Google It, No… Seriously Google It

Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I start a Revolution?” Well I have, and in fact I “Googled” it, because that’s what we all do these days. I wanted to understand the mechanics of a revolution because having a passion about something isn’t enough. Here’s what I found on wikiHow. To start a revolution, my four key takeaways are:

1. Find a central theme around which to organize a revolution
2. Identify a need for reform
3. Create concrete goals
4. Come up with a plan to secure resources

Step 1 - The theme is the easy part, because for me it’s my passion: to help create the resources for IT professionals to excel as versatile members of any organization. When I graduated from high school, I was voted the “most versatile girl” in my graduating class, which at the time I thought was very cool. Looking back, however, I see how that versatility has been a part of my career all along. Being in and around IT for a long time (though never ask a lady’s age) having both hard and soft skills has been the differentiator between myself and others when progressing in my career.

Step 2- Identify the need to reform, huh? That’s subjective, I know, but I’ve lived and breathed the reality that skilling in IT has changed significantly in the last 15+ years (remember, don’t ask my age.) Technology changes at lightning speed, and IT professionals need to be trained to respond to the accelerated implementation and development expectations, the lean resource budgets which drive re-skilling internally vs. hiring externally – the list goes on and on. The only thing that doesn’t change, though, is how prepared IT staff is to respond to those changes, both internally and externally. What happens when a developer is asked to attend a meeting with a customer or present at an internal meeting? Do they have both the hard and soft skills to rise to the occasion? The reality is, they usually don’t – hence my plea for an IT skilling reform. Do you hear my battle horn in the background yet sounding the alarm?

Step 3 and 4 – This is the implementation piece, right? I’m thinking you really don’t care about the details here, but what you do care about is getting what you need to be part of the Revolution – or as we say, “Hack The System”, your system to success. This is why my passion led me to Skillsoft in the first place. Where else can you get all the training you need to become a versatile IT professional?

So there’s my story on how I learned to start a Revolution. I’ll keep on fighting the fight (metaphorically, of course) for highly skilled and versatile IT professionals. Though change in IT is inescapable, making sure you’re ready for it is all up to you.

Kyle Gingrich is the vice president of IT & Certification at Skillsoft.