ab-0a064eba5380-0
I love that so much.
09e69c54-a0e7-407c-bffe-5e226ba64fb9-0
And what stands out for me is,
especially when you first told me about
09e69c54-a0e7-407c-bffe-5e226ba64fb9-1
that,
is that you weren't waiting for this
09e69c54-a0e7-407c-bffe-5e226ba64fb9-2
title or an opportunity to start seeing
yourself differently.
818cd73f-58d0-4501-b6ec-d275c67462f5-0
You had,
you knew what you wanted ultimately for
818cd73f-58d0-4501-b6ec-d275c67462f5-1
your life and for your career.
2eee02e1-02d4-4647-a934-30ee04cdc0ba-0
And so you showed up like that even when
it may have not looked like it.
a6856f77-fdc6-4a2f-997d-35df79613f82-0
It belonged in the spaces that you were
in because you were already preparing for
a6856f77-fdc6-4a2f-997d-35df79613f82-1
the type of environment that you hoped to
be in that you are.
6040b9d3-ef38-42fc-b2b9-1a35111f6d68-0
And now.
cde9e9d1-a115-4b22-96a1-1a9bce28c25c-0
And so eventually an opportunity did
appear from working in the gym to where
cde9e9d1-a115-4b22-96a1-1a9bce28c25c-1
you are now,
but through a connection you probably
cde9e9d1-a115-4b22-96a1-1a9bce28c25c-2
didn't really anticipate.
bd1685c2-894d-41a5-9890-6a41d849ccc6-0
So how did you first hear about Rise Up,
which was then at the time known as Next
bd1685c2-894d-41a5-9890-6a41d849ccc6-1
Gen.
32a1742d-9a2a-4f0c-8b7c-f0202e2af8bd-0
I learned about Rise Up through Karen
Pavlin,
32a1742d-9a2a-4f0c-8b7c-f0202e2af8bd-1
who is a chief chief workforce innovation
officer of ServiceNow.
e515819b-d932-4684-a11a-17f0641cfd68-0
When I connected with her and we
connected on LinkedIn through my wife,
e515819b-d932-4684-a11a-17f0641cfd68-1
Karen was so ecstatic about just being in
a position to help other people.
413ebaa6-4198-4503-b920-31338386fcf6-0
If I could rewind for a second,
my first ever retail job,
413ebaa6-4198-4503-b920-31338386fcf6-1
I was 18 years old.
a246a694-85ee-4546-8d44-0b0c19dac430-0
I was working at Staples.
1b04ef48-89ab-49eb-bf3a-732aba6a60a3-0
I didn't have a very good manager,
the GM of the location.
cf7bb4c7-2105-43a4-8e07-384debd17c78-0
After about two years, it was a long,
gruesome 2 years in terms of like getting
cf7bb4c7-2105-43a4-8e07-384debd17c78-1
hours and stuff like that and the kind of
work that they would have us doing and
cf7bb4c7-2105-43a4-8e07-384debd17c78-2
working overnight and all that stuff.
0cbcbd3c-faf8-44d0-abc4-547239930f45-0
He was fired for stealing wages.
cf251fc4-83c5-49f7-87c7-c24ae09049df-0
So he was essentially cutting our hours
that we worked so that he can get a
cf251fc4-83c5-49f7-87c7-c24ae09049df-1
bigger bonus and he was eventually fired
for that.
bbe70b3c-1281-4d87-9f88-6d0887262745-0
When a new manager came in and saw what
was happening,
bbe70b3c-1281-4d87-9f88-6d0887262745-1
he reported and that was it.
a8f5c19b-503a-4812-a857-5d5d8dc1ac6e-0
So I didn't have a really good at such a
young age.
5fe0716d-54d6-413c-88e5-c6fc80566805-0
I was very impressionable.
a41a33f2-e2c1-4bc0-a1af-79a2778a03a9-0
I didn't have a very good opinion or or
outlook on people in those types of
a41a33f2-e2c1-4bc0-a1af-79a2778a03a9-1
positions,
which is also another reason I wanted to
a41a33f2-e2c1-4bc0-a1af-79a2778a03a9-2
be in that position because I knew I
would never treat other people that way.
ea7dc938-44e2-47dd-9040-ab31ef219d3e-0
And so when Kerry came along and someone
in her position was so ecstatic and so
ea7dc938-44e2-47dd-9040-ab31ef219d3e-1
authentic about helping someone she
didn't know have an opportunity to do
ea7dc938-44e2-47dd-9040-ab31ef219d3e-2
more and show up the way that they can
possibly show up,
ea7dc938-44e2-47dd-9040-ab31ef219d3e-3
it was a very unique feeling and
opportunity.
9506bde6-49c8-4be1-bfbe-c74fa7d2da9e-0
And so she introduced me to the Rise Up
program.
4bce1e2f-f161-403d-8af3-a1501e2b060b-0
I applied and I got started in the March
cohort of 2023.
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-0
Very nice yes and so I'm someone who
thinks a lot about synchronicities and
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-1
kind of these things that happen when
we're maybe not aware that we're prepared
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-2
for them,
right there's it's really hard to feel
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-3
like you're always prepared or ready for
circumstances that happen,
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-4
but I think that it happened at such an
interesting time in your life because
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-5
from my understanding,
you had just welcomed your daughter,
7a09421d-a4a8-4575-a41c-d6075b1501b3-6
you chose to spend your paternity leave
actually completing this program.
e47f2271-1578-4763-a6e8-aa924b00587a-0
So walk us through that decision when so
many new things are happening.
