The Why of IT — Coach’s Philosophy of IT Training and Certification

Posted on March 17th, 2009 by Coach Culbertson

thewhyofitI’m pretty sure that it was Victor Frankl who said that we humans can do just about anything if we have a why. The how we can figure out, but the why of what we do is critically important to every choice and action.

So I’ve been thinking about why I do what I do as an IT guy and instructor. And I recently heard a quote from a fellow by the name of David Neagle that summed up my why as to what I do, and I thought, “That’s it!” So here’s the quote:

“More life to all and less to none.”

Here’s my thoughts on it:

I’ve had the honor to launch a couple hundred careers in the last ten years or so, including the IT careers of inner-city high school students. Many of you know that I served a two-year tour of duty in one of the toughest high schools in Chicago, where I took a bunch of at-risk students and turned them into computer techs. Even today, I still get emails and text messages from my kids, keeping me updated with their new jobs and promotions. Because of what I was able to teach my kids (and I do claim them as mine, and am very proud of their accomplishments), they are able to have more life, and more ability to succeed.

Recently, a fellow named Ali posted on our forums about how he just landed his MCITP certification and a new job after using our training. And damn if I don’t feel honored to have been part of his journey towards that. That’s what it’s all about– helping more people find more opportunity, more jobs, more success, and more life. It’s about helping folks provide for their families, putting food on the table, putting kids through school, and opening up new doors all around.

More Life: Compliments of your IT Administrators

And don’t even get me started on how IT folks open up doors for the people and organizations they work for. Maybe that’s a post for a different day, but stop and think about how much IT folks make possible. Try and send an email when your Exchange server is down, and you’ll know just how much life IT techs bring to any organization. The why for IT technicians and system administrators is to help bring more life to their organizations.

So that’s it, gang. More life to all, and less to none. When I teach Windows Server or anything else, it’s all about transmitting skills and knowledge so that more success can be had, more opportunity can be opened and created, and more life can flow. More life to all, and less to none.

So, now it’s your turn–tell me your why for doing IT work.

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One Response to “The Why of IT — Coach’s Philosophy of IT Training and Certification”

  • Russ Says:

    March 17th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Why? For the challenge. Why? For the opportunities. Why? To allow me to provide for my family. Why? To assist in opening more doors. Why? Always an opportunity to learn (If you ever get bored in this line of work, you’re doing the wrong thing!!). And the biggest “Why”? BECAUSE IT”S FUN!!!!!! And BTW, “More life to all and less to none” will now become part of my email signature!!

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