2009 in Review - Contract at Logistics Management Resources, Inc. - Part II

Saturday, August 15th, 2009 in Hopewell, Virginia, I arrive at Logistics Management Resources, Inc. corporate office at 0800 hours after a very brief night in a hotel there. I will never forget the look of amazement on my new Program Manager’s face in that parking lot when I arrived in that rental car after reporting I had just lost my own car! Precious! LOL But, eager to get started with training and meet my new team members, 4 of us headed into the building to meet the nice lady with the southern-comfort voice, and all other exceptionally friendly and helpful LMR employees that contributed to our on-boarding that day.

After 3+ hours of H.R. on-boarding procedures, we, the new refresh team, headed down to LMR’s warehouse facility for technical training with our new fearless leader guiding the way.

This is where I was impressed! I’ve been in I.T. Refresh for a while, and usually, “us technicians” aren’t given much ‘formal training’ before being thrown into the project. Here at LMR, they had systems set up for hands-on lab experience along with the instructional checklist, and all of them took turns to get in front of the ‘classroom’ to instruct. I was very impressed! I had gotten used to getting the checklist emailed or being handed the document in person and being told to go to town on ‘this many’ systems per day. I’m not complaining about that procedure, but I am saying that I felt a little ‘spoiled’ by this training LMR provided. Not that the training was completely a piece of cake. But LMR showed us what an excellent training provider they are over that weekend and throughout the course of the project.

Having some project coordination and team lead experience, it didn’t take me long to figure out there was a strategic system needing to be in place to show daily progress on the upgrades performed. I think it’s just in my blood to see and put together what’s needed to accomplish a refresh project. So when it was mentioned that a single lead POC was needed, I did step up to that plate, and everything I learned at that Site Survey during that 2nd interview came to the forefront and proved beneficial in assessing what needed to be targeted and how. Then, when excerpt copies of the Statement of Work were handed out, it was like second nature to make 2 + 2 = 4. My only issue was – transportation. I had to return the rental car, so I coordinated transportation with one of the team members. Later on…and I have no idea exactly how I gained this privilege…I was gracefully offered a reliable ride to and from the Springfield Metro by fellow LMR employees by means of the company car both mornings and evenings. Thank you, LMR! :-)

Shortly after the project progressed, I was made Assistant Site Lead. Of course, with that, came daily and weekly management reporting duties. Nothing I hadn't done before. But, some reports would get vague in reporting progress numbers due to the other physical warehouse contents where we performed the upgrades in. Other times the numbers would get vague due to a lack of prior accurate inventory control on the client end. But I found our biggest slow-downs were in physical hardware issues and dealing with RMA’s. Sometimes we would have issues with the laptops we used to upgrade the software/firmware, other times it was network cross-over cables. Nothing untypical though. The hardest part was performing the upgrades to these Transit Case Groups that were 50+ lbs each and getting them above my shoulders stacked on a pallet. I got creative sometimes, and thankfully, lost a lot of weight in the process.

The other hard part was “following” sometimes. Although I was made #1 to my Program Manager, I had to follow the lead of the Site Lead. I still question myself as to how ‘hard’ that is…I mean you’re given direction…all you have to do is follow the direction. I grapple with this in memory thereof. But these were all military guys. These people are trained to and used to knowing when to follow and when to lead. So, although I still reflect on that grappling, it was one of the most important personal development experiences in my career so far. I’m highly appreciative of the “handbrake” that was pulled once again. These are lessons you just don’t get out of a text book or class. I will always remember them well…the lessons and the people who taught them.

My main focus during this refresh project was to make sure that the customer had a successful experience. The customer as far as Savi, and the customer as far as the U.S. Army. So, while I may have had the ‘handbrake’ pulled on me a couple of times, I did have the ability to refocus where else I could be of value other than just upgrading equipment (again…this is something that’s in my blood). I did find it through coordinating the RMA’s.

Though I dreaded the day this contract would end, the day I received my scheduled “good job” letter, I walked through that warehouse in awe of the job accomplished and how much sweat and passion our refresh team put into it. It was moving. I remember standing by the loading dock, the last of the pallet loads ready to go, and tears welling up out of pride.

This contract was probably the most rewarding personally and professionally throughout all of my 2009 contracts. And it didn’t go unnoticed. I received a very unexpected financial bonus from LMR, and a Certificate of Achievement that stated the following:

Lisa Wicklein is hereby commended for her exceptional contribution as a Systems
Technician and Assistant Site Lead for the Savi PM-Tis Dual Mode Upgrade
project. Ms. Wicklein’s in-depth knowledge of the Software/Firmware
Dual Mode (ANSI/ISO) Upgrade process for the 751G Hand Held and the 650 SMR
Reader to make them compatible with the new ISO 18000-7 RFID standard was
instrumental in the great success of the SAVI PM-TIS project, thereby exceeding
all expectations for job performance. Her professionalism and dedication
was critical to LMR’s overall success for this effort at the PM-TIS warehouse in
Springfield, VA. Ms. Wicklein’s positive attitude, initiative and
expertise epitomize the exceptionally talented multi-functional employees that
LMR hires.