00eaeea1-fc81-4219-a582-8a7c7e8eb2e4-0
You're you're balancing fatherhood.
b9f74ba6-28d5-4624-9dea-b8e3a7f7e007-0
And then you also get this opportunity
where it may have felt like, OK,
b9f74ba6-28d5-4624-9dea-b8e3a7f7e007-1
if I don't do this now,
I'll never be able to do this.
196b454c-f0a6-407d-a591-69a8ef9d7011-0
Right.
febd06bf-9d4f-40ad-ac46-a39265799196-0
So how did you make the leap from being
someone who was maybe just thinking about
febd06bf-9d4f-40ad-ac46-a39265799196-1
a career change or thinking about getting
into something new to actually taking
febd06bf-9d4f-40ad-ac46-a39265799196-2
advantage of what was being presented in
front of you?
c5475ab1-1149-4e38-ae7b-b194251f36cc-0
Great question.
ea5f3d34-092a-4966-b755-924ddc67597e-0
I was always interested in getting into
tech and IT spaces,
ea5f3d34-092a-4966-b755-924ddc67597e-1
but I wasn't the most technical person.
c696279a-1121-480d-ab6d-365e4bd4697b-0
Just to rewind for a SEC,
I was at GM when for Town Sports
c696279a-1121-480d-ab6d-365e4bd4697b-1
International before the pandemic.
666c40af-bb13-4457-970b-4081120d145d-0
When the pandemic hit, gyms were closed,
a lot of us were out of work and you know,
666c40af-bb13-4457-970b-4081120d145d-1
it was a fresh start for quite a few
people.
6baef8d6-2c2d-4f8a-95ae-f9efd8623461-0
I did become a regional manager within a
different company.
83179c0b-64fe-47ad-a1fe-3d4d44651fc3-0
However,
it wasn't the space that I wanted to be
83179c0b-64fe-47ad-a1fe-3d4d44651fc3-1
in and it was just something like I was I
was good at,
83179c0b-64fe-47ad-a1fe-3d4d44651fc3-2
but it wasn't exactly paying the bills
that the way that would be ideal for
83179c0b-64fe-47ad-a1fe-3d4d44651fc3-3
welcoming a child into the world.
2214eb1a-cbfc-4e51-8176-70b60dd16c1f-0
When this came about,
everything just seemed to come about in
2214eb1a-cbfc-4e51-8176-70b60dd16c1f-1
like a divine way.
423f8581-963a-4e6c-94ce-b6640ae6adad-0
I've got the offer.
889a444f-4b7d-402f-a76f-6482de185d8c-0
I met Karen and I believe like November
of the previous year,
889a444f-4b7d-402f-a76f-6482de185d8c-1
and I didn't hear back after we spoke
about the rise up, about the Next Gen.
6c8dfa1f-0d5f-4789-9953-7c6723148c95-0
program,
which is now rise up until about January
6c8dfa1f-0d5f-4789-9953-7c6723148c95-1
or so.
101ace8b-0820-4824-9cba-10eed4924a58-0
But it was like 2 months of uncertainty
and not really knowing when it was going
101ace8b-0820-4824-9cba-10eed4924a58-1
to start.
e782f3a2-b8bd-455f-a981-2f7db369bf28-0
And so when I did hear back,
it just so happened to be around the same
e782f3a2-b8bd-455f-a981-2f7db369bf28-1
time that I was getting paternity leave.
8183e6aa-29a6-41d8-9d93-bb097b4646d9-0
It was divine timing.
a1abbc96-c9f7-4724-b58f-238003354b73-0
No doubt God was involved in that.
ff2fc56c-6adb-4d2c-b426-3639b5158e15-0
The program was 10 weeks.
b94c47cb-ad50-4cc7-ba43-ad62a29e671b-0
I started paternity leave like 2 days
before the program.
46dc2c3f-036b-4cfe-899d-d5ea46d49807-0
Wow.
018217b0-86dd-41bf-81a1-00fae6c2ce92-0
Yeah.
fef1ec70-26cc-4f72-8caf-5ef19e64eba7-0
And it was tough.
464d70b1-221c-4de6-8ea3-e4df0cbad7e2-0
We just welcomed my daughter 2 weeks
later or so.
81e4932d-62a6-4d8f-af59-a80b03204b60-0
It was tough,
but it was great to be right next to her
81e4932d-62a6-4d8f-af59-a80b03204b60-1
and kind of go through this entire thing
as a family.
466b188f-4cf0-4df5-ad9f-e369a33070b4-0
And I couldn't have done it without her
mom, you know,
466b188f-4cf0-4df5-ad9f-e369a33070b4-1
And I couldn't have done it without that
divine timing.
94bb64f4-4a00-480d-b762-b95d741dc3de-0
I couldn't have done it without Karen's
involvement.
7e9a68b2-ae87-46d0-80a8-0efe4f1bb59c-0
And everything just came together,
and it seemed like it was the only
7e9a68b2-ae87-46d0-80a8-0efe4f1bb59c-1
direction to go on top of it being
something that I wanted to do.
a3b5f446-eb06-45b4-bb67-80106559478b-0
Yeah.
5c567483-0e7d-44ea-b329-57f6ad4f8e43-0
And so it all panned out.
5ecb418b-fd7c-457d-83f5-e8cdd8e59cdd-0
It wasn't a hard decision to make,
but it was a hard decision to carry out,
5ecb418b-fd7c-457d-83f5-e8cdd8e59cdd-1
for sure.
7902a78c-8cb9-4f40-ae9a-29c46c9669a7-0
Yeah.
035561c4-37e8-4c7f-865f-27ed54dc7db0-0
That I think there's something so
powerful about it arriving at the same
035561c4-37e8-4c7f-865f-27ed54dc7db0-1
time that you became a father because
it's like you weren't just thinking about
035561c4-37e8-4c7f-865f-27ed54dc7db0-2
your own future anymore.
