“Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” Walt DisneyI’m a self taught IT guy. As an IT guy since a small child I landed my career starting at Ameritech (Verizon) learning the ropes and excelling. I then landed a job with UBS as a Hardware support tech. Through relentless attention to detail and time spent solving problems outside of normal work hours, I became the best and within a year moved into a Team Lead role. Within another year of more study time and time spent with the network engineers (again, after hours), I moved into what I was told was an impossible jump and became a network engineer with no advanced degree. I came in with a pursuit of excellence and a drive to learn everything I could about my craft. I still operate like this and research deeply into every product I can. I learned at UBS that when something goes down, or there is a breach, or a blip with the technology, it can cost millions of dollars. The same is true of the protected and private information in Healthcare and Government. For a small business, going down can be their livelihood. Although the means to provide the solutions differ, the end is goal is the same: providing the best tech continuity and protection in the most cost effective way. Every challenge is an opportunity to serve.. Although I didn’t come into sales via the traditional path, the way I came provided me with deep empathy and knowledge of the needs of my clients. Rather than thinking about a sale as a close, I am always thinking about how to OPEN. How can I get this person to OPEN up to me about their tech challenges? How do I OPEN their eyes to the solutions that can truly solve their problems. I take this philosophy to my management style. My door and my knowledge is OPEN to anyone who wants to learn.