It was never about the refresh project for me with this company. It was always about the high quality of people I got to ‘serve’ within this company, while representing them, and while in their presence. I hope that someday our paths cross again and that they assign me another “mission”.

2009 in Review - Contract at Logistics Management Resources, Inc. - Part I

While I was still contracted to CBO, I began marketing myself for another I.T. Refresh contract. I actually expected to have another month of 10 hour days on email and phone calls marketing, but an email hit my BlackBerry one day that had me intrigued.

The email was from a company by the name of Logistics Management Resources, Inc. (LMR) and the offer wasn’t through a recruiter, like I was used to receiving. The inquiry was highlighting my past I.T. Refresh and Deployment experience to see if I was interested in an opportunity to perform a short-term refresh contract with LMR, Inc. to upgrade Savi Intermec 751G Handhelds and TCG-SR650 Interrogators to ISO 18000-7 firmware and software standards for the U.S. Army in Springfield, VA.

With curiosity, I replied to the nice lady with the southern-comfort voice right away that I would be interested, but honestly, I felt high urgency to find out what this entire “lingo” was! If I’m going to say “yes” to a project, I at least want to know what I’m upgrading! So, I scrambled off to Google to lead the way.

Good thing I did. I received email confirmation from LMR, Inc. that the Program Manager would be calling me the next day. My “homework” was to find out what LMR, Inc. is in business for, what these Savi Intermec 751G Handhelds and TCG-SR650 Interrogators were (the name “interrogator” sounded intimidating), and what the heck upgrading to an ISO 18000-7 does to a piece of hardware? Back in 1998-1999 when I was employed at Infineer-Tritheim Technologies, Inc., I had become their Engineering Change Management Document Control Specialist, so I wasn’t unfamiliar with ISO Standards within the software and hardware industry, so out of the deep crevices of that sleeping memory I was able to quickly associate all this LMR/Savi/ISO information into a neat little picture in my mind before the interview call the next day.

When the LMR Program Manager called the next day, I was ready! Armed with collective information about LMR, Inc. and their logistics-focused I.T. Infrastructure and training solutions to the U.S. Army, Savi with their Automated Identification Tracking devices using RFID communication (which I found reference to from my past Honeywell, Inc experience back in 2000-2001), and a little help from the ISO Standards website, I felt like the little kid in school that sits up front in the classroom, raising their hand and snapping as if to say “pick me, pick me”, and who can’t wait for the teacher to pick on them because they know the answer.

Of course the Program Manager asked me what I knew anything about the company and the project. And.....I think that was one of the only two questions he got in during the interview to ask me. I kinda took over from there. Looking back, I think it would have been “proper” during the phone interview to let him explain more, but he seemed pleased that I did my “homework”. The next question the Program Manager got in was if I could attend the Site Survey Meeting. :-)

Armed again with my collected information, I headed off to the Site Survey meeting a day later. After firm handshakes with everyone and questions all around, and proceeding into the kind of ‘formal’ Site Survey meeting I wish many other companies I have worked for would have taken an example from, I was once again on an information gathering quest. Who were the people involved? What is included in this project? Who was going to do what? Those are only the very basic of questions I had, but as it later proved, being privileged to this invitation proved beneficial to my contracting experience to LMR later on as well (explained in the next blog post).

When I left that meeting, I really wanted this contract! I saw an entirely new and exciting professional growth opportunity in it, with all the information I had gathered to-date I felt confident I could provide value to the project, and I remember especially a feeling very privileged to be part of this company’s team….something that carried on throughout the length of my employment with LMR, Inc. It was absolutely obvious to me that this company took pride in what they had to offer to their clients, that there was a sense of excitement around giving immense value to their customers, and that their outcome driven focus was to make sure that happened strategically. In my mind, I thought...who wouldn't be excited to be around people like that?

My excitement grew when I was accepted into the contract and received the offer letter. Once again, my contracting career was taking on a change in direction and an adventure. Just in the nick of time, too, as my contract at CBO was ending that week. That Friday, arrangements had been made for me to travel down to Hopewell, VA for a weekend of training at their corporate office and warehouse.

But the adventure this contract had to offer started with a speed bump. On the day I had my bags packed and the journey mapped out on my GPS, I returned home from my previous contract to find my car gone. Here I am, ready to hit the road, and no car to take the journey in. But, I wasn’t going to give up this opportunity! I took care of what needed to be done, informed my new Program Manager of the delay in arrival, and set out in a rental car into my new adventure instead. I never regretted it for one second.