73cb3559-45cd-42a8-9691-8721f8a98202-0
It was also you thinking about the kind
of life that you wanted to build for your,
73cb3559-45cd-42a8-9691-8721f8a98202-1
for your daughter, for your family.
7655d945-e873-4fde-bd13-ee5a878c2505-0
I mean, completing that program,
it sounds like that gave you a foundation,
7655d945-e873-4fde-bd13-ee5a878c2505-1
but stepping into an entirely new
professional ecosystem, all of that,
7655d945-e873-4fde-bd13-ee5a878c2505-2
that's also a huge transition that's
happening concurrently with becoming a
7655d945-e873-4fde-bd13-ee5a878c2505-3
father.
9d8968a0-7be5-4500-a0d0-9a7a33186242-0
So what did that transition into the
service now ecosystem look like kind of
9d8968a0-7be5-4500-a0d0-9a7a33186242-1
just as far as the more nitty gritty
details of that, You know,
9d8968a0-7be5-4500-a0d0-9a7a33186242-2
what surprised you about the community or
the curriculum?
e858cd5c-664a-4c11-b67b-966fcd2732b6-0
What skills did you find that your
previous job also kind of helped you as
e858cd5c-664a-4c11-b67b-966fcd2732b6-1
being valuable in a way that maybe you
didn't expect when you first started?
03efd5a8-1754-4e51-8b75-dd8717cc24e9-0
When I first started the Next Gen.
cc29d8fa-4407-4d45-9165-3f000b29fded-0
program,
what surprised me upfront was how
cc29d8fa-4407-4d45-9165-3f000b29fded-1
involved the staff was.
0e163f5d-4d45-4b82-9c26-082e4730d4df-0
The staff was, quite frankly,
I'll just be honest, I mean,
0e163f5d-4d45-4b82-9c26-082e4730d4df-1
they seemed a little too happy to like to
be doing their job.
d8ef6af5-33d2-4131-8397-ad5c45a1c885-0
Like, I'm a New Yorker.
3c517efe-dae3-4665-8269-087885d91243-0
I,
I know many listeners won't be from New
3c517efe-dae3-4665-8269-087885d91243-1
York, but people here barely smile.
3f82a626-d44e-48a2-b0bb-d98b70f8a3b9-0
They don't say good morning.
c050baf7-3ccf-4f12-810b-bb521296a177-0
People don't really greet each other.
b178fcd0-15cd-4f57-bbad-db06c0e9b674-0
Most New Yorkers are kind of known to be
mean on the outside,
b178fcd0-15cd-4f57-bbad-db06c0e9b674-1
but on the inside will be like,
in a rush to help you if, like,
b178fcd0-15cd-4f57-bbad-db06c0e9b674-2
your tires flat.
bb098d89-92ca-41f2-b08f-7764427c5b96-0
And so these people just seem like really
happy to be doing their job.
463820ba-c238-4801-8844-e6d11df64d5a-0
And I was like, you know,
I'm not going to buy into this because
463820ba-c238-4801-8844-e6d11df64d5a-1
that's not like, possible.
a2607856-e558-4cb4-8aac-403420feec1b-0
Like, no one's this happy.
4a3f802e-9281-4612-9257-b7b0882cfc8e-0
Like, not everybody.
c149c977-7592-4f3f-b858-29ebb29df251-0
As the days went on,
I started noticing that it was consistent.
87fe9f6d-3882-446b-b7d7-05a3e4db54c3-0
I noticed that the staff was willing to
stay after hours to help us outside of
87fe9f6d-3882-446b-b7d7-05a3e4db54c3-1
their work hours.
987e94f6-8bb7-4fef-960b-b7c5f44dc0b4-0
I noticed that their offers to continue
to develop us never like shifted or ended
987e94f6-8bb7-4fef-960b-b7c5f44dc0b4-1
and I was actually developing
relationships with.
31ebd453-bf2b-4dbd-93f8-9670fb4044cf-0
I forgot the exact term.
6bbc9be2-362e-49d2-9e0d-9106baf56f2b-0
I think it's like teaching assistant or
like the heads of the groups with heads
6bbc9be2-362e-49d2-9e0d-9106baf56f2b-1
of groups that weren't part of my group.
e75a6b5c-f639-46ba-976a-a5fb69fc67df-0
And this is before no one knew I would.
c3f90f3b-699f-4b4d-b86c-c70dbfe3dd80-0
I knew Karen Pavlan at the time.
b3f82695-1203-46ee-814d-7facf69ac2a7-0
I didn't share that information,
and this is before I'd like to the film
b3f82695-1203-46ee-814d-7facf69ac2a7-1
and all that stuff.
fe5e79e6-1809-4b96-a300-a4b74c82d79b-0
This was just like people treating you in
an authentically genuine way,
fe5e79e6-1809-4b96-a300-a4b74c82d79b-1
like a member of their community,
like a neighbor,
fe5e79e6-1809-4b96-a300-a4b74c82d79b-2
like they really want to see you succeed.
f6a17dab-1656-46e8-bed1-809eeffa471d-0
And I thought that was important because
the energy behind the teaching that you
f6a17dab-1656-46e8-bed1-809eeffa471d-1
can teach anyone, not anyone,
but you can teach most people how to code.
c1d0bb46-30ed-46b3-be50-4e5ac61aed25-0
You can create a curriculum for anyone.
b6bef62e-a212-4acf-9932-92272073b6ee-0
You can get teachers and you can have
them show people how to do things day and
b6bef62e-a212-4acf-9932-92272073b6ee-1
night.
aaa325b5-8bd9-47a0-a883-a1254df0da88-0
But if the people behind it aren't driven
by something greater than themselves,
aaa325b5-8bd9-47a0-a883-a1254df0da88-1
which was the program,
I think it would collapse.
c796056c-193d-44cb-8e47-e240da0800cf-0
And that wasn't the case with the rise of
program.
