[1:04] Go ahead and tell us a little about yourself and about your history.

1888 Industrial Services is an oil and gas company. A lot of businesses in this industry are slow to adapt. They prefer face-to-face interactions and handshakes, which has been much more difficult since the pandemic. Oil and gas companies are just starting to adapt to new technology, so there’s a lot of opportunity for growth.

[3:18] Do you guys deal with pipelines?

We do a little bit. We do a lot of construction on well sites building redundant pump measures.

[5:25] How do you get connectivity out in the middle of nowhere when you need it?

Verizon is amazing. We have a really good representative with them who we use for corporate cellular purposes. They partner with a company who uses enterprise-style mobile hotspots that are a lot more powerful than widely available hotspots. They are built so the data doesn’t get scaled down, so it’s meant to work like a portable office.

[8:05] Tell us more about Sparta Sports and Entertainment

They are the largest mixed martial arts combat sports promotion that operate in this area. They’re very regional based and they have a lot of up-and-coming professionals. They have an event where they take fighters affiliated with our military forces and put them in the octagon. It’s really cool. I’m the ring announcer for them now. I started doing that in January of this year.

[13:35] I’m a big fan of switch-tasking versus multi-tasking. What are your thoughts on that?

I guess it depends on what you’re doing. Sometimes multi-tasking is easier for me to do, but it can change depending on your environment or what that task is.

[18:32] How did you end up in your current role in IT?

I was never really a computer nerd growing up. When I was 13 or 14, my mom was working for a bank and ended up with a ton of computers in the basement. I took an interest in putting pieces of a computer together. It was a hobby, but eventually I worked at that same bank in an IT role.

[29:04] We both grew up in a time where if you didn’t catch a movie in a theater, you missed it. If you didn’t catch an episode, you missed it. Now the experience is different.

It’s so fascinating and it’s so cool. It just shows you the innovation that exists.

[37:30] Dealing with people who use desktop computers in different rooms isn’t always easy, is it?

A lot of places finally decided to go full laptop and phased out desktops. That was us at 1888; we quickly phased desktops out during the pandemic. Now everything here is 100% cloud. We have no onsite servers. It has lightened the budget too.

[39:45] You came from a world of customer service. How has that informed your leadership style?

I’ve been exposed to a lot of different ways of leading people and managing people. I played team sports my entire life up to college. The value of team has always been instilled in me. My style is very much to lead by example, which I picked up from earlier managers.

[48:14] So many times people hold onto problems instead of asking for help.

The biggest thing I tell people—and I truly do practice this myself—is to consider how I would explain something to my mom. Doing the extra follow up and taking that extra step is what I would do with my mom, my dad, or my grandparents. Take the time to really explain the issue and solution to the user.

[56:48] When I’m talking with a network technician for support, I want them on my side as an ally, not someone I’m threatening to get the connection fixed. I want them involved in the problem as much as I am.

That’s the biggest thing for IT people: owning it. If it’s our mess up, we have to own it and then we take care of it. There’s no reason to pretend you don’t know what the issue is.

[1:02:29] What are some critical lessons it took you time to realize you’d like to pass on to others?

Several years ago, I was interviewing potential new techs. I asked “you’re working on a computer and you get the BSOD (blue screen of death)” and the interviewee said “what’s BSOD?” I was surprised they didn’t know what I meant. After explaining, he said he would reimage the computer.

The answer would have been to do some deeper digging. You don’t need to jump to reimaging before you’ve really gotten to the bottom of the issue. That’s how you learn.