Stay Focused on Solutions & Solving Problems with Rick Claus

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Rick Claus. Rick is a Microsoft Developer Advocate on the Azure engineering team. His role is to connect with technical communities in order to share his knowledge about the ecosystem and capture feedback on how to make things better. He has worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, working on Core Azure infrastructure services, Windows Server, systems management and all things "cloud" In this episode Phil and Rick discuss why you need to challenge yourself to learn, the potential of new technologies to make our lives easier and why you should try to work with people smarter than you.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: (5.21) TOP CAREER TIP Rick says that career advice is often specific to the individual. However what has worked for him is to continue to stay curious but also challenging yourself to continue to learn. Rick approaches everything as someone new to the industry which helps to maintain his level of excitement and curiosity.   (6.56) WORST CAREER MOMENT Rick describes his involvement in a mass desktop refresh rollout project for a customer when working as a consultant. The rollout was taking place in fourteen different locations and was being delivered by a distributed team. Unfortunately they left the most difficult part of the rollout to the very end. They thought that they could apply everything they had learnt from earlier rollouts to the final rollout.     (10.31) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Rick talks about having recently become the lead for his team. Watching the team being able to be successful doing things he used to do but in different and creative ways. Rick gets a lot of satisfaction from enabling them to engage with IT professionals, speak at conferences, create videos and other content.   (11.52) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Rick is excited by seeing people starting to understand the potential of new technologies that will make their lives easier. Rick also explains how organisations are recognising that they have the ability to pivot and add these new technologies to their existing portfolio.   (16.00) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The constant challenge. Rick loves problem solving, trouble shooting and making people's environments better for them. What's the best career advice you received? – Hire people that are smarter than you. What's the worst career advice you received? – Nothing specific. However Rick has a degree that he doesn't use anymore. What would you do if you started your career now? – Stay focused on the solutions and how they help individuals. What are your current career objectives? – Providing guidance and clarity to his team. What's your number one non-technical skill? Rick talks about his theatre background and the skill of being able to convey information through stories How do you keep your own career energizer? – Constantly go off and learn. What do you do away from technology? – Rick is an avid home brewer.   (20.51) FINAL CAREER TIP Don't forget to invest in your own skills and your own self beyond the technology space. Rick also talks about the importance of mentoring.   BEST MOMENTS (14.04) – Rick - "Technology in the world of IT is constantly in change and we have to deal with that change. Be prepared for it" (16.50) – Rick - "Hire people that are smarter than you. Together as a team you're going to be stronger" (17.27) – Rick - "Stay focused on the solutions and how they help individuals"   ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.   CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community in Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer   ABOUT THE GUEST – RICK CLAUS Rick Claus is a Microsoft Developer Advocate on the Azure engineering team. His role is to connect with technical communities in order to share his knowledge about the ecosystem and capture feedback on how to make things better. He has worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, working on Core Azure infrastructure services, Windows Server, systems management and all things "cloud"   CONTACT THE GUEST – RICK CLAUS Rick Claus can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/RicksterCDN LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickclaus/ Website: https://regularitguy.com MS Learn: https://aka.ms/AzOpsFun2