932bd135-29cc-4d8c-a395-15bcb767a5cf-0
Some of the tools that I learned that I
was able to carry with me,
932bd135-29cc-4d8c-a395-15bcb767a5cf-1
I should say from work or the ability to
work with others collaboratively on
932bd135-29cc-4d8c-a395-15bcb767a5cf-2
projects,
the ability to lead teams in certain
932bd135-29cc-4d8c-a395-15bcb767a5cf-3
times because we would rotate leadership
roles.
4ea616a4-8a16-4cf8-8b1a-7dccf935f567-0
Some of the technical prowess that I
already developed from like school and
4ea616a4-8a16-4cf8-8b1a-7dccf935f567-1
working in IT and previous roles,
All of that stuff was kind of combined.
a96f08c6-239c-4c91-86a4-ef18d5c72550-0
And I think the program just complemented
all of my weak areas.
de49eba7-d98f-496e-a494-69f659f1a060-0
I love to hear that.
e6923add-08aa-4578-aca6-c4c40eabcb8d-0
Yeah.
35a165f8-932d-4f7d-b416-ceda941bd7bc-0
And it sounds like you,
you really did have a community of folks
35a165f8-932d-4f7d-b416-ceda941bd7bc-1
that really wanted to make sure that you
were successful,
35a165f8-932d-4f7d-b416-ceda941bd7bc-2
that you also had great examples and kind
of these testimonies of what it looks
35a165f8-932d-4f7d-b416-ceda941bd7bc-3
like when you do kind of take that leap
of faith and you invest in yourself.
54833e3a-220d-4a62-bcb5-14d6c30b84d2-0
But I'm sure that you had these moments
of like self doubt and uncertainty even
54833e3a-220d-4a62-bcb5-14d6c30b84d2-1
amidst all the support and positivity
that you were receiving.
6a2510c6-5710-46e1-bd3b-57a813181cd2-0
So how did you ultimately move past that
in order to be where you are today?
d2b6de43-5e8e-4805-9af6-ec642af06e92-0
You know,
how to what were things you were telling
d2b6de43-5e8e-4805-9af6-ec642af06e92-1
yourself or just even just resources
externally that really helped beyond just
d2b6de43-5e8e-4805-9af6-ec642af06e92-2
the community?
0bc597a1-ea00-4fb0-9c41-86c8b42f9ab6-0
I had quite a few moments of self doubt.
415d16dc-4827-4865-95c7-b2cf81d33510-0
When you're going through the program or
when I was going through the program,
415d16dc-4827-4865-95c7-b2cf81d33510-1
you're receiving a lot of information in
a short period of time.
6aa2656f-9f17-44df-b4ee-dd31ba595ae1-0
It was a work shift, essentially.
3f76bd43-1d54-4fb7-aa5f-1751b5581f5a-0
We went in there from 9:00 to 5:00.
81a62e36-c254-44b3-9da1-58d6ce40e045-0
And then depending on your time zone,
you know, it's different.
548afe01-aeda-4985-938d-ba579a1b5b35-0
But 8 hours a day essentially with like,
you know, a break or a few breaks,
548afe01-aeda-4985-938d-ba579a1b5b35-1
but you're taking in a lot of new
information.
3bf116be-022a-4bfe-b882-e7b76286875c-0
And I came to points where I wasn't sure
if I was retaining everything.
2810ecaa-440e-42c8-a9ef-15521d35bf31-0
I wasn't sure if I was learning the key
points and the key areas,
2810ecaa-440e-42c8-a9ef-15521d35bf31-1
if I was just absorbing,
trying to absorb too much information.
ed8cc178-8cea-4dc9-a745-252708009c87-0
There were certain things I wasn't
understanding.
1603fbde-2830-4aab-abce-48c2e15b62e4-0
And you know,
I was able to follow up after,
1603fbde-2830-4aab-abce-48c2e15b62e4-1
but I felt like I was behind.
a2cc9f42-9141-470f-8805-f34de6645bd0-0
There were people getting their certified
system admin certifications before the
a2cc9f42-9141-470f-8805-f34de6645bd0-1
program ended,
and I felt like my mind was blown.
efa53d0f-5cfa-4440-b540-6ef24052d016-0
I was like,
there's no way I'm doing this right
efa53d0f-5cfa-4440-b540-6ef24052d016-1
because this guy's halfway through the
program and he already has a cert and
efa53d0f-5cfa-4440-b540-6ef24052d016-2
some people weren't getting their certs
either at all or for months after,
efa53d0f-5cfa-4440-b540-6ef24052d016-3
weeks after.
b778605c-043e-4414-8295-69c76f946e51-0
And so I wasn't really sure at that time
how to navigate it.
dc80c3f3-0253-422a-aa3e-408d5c4d97e2-0
And So what I decided to do,
some of the things I was telling myself,
dc80c3f3-0253-422a-aa3e-408d5c4d97e2-1
I would say anytime I have any negative
emotion or a self doubt,
dc80c3f3-0253-422a-aa3e-408d5c4d97e2-2
I always think of what's what's the
opposite of that and how can I get there?
e6a72479-d414-48b8-a758-9c7ad26e96d4-0
The opposite of self doubt is,
is confidence.
afbe91a5-e760-420c-b806-ca6fd1b0ac6c-0
I would give myself a road map to
confidence.
63ad239a-3821-433e-8c79-bc06e1af5ac8-0
What does it look like to be confident in
this space?