My points around this story are these:

1. 
   Just because you may not know everything about the contract opportunity being offered to you, doesn’t mean that you can’t do the job. The opportunity may not LOOK like it fits your past experience, but it may offer you an area of growth unexpectedly. Relate what you can to your past experience and make as much effort as you can to put in all the research you can prior to meeting/talking to your future prospect. Your employer and your employer’s customer will value your efforts more than you realize.
2. 
   And never, ever, EVER think there is only one way to accomplish an outcome you are inspired by and driven towards!!! If you really want it, you’ll find a way to achieve it, even against all odds.
   

There is more I’d like to share in my next post about this contract with LMR, Inc. Stay tuned.

2009 in Review - Contract at the Congressional Budget Office

When I relocated from Florida to the Washington, D.C. Metro area, I did so under the assumption that I already HAD a new contract. With my car packed to the hilt, I headed on the road to taking my career to another level with who I thought was going to be IBM. To my surprise when I arrived, the contract I thought I had won was granted to someone else locally. But I didn’t let this speed bump slow me down.

It took full-time marketing on all the major job boards, Linkedin, craigslist, washingtonpost.com, and even going through local yellow page listings before I found another opportunity. A month later I got a call from Metro Staffing Resources in Alexandria, VA for a short-term contract fill-in position at the Congressional Budget Office. Not only did I exhale a sigh of relief after reaching a goal, but I realized that this was the beginning of a new journey along a path I had visualized a few years back when I said I wanted to go “Government Contracting”.

The assigned contract at the Congressional Budget Office was for a Technical Support Specialist. Their highly-valued employee just had knee surgery and they needed to fulfill her daily duties while she recovered. So for six weeks, I had the opportunity to personally experience and interact with the extremely friendly staff in the CBO I.T. Department.

As I approached the Ford House Building, the Nation’s Capitol clearly in sight, I remembered my heart quickening, knowing that I was heading in to support a team that manages the backbone I.T. infrastructure of one of the most important offices in the United States. At least, so I perceived. It was profoundly exciting to walk off the elevator and see the CBO emblem, and it wasn’t just the regular excitement that comes with starting a new contract. It was the feeling of being part of something big…of having the opportunity to work with people who help influence millions. Literally!

My last contract I had contributed to was still a heavy influence on me at the time, though. The day-to-day assigned duties I performed at CBO were not necessarily how I had pictured spending my time. And many times, that perception created internal conflict and a feeling similar to sitting in a Porsche and driving with the handbrake on in 2nd gear. As I reflect on the experience, I am grateful for that handbrake.

I learned a lot in a short period of time. I learned about how Government Blanket Purchase Orders are related to and managed for assets and investments. I learned about the importance of software licensing asset tracking. I learned about how providing an even small value in the form of technical support has such a great impact on the grander scheme of doing business and managing products for an entire Nation. I learned how much the Nation’s deficit has an impact on my little contracting career world, and I got insight to how much it affects millions of jobs globally. I learned that many within these offices have military backgrounds, even if they are not serving U.S. Services enlisted, they continue to provide strategic value themselves by loyally serving their country through their current skill sets, even if their current civilian job function doesn’t directly relate to what their assigned function was within the military service. I learned the acronym terminology “COTS”, Commercial, Off-The-Shelf computer equipment, something I have experience with since my very first I.T. Refresh contract, and I wondered why prior Program Managers I had worked for didn’t educate me on this popular “lingo” in the past. I learned some basics around setting up and authorizing BlackBerry’s on an Exchange Server through another, very helpful Exchange Engineer employee. I learned the importance of I.T. Security and Auditing from another employee. And I learned that Government employees are not stuffed shirts with dry humor and no lives, that they are very social people, many with artistic involvements, who enjoy a “good life” as much as my neighbor does.

The feedback received after my service that I received from the CFO at the end of this contract was:

“Lisa has done a great job for us!!! Please pass along our extreme
satisfaction to the temp agency.”

When my contract at CBO ended, it wasn’t a celebration of release to pursue opportunities conducive to my vision. It was a celebration of gratefulness for the people of influence I came to know and support. It’s not the laws, policies, procedures, rules, and infrastructure that make CBO a power-seat within all the Government Agencies to work for in Washington, D.C….it’s the people that work there.

Never underestimate what you can learn and take with you from any contract you accept.


Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Mike Dinger at MSR.

2009 Recap

Ok...So I'm a little late in updating news around my contracting. But it is still January 2010, and as a means to list out some great past achievements and accomplishments, I will be reviewing my 2009 contracts performed over the next couple of days.

Much has been achieved. Many valuable connections were made. 2009 was certainly a driving force!

