Why Should You Care?
This space is about some really fantastic people.
First, it’s about the great people in Cincinnati, and especially the folks in Information Technology. I want to highlight all the contributions that the folks in the IT community make to Cincinnati in order to give them the opportunity and the visibility they have earned and deserve. You’ll find quite a few posts here that talk about these folks, the companies that take creative steps to attract and retain them, and also the universities in the area that work hard to make sure the newest entries in the field are up to speed and ready to add value out of the gate.
To this end, you’ll see a lot about Mike Wood, Mark Windholtz, Marco Morana, Kishore Subramanyam, Melissa Messersmith, and others. These folks are the front-men and -women for many of the local user groups. You’ll read about Kroger, the company that I believe has implemented some creative programs to keep young talent right here at home and has used their loyalty program – a program I once mistrusted – for good. You’ll hear me talk about the UC College of Applied Science and their IT program. I think this program is out of this world, and they continually ask for input to make their program better. And you’ll hear a number of odds-n-ends about information technology subject matter and my thoughts about it.
Second, it’s about my family. If you don’t care about my family, you can skip these reads. I’ll truly understand. I expect the people that want to hear about my family are my family. And to me, my family comes first. They do some funny, cute, and loving things that I want to share with the rest of my family. I’ll do so under the Family category.
Third, it’s about fitness. This is really to hold me accountable more than anything else. They say (whoever they are) that to build or break a habit you should work with a partner to hold each other accountable. I don’t have a workout partner except for a riding partner from time to time. So I figure that if I outline my workouts here I’ll be motivated to continue them and continually improve.
The fitness posts will also feature Joel Suggs, Southern Ohio’s only PGA Master Teaching Professional, and his thoughts on golf, as well as Tim Watson, my personal strength coach and certified Kettle Bell instructor.
Finally, it’s about Making a Difference. I volunteer much of my time to a number of organizations. I find that life provides some really interesting opportunities the more I give of myself. You’ll read about these opportunities, my thoughts, and the lessons I learn along the way.
So what about me? Who is Andy Erickson? I’m a family man really interested in helping other people. I work for LUCRUM, and although my opinions here are my own and do not represent LUCRUM, LUCRUM funds much of my work here and makes it possible for me to get around to many of the IT events in and around Cincinnati. I’m a connector. I work hard to introduce people to each other where there is mutual benefit. You can read about my approach to relationships and networking in my response to this LinkedIn Question. I think it will tell you a lot about me.
The content here will be positive for the most part. Controversial blogs generate traffic and polarizing conversation. That is not the goal here. This space is meant to unify and strengthen our community by highlighting the great people involved. All of us have so many negative stories that we could share, we all have dirt on someone or something, we can all complain about some aspect of our life in our jobs or the community. I may report with a happy-go-lucky style. Believe me, I’m not naive, but I choose to see the value in our local community and each other, and choose that over the ability to tear down that community.
I’ve participated in the local IT market since 1993. I’ve been a developer, a project manager, a program manager, a mentor, an adviser, a board member, a confidant, and a friend. A number of years ago I was active in the local group 6degrees Cincinnati. 6degrees looked around the city at the glass towers of the many corporate offices, and we saw talented IT people with no safety net. We saw people who worked less than a block from each other for years, yet had never met. And we saw a great opportunity to begin bringing those people together. The busy-ness of life took over, as it always does, and the group faded away. The spirit of networking, though, is alive and strong in many of those folks.
With connections, especially reaching back to the WhittmanHart/marchFIRST days, local IT folks found themselves in positions of leadership in the glass towers. Suddenly organic growth became possible as long as the networking spirit remained. This blog is an extension of that spirit. While many of us participate in the local Cincinnati IT network, there are many more who do not. I hope to highlight the hundreds of extremely talented folks in the Cincinnati market that I run into, and crack the door a bit to let others in and see. I know there are so many great opportunities in Cincinnati that no one should settle for a mediocre position stagnating in a company somewhere (unless they choose to – and I’ve run into plenty of those folks). I’d like to see this forum bring some great people together and help them achieve their goals.
If you’d like to reach me personally, you can contact me at as_erickson@hotmail.com or (513) 225-1052. That email address also works for MS IM. I even have video most days if you would like to video chat. You can find my LinkedIn Profile here. And twitter at axerickson. I look forward to meeting you!
Q: Do you write all the content yourself?
A: Write? For the most part. Create? No.
Other than my personal posts, most of the content is created by our own IT community. All I have to do is listen. I just work hard to put it in a format that we can all use as a learning tool. I attend many of the IT community events. Due to event overlap, and the fact that my wife and kids want to see me every now and then, I can’t get to all of them. I will accept guest bloggers if they do a high-quality, detailed job reporting and conveying information.
Q: How do I contact Andy?
A: You can reach me at (513) 225-1052 or aerickson@lucruminc.com.
Q: ^H – WTF?
A: Read this.