21ee0e31-91cd-4027-91ea-507f4a139cee-0
What do I need to know?
2671e40e-4a90-4ca3-8639-4dec2597bdbf-0
How prepared do I need to be and how and
what does that person look like?
c7a97364-1cb9-48a9-a5b1-f00a6bbc2836-0
What does he sound like?
6d311a6d-4094-4dd3-96b5-68dfd03a55b6-0
How does he carry himself?
341935e0-63ac-4e46-a75b-796f7aa9a7ca-0
What I would do is I would start
participating a bit more.
48a99bce-aa53-42ff-b9a2-fed02830f9a9-0
I would take opportunities to lead small
group projects.
b912178e-3747-4d44-ab01-b3ba25e76fc6-0
I would speak up and ask questions where
it seemed like it wasn't a good idea to
b912178e-3747-4d44-ab01-b3ba25e76fc6-1
ask questions because nobody else is
asking.
d3ceaf1b-7dcc-4888-a288-07dd81ef9d7f-0
And some of those things are part of my
road map and and as I did that.
210b9578-1aab-4708-a195-0bc749e33e20-0
I was able to give people an opportunity
in the program,
210b9578-1aab-4708-a195-0bc749e33e20-1
the teachers and an opportunity to show
if they are as helpful as they seem than
210b9578-1aab-4708-a195-0bc749e33e20-2
they were.
4035e473-90fa-473d-94ac-70c645076254-0
They didn't let us down.
ad718ef6-525b-4dc0-ac9a-29e8dab1f301-0
They didn't let me down for sure.
772ddffc-4501-4992-87ba-1c0bece54aca-0
All questions were answered.
b27668c2-ff9b-46a4-a44d-819816aa7387-0
After speaking to my my peers,
I learned that I was up to par or in some
b27668c2-ff9b-46a4-a44d-819816aa7387-1
cases I was able to help my peers with
information that I gained and I was able
b27668c2-ff9b-46a4-a44d-819816aa7387-2
to finish the program in a confident
position.
ef13831a-c2a1-40c3-8625-b365ca57ffdc-0
Things I would say to myself as what's
the opposite of of self doubt and how do
ef13831a-c2a1-40c3-8625-b365ca57ffdc-1
I obtain that?
cb9d2716-461c-40b7-8d98-f161e6cbcbb1-0
And then I start taking those steps
definitely.
54dda0ac-0df9-4982-ba21-9faab43a558c-0
And what I'm hearing to that I really
appreciate,
54dda0ac-0df9-4982-ba21-9faab43a558c-1
I think is just the importance of being
really intentional, being strategic,
54dda0ac-0df9-4982-ba21-9faab43a558c-2
but also, like you said,
kind of this opportunity to reflect to on,
54dda0ac-0df9-4982-ba21-9faab43a558c-3
OK,
how can I show a better in these
54dda0ac-0df9-4982-ba21-9faab43a558c-4
situations so that I can be more
successful.
f6d3f47f-dc7a-4edb-878d-b47c861988de-0
And it turns out that life met you where
you were, right?
c16d11b3-14f0-4ba3-a24e-37e824810878-0
You ended up having a lot of support
people who wanted to answer those
c16d11b3-14f0-4ba3-a24e-37e824810878-1
questions for you.
e98c3e53-bcb7-4817-b1a7-3cdbec6e65b3-0
So I love that you just stayed curious
and that you pushed through any sort of
e98c3e53-bcb7-4817-b1a7-3cdbec6e65b3-1
self doubt that you had.
1e4121d5-9d10-43f5-8977-3ab21af26cbd-0
It's like you said,
just show up in a more confident way
1e4121d5-9d10-43f5-8977-3ab21af26cbd-1
because obviously it worked out, right?
7d3d3ea6-30b5-4769-b5b6-701aa92726e3-0
The Vons today,
you're a principal platform operation
7d3d3ea6-30b5-4769-b5b6-701aa92726e3-1
strategist, which is such a cool job.
bf7a8580-c236-41ba-8cbc-dd4a6e5ae9ee-0
I'm sure it's to have and probably,
I'm assuming not somewhere that you would
bf7a8580-c236-41ba-8cbc-dd4a6e5ae9ee-1
have imagined that you would be when you
first started.
f7822fd9-1826-488d-8f6a-413270e3a80f-0
So how did you make the decision when it
came to like the skills,
f7822fd9-1826-488d-8f6a-413270e3a80f-1
the certification that you were pursuing?
b1c9a043-6281-4571-a9d2-1083d45c5df2-0
And if you have any advice for anyone who
wants to be in a similar position as you?
4ecd672a-c8b8-4378-8609-74b57785594e-0
Great question again.
fe6e60cf-fc27-41bd-ab3f-3b9ef0e545be-0
So initially for all of our listeners,
I wanted to be a developer, OK,
fe6e60cf-fc27-41bd-ab3f-3b9ef0e545be-1
for two reasons.
b6d3f1ef-f0d0-442a-ad3e-66bf4bf403f3-0
I thought coding was cool and I thought
it made lots of money.
55ba86f2-4bbd-475d-8cae-69a9b5cc56a1-0
OK, I'll just call it what it is.
6c561083-689d-4943-aa6a-111c32dfa09b-0
People go to work mostly because they
have to pay bills and they want to
6c561083-689d-4943-aa6a-111c32dfa09b-1
support themselves.
19ae8fc3-1781-4134-bd93-1654151e293f-0
And sometimes we take a step up because
we want to make a lot of money.
455c8287-5f01-45f8-89f0-c7f12c06654a-0
We want to make a great amount of money
for whatever personal reasons we have.