Stay tuned.

P.D. for I.T. enthusiasts

I've been deep in thought over the last few days. Last night, I took the things I am dissatisfied with and started "troubleshooting" my own P.D. (personal development) with my knowledge in I.T.. I started taking my dissatisfaction and 'troubleshooting' in the same sense a technician would troubleshoot technology errors and/or upgrade considerations. The thoughts came to me as I was driving to the store for a few things. To the cars stopped next to me at red lights, I really must have looked crazy talking to myself, hand-gestures and all, while working through these thoughts.

A handful of people know that I have had a lot on my plate lately, and it must seem crazy that I'm not totally focused on that ONE problem (depending what day of the week it is and what was communicated) for a singular time frame, and instead, go off and seemingly distract myself with hardware and software projects and talks about joining a Dojo for Aikido lessons, and wanting to rework my Life Plans. I believe everything to correlate to each other. A big jigsaw puzzle of energy that draws itself together by scientific design, like magnets do.

Well...it was these 'Life Plans' that actually got me "troubleshooting" tonight. I got anxiety there for a while over what it is I could possibly have to stop trying to achieve, instead of looking at the error corrections I could make instead.

When I arrived back at home, I was excited to find no one home and about some 'play time' with a new graphics card I WAS going to install that they let me take home today. The graphics card didn't fit. It's PCIe, and I currently only have PCI slots on the motherboard. I couldn't have fit that card if I had taped it to the slot! But...I swiped the DVI connector and hooked it up and get way better monitor graphics now, and I was actually able to watch an entire episode of Numb3rs without it skipping or freezing ONCE! So, it got me thinking in a "Troubleshooting Tree" sense about hardware, software, networks, and hacking, and how all that relates to how we live our lives.

If there is a problem or when you want to upgrade a system or an infrastructure of systems, you usually start with the users of those systems. Many times the problem lies between the chair and the keyboard. If all "rules" (set by who made them) are being followed, then you move on to check the hardware. If no errors are found with the hardware, you move out to the software. If no errors there, then you move out to the network. If no problems there, then you move out to "outside of your domain" and start over from the beginning....user, hardware, software, network, next. It ALWAYS follows the same pattern of resolving an issue.

In people, you can consider the same.

The user is you...and YOU determine whether you are between the chair (procrastination or other excuses) and the keyboard (what you're putting out).

The hardware is your body. Does it need upgraded? Are you willing to take on a few gigs of speed and better performance? Or is it working at the speed you need it to. If it's not broke, don't fix it, right? Wrongo! The body needs constant upgrading. We do this naturally when we're young but neglect it when we get older. My own correlation to this thought was my recent statement of wanting to join a Dojo for Aikido, participate in Zen meditation sessions, and push forward with the Yoga practices I have chosen. All hardware upgrades!

Hardware alone lets the system turn on, but you don't get much else out of it if you don't put software into it. An Operating system. Your head and your heart are your operating system. How is that current install of yours? Do you know deep down you need an upgrade and are just too scared of the "security alerts" and patches to errors that OTHER people get? What's wrong with programming your own Operating System? Nothing! YOU operate on it! You at most INFLUENCE others with it, but YOU operate it. So what are you going to put into this OS so it runs smoothly and reliably?

Ok...so now you have an OS...now you need some applications to work with...like Microsoft Office. I would call these your actions...your passions...you keep coming back to them to use them over and over...you need them to collaborate with others and share like information and values.

After that, you need a network to share all this stuff on. These are the people around you connected to you by a common resource somehow. You can have a very secure network, or you can have a weak one. Either way, you can be and will be hacked. If you're hacked successfully by Mr. Robin Hood himself, he will tell you what corrections need to be made in order for you to be successful.

Networks can be hacked...we all know this. But WHY are they hacked? Yes...for fun and sometimes out of boredom, but mostly because someone wants a piece of KNOWLEDGE from ONE single source, or a set of specific sources, off the network. Think about WHO you are friends with. Are your valuable friends and your own knowledge valuable enough for a hacker to steal and share? Why WOULDN'T they want to share that? Why do you want to protect your friends and your knowledge from outside sources? Not likely that someone wants to tap into you or your friends because if the credit cards owned...it's your ideas, your PERSON...your PERSONALITY that they want. Something you have inside of you that someone else thinks they can benefit from.

Some people like to turn on their computers and just cruise, surf, see how much mileage they can get out of their hardware before considering an upgrade or even a new system. Some people live by the sense of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Some people like constant improvement because they like change and trying new and better and more demanding things all the time. I'm not pigeon-holing anyone, but there does seem to be a pattern of personality types: constant change, middle of the road where security is found in known everyday functionality and new and exciting things add spice to the monotony, and then the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" regardless if the outside world is changing constantly.

Where are you?