4e61338b-dfd8-4f31-b954-4c39b4b3899d-0
I decided that I wanted to be a dev,
and I started going into it.
72a9419a-6e82-492f-a9ca-efc23b70bbe7-0
I started learning everything I could
about development.
2908d4a5-5451-4263-abb7-feecf0ddacee-0
But I'm going to be honest,
every time I took those courses,
2908d4a5-5451-4263-abb7-feecf0ddacee-1
I fell asleep.
0a499f49-ee70-489f-9552-bd7169126318-0
OK, so it may sound embarrassing,
but I'm just going to call it.
89f9c5ab-713b-4bf9-99a0-e1425b844696-0
I'm just going to say what it is because
I want to be fully transparent with
89f9c5ab-713b-4bf9-99a0-e1425b844696-1
everyone who's listening.
86099079-0684-46aa-9980-2d9b133091d0-0
I fell asleep.
d440b568-deea-4ad5-a06f-55330bd815ab-0
I learned very quickly,
I would say over like the course of like
d440b568-deea-4ad5-a06f-55330bd815ab-1
three to six months,
that development being a dev,
d440b568-deea-4ad5-a06f-55330bd815ab-2
which just wasn't for me.
aecc3b29-292e-4509-8eaa-83f30196cf86-0
Coding just wasn't for me.
0b9e518d-16b5-4bf4-9e20-1ccc96e29bb2-0
What I was good at was analyzing
requirements and translating them into
0b9e518d-16b5-4bf4-9e20-1ccc96e29bb2-1
actionable results,
holding people accountable in a positive
0b9e518d-16b5-4bf4-9e20-1ccc96e29bb2-2
fashion and helping them reach their
goals,
0b9e518d-16b5-4bf4-9e20-1ccc96e29bb2-3
creating documentation that helps them
reach their goals,
0b9e518d-16b5-4bf4-9e20-1ccc96e29bb2-4
Translating from the top down.
c771313e-6620-427d-aa67-1ee1751f5ea8-0
I don't even like to use the word top
really.
0d83e3de-219a-4779-bb45-fa216aa2fe0d-0
I mean, in, in organizational hierarchy,
executives are at the top and from let's
0d83e3de-219a-4779-bb45-fa216aa2fe0d-1
say from team to team,
from C-Suite ** and their teams to people
0d83e3de-219a-4779-bb45-fa216aa2fe0d-2
who were just starting out,
who were interns.
3a241fa1-33e9-49ff-985e-91afbadc0c11-0
Those were the things I was good at.
3f0896f6-2080-45b5-ae2f-11aab1a29c8e-0
And what I did,
what I decided to do was I've decided to
3f0896f6-2080-45b5-ae2f-11aab1a29c8e-1
pursue certifications that were in the
realm of what I was already good at as
3f0896f6-2080-45b5-ae2f-11aab1a29c8e-2
opposed to my weak, my weak points.
5ae72dac-d5b4-47a4-8130-38739f4a9863-0
I wanted to,
to maximize and strengthen the areas that
5ae72dac-d5b4-47a4-8130-38739f4a9863-1
I'm already strong in.
2ea8063b-a945-42b0-aaa2-e719f66b1861-0
So I went for the certified system admin
certification and also went for the
2ea8063b-a945-42b0-aaa2-e719f66b1861-1
certified application developer
certification that I didn't get.
ef00dea8-520d-4909-82d5-720f9c93921a-0
That one I want people to know that's OK,
you know,
ef00dea8-520d-4909-82d5-720f9c93921a-1
don't be afraid to admit it if things
didn't work out.
a67bb6aa-e8ce-463c-8ddc-3d9cf3f2514f-0
But I did get my certified system admin
cert because it was something I was
a67bb6aa-e8ce-463c-8ddc-3d9cf3f2514f-1
genuinely curious in.
4825886d-4c32-4012-99cb-2f51d71bfd19-0
I wanted to understand the platform.
4540a2f4-a0f3-482d-9667-73d63a41f66a-0
I wanted to manage systems instead of
people because I know I could really
4540a2f4-a0f3-482d-9667-73d63a41f66a-1
drive systems like hard into the ground
and I can help people manage their own
4540a2f4-a0f3-482d-9667-73d63a41f66a-2
systems as well, which is what I do now.
2e14cf9d-528d-475c-b532-2a1c636d259f-0
I can provide solutions,
I can do those things.
36876db8-2ba4-4bb1-b01d-6e3c9f33bb1d-0
So I started focusing on the areas of the
platform like platform analytics or AKA
36876db8-2ba4-4bb1-b01d-6e3c9f33bb1d-1
performance analytics.
e1f7de96-dec4-4d81-8ea9-732598306ed3-0
I started focusing on system
administration and just like reporting
e1f7de96-dec4-4d81-8ea9-732598306ed3-1
and things of that nature,
things that help me in the business
e1f7de96-dec4-4d81-8ea9-732598306ed3-2
understand the metrics and what's going
on.
845a332c-dbca-44c6-aa27-db65ce398c26-0
I put all of those things into a plan.
976d3368-674b-4e02-8d84-70e20f79c942-0
I wrote it all down.
cc6ffc5f-fdcc-4631-95aa-f3f268a60681-0
For some of you out there that are using
AI,
cc6ffc5f-fdcc-4631-95aa-f3f268a60681-1
use the AI and break it down into
actionable points for yourself.
628ab8d9-65b2-4e27-856b-bba572926530-0
Write a story into the AI if you want to
turn them into actionable points.
fa61ba8b-54f7-4c67-977d-954478597a0b-0
Things that you can attain slowly over
time.
cb4a1702-a8f6-40ab-95df-457755ba7430-0
Don't give yourself a water hose to drink
out of.
537a0f2f-33d7-49b5-9133-ff3a5deff6e0-0
Give yourself a faucet and slowly try to
reach your goals.
ff3729a3-5d86-4af0-8d03-972df9749642-0
I did that and within five months after
finishing the program,
ff3729a3-5d86-4af0-8d03-972df9749642-1
I was hired as someone that was supposed
to just manage incidents and just assign
ff3729a3-5d86-4af0-8d03-972df9749642-2
them and make sure they go to the right
teams and make sure that the modules are
ff3729a3-5d86-4af0-8d03-972df9749642-3
like working normally.
91cc4332-152c-4842-bdb1-9ec784ccb158-0
And it turned out to be a lot more when
we were in the program,
91cc4332-152c-4842-bdb1-9ec784ccb158-1
there was a lot of ambiguity around what
happens next after you leave the program.
dd747b38-3d55-4b80-b208-3f9b0447fcd2-0
The ambiguity comes from the fact that
companies are needing your expertise,
dd747b38-3d55-4b80-b208-3f9b0447fcd2-1
but they don't know what your expertise
looks like.
8e39e6ae-6d3c-4033-98ae-d385d73445e4-0
They don't know what it looks like.
7bb7faa7-adb0-4bad-8f9f-09051325a772-0
They don't know what to expect because
they're,
7bb7faa7-adb0-4bad-8f9f-09051325a772-1
they didn't go through the program.
0ddad956-9a22-4b92-be5d-830fa5b90225-0
They didn't become experts on the system.
8f097989-b427-46a7-bb95-0a17c92fbf9b-0
I've had opinions from people of all
levels saying that, you know,
8f097989-b427-46a7-bb95-0a17c92fbf9b-1
the system isn't intuitive.
6129fefe-d516-4fd4-95d7-bb6822a2d647-0
It's hard to learn.
0ab3b584-3c8d-403e-b50f-1799387fd8b8-0
I agree in some areas it is,
but that's what the that's what the rise
0ab3b584-3c8d-403e-b50f-1799387fd8b8-1
of program is all about.
b9c99e80-0761-4742-82f3-fc61d4a3559b-0
It's about making you good at something
that isn't easy to learn.
0b497345-aeb2-4abd-9076-bb74006b4613-0
And so when companies are putting job
postings out, at least when I was looking,
0b497345-aeb2-4abd-9076-bb74006b4613-1
there was very ambiguous job postings
that don't speak to exactly what you've
0b497345-aeb2-4abd-9076-bb74006b4613-2
been learning, but what the company needs.
ee173323-cd52-43f3-90e1-6ef6cb7b73c4-0
But they don't know what they need.
0cda5d56-0719-4447-9b6a-c4c8bd1de8bc-0
Sometimes they don't know what they need.
1b073f3f-7690-42b1-a9fd-2cb6a66ed7df-0
And it's up to us to kind of translate
those requirements.
85183d40-be5d-4b58-8e1e-a2a2b9628292-0
I really do believe and know that in a
lot of cases,
85183d40-be5d-4b58-8e1e-a2a2b9628292-1
the rise that program gives you all of
the tools you need.
8f26ea58-a105-40b0-8c62-c8c74ff19461-0
Don't get caught up in the titles.
63092165-facb-49c8-91a4-e030f670a62e-0
Don't get caught up in the names of the
job descriptions and what they state you
63092165-facb-49c8-91a4-e030f670a62e-1
they need.
6e722df8-a9ca-4b5b-bf83-3c3d6d960082-0
Understand that what people are looking
for is understanding of the platform.
a62ff8e3-f8ea-48ac-a9e7-4bb2590f043f-0
Unless you are working at a ServiceNow
oriented organization like a Censure or
a62ff8e3-f8ea-48ac-a9e7-4bb2590f043f-1
like KPMG that's filled with ServiceNow
experts,
a62ff8e3-f8ea-48ac-a9e7-4bb2590f043f-2
most companies don't know that you have
the tools and you have to make that clear
a62ff8e3-f8ea-48ac-a9e7-4bb2590f043f-3
to them.
fa8c4a46-ac59-4189-9638-d6f56353542d-0
They're looking for your experience,
not your title.
4a4ec4cc-3218-4737-b727-70a052226764-0
They don't.
013ff3c1-293e-48b0-a6b8-2d88c5b6134c-0
They're not looking for a certified
application developer.
e754aba6-d1e0-4313-a5cd-9c5d1a7b8183-0
Sometimes they're just looking for
someone who's knowledgeable about the
e754aba6-d1e0-4313-a5cd-9c5d1a7b8183-1
platform,
that can teach other people in their
e754aba6-d1e0-4313-a5cd-9c5d1a7b8183-2
group how to use the platform,
that can teach people in a company how to
e754aba6-d1e0-4313-a5cd-9c5d1a7b8183-3
solve problems using the platform.
807522dc-ef70-49a6-9e5f-1c0ff5fbb18a-0
And the Rise of Program gives you all of
those tools.
ccc7a021-afe2-458e-ad1f-03d108bd509e-0
My advice to you if you've gone through
the program or want to go through the
ccc7a021-afe2-458e-ad1f-03d108bd509e-1
program is soak up all the information
you can get.
dec0f08c-b046-4898-a0ee-982c062086d7-0
Learn it all and when you start looking
for roles,
dec0f08c-b046-4898-a0ee-982c062086d7-1
don't forget what you learned before you
went through the program.
9e28f8a6-b0c2-4a25-9d69-7d1f75637d66-0
Take that and you complement it with what
ServiceNow is teaching you because they
9e28f8a6-b0c2-4a25-9d69-7d1f75637d66-1
are giving you all of the tools you need
to navigate the platform and all of your
9e28f8a6-b0c2-4a25-9d69-7d1f75637d66-2
prior experience can be used to navigate
your job.
4b093c4a-b64d-41ea-9dbb-536d6d352aa1-0
I love that.
d6f20eb1-6f06-4d3f-a3ba-b05d46a60179-0
And I think that that's a great example
of the way that you're still staying like
d6f20eb1-6f06-4d3f-a3ba-b05d46a60179-1
several steps ahead in the same way that
you were when you showed up to the gym in
d6f20eb1-6f06-4d3f-a3ba-b05d46a60179-2
a suit, right?
b7a32c79-810c-4bd7-b3be-3b1fc01f55d7-0
You're still looking ahead and being sort
of this visionary when it comes to your
b7a32c79-810c-4bd7-b3be-3b1fc01f55d7-1
career in the way that you're thinking
about the opportunities that you have now
b7a32c79-810c-4bd7-b3be-3b1fc01f55d7-2
to get to where you're going.
f1c6c7ba-9768-42be-b52a-ae2c351a1aa9-0
And I think a lot of people who are
listening in now would be very interested
f1c6c7ba-9768-42be-b52a-ae2c351a1aa9-1
to keep up with where life takes you
within the ecosystem and beyond.
e00af128-4dd7-42b2-b4c7-b4b560a1fc4b-0
So is there a way that folks can just
keep up with with what you're doing?
04d8ea98-821a-4472-bcbe-c5f2334ec961-0
Yes.
ca36c1dd-7945-42e9-8dfc-cdbffad61484-0
Please follow me on LinkedIn.
a8e81d17-2360-44e6-9de8-3517243fdb9b-0
My name is Devon Tyson.
2d01b5ef-3da7-4c4f-ad00-f1da90283538-0
It is very easy to find me.
5a619ecf-aac1-4e24-a078-4b85df701a87-0
You can Google my name because it has two
NS in it and a capital VDEVONN.
92c2f8f0-e733-4b46-b35d-9be48cf35340-0
Tyson, please connect with me on LinkedIn,
send me a message, say hello,
92c2f8f0-e733-4b46-b35d-9be48cf35340-1
say good morning, good afternoon.
6f33ed64-2fa3-4136-9223-15af5876eb23-0
I'm not a rude New Yorker.
2d945d59-1867-4480-8379-f3b2c331a411-0
I love New York by the way.
95f15b84-f1d8-4dc0-afdf-f7a03c82053f-0
So for my other New Yorkers listening,
but please connect and I love meeting new
95f15b84-f1d8-4dc0-afdf-f7a03c82053f-1
people.
d0d748ae-da95-4aed-941c-0b9a4c98ffd1-0
I love hearing about where you're at.
b2d5e3a5-e734-41ab-aa4f-a96d3bead6fa-0
I love helping you navigate these
ambiguous waters.
8ce4a603-212e-4368-b121-e5367f13ece0-0
I want you to know that I had impostor
syndrome coming into my role.
0b0b0129-7f1e-4c62-8696-9f81d78d53d4-0
I mean, the, the,
the feedback that I get from the place I
0b0b0129-7f1e-4c62-8696-9f81d78d53d4-1
work at,
from the managers and my direct manager
0b0b0129-7f1e-4c62-8696-9f81d78d53d4-2
and the chief information officer who
runs our entire IT operation,
0b0b0129-7f1e-4c62-8696-9f81d78d53d4-3
it is in very high regard.
99960178-c8ba-47f6-826c-aa9b1b79ee95-0
And that is with complete gratitude to
what ServiceNow taught me,
99960178-c8ba-47f6-826c-aa9b1b79ee95-1
allowing me to exercise that,
but outside of that,
99960178-c8ba-47f6-826c-aa9b1b79ee95-2
what I learned from my previous roles.
c5a5f47a-86e9-4342-ae9c-813903e0808e-0
So reach out.
4f8db6c3-8ee9-49ae-b788-451eb9a0cf42-0
I would love to connect with any and
everybody, no question.
7a88a417-e660-48e8-814a-bf8a70f73c97-0
It's a stupid question.
7d5f8162-7495-4aff-99c4-5731437906fe-0
Thank you.
b22babe3-3211-4373-a7e7-ca6249ea098b-0
Awesome Delano.
376680fc-7f99-4289-9d07-fcc7c4743ebf-0
Thank you so much for joining us and just
for sharing your story.
f34c3c8a-cdc2-4e81-9511-124d9ed84438-0
I think your journey is a super powerful
reminder that these career
f34c3c8a-cdc2-4e81-9511-124d9ed84438-1
transformations don't always begin when
the opportunity appears.
ae778c5d-2cc2-4a76-9a77-82d99fee28a6-0
Sometimes it begins a lot earlier,
you know,
ae778c5d-2cc2-4a76-9a77-82d99fee28a6-1
with the decision just to think beyond
your current circumstances,
ae778c5d-2cc2-4a76-9a77-82d99fee28a6-2
prepare for something more,
and trust that the work you're doing
ae778c5d-2cc2-4a76-9a77-82d99fee28a6-3
today may eventually lead somewhere that
you can't see it.
89b5ef5a-13cd-4cb5-a71c-63bcd730e369-0
So it's everyone listening.
bcbb8244-3962-451e-9335-e0ee86a5f0c9-0
Thank you for joining us for this episode
of The Honor Roll.
4b30e56d-6042-43a3-ad02-9282ff531f38-0
I'm your host, Jasmine Coleman,
and we'll see you on the next episode.
2f981abe-d8fa-4ee6-932d-84f10bb3bca2-0
Bye bye.