sacha chua

I just got back from the GBS Learning Week conference held at White Oaks (Niagara-on-the-Lake), and I wanted to write down my notes before plunging back into e-mail and the daily routine. Here's a brain-dump just so that I get everything out there. I'll refine some points into blog posts later.

Ideas for improving networking at conferences:

• People should get the attendee list beforehand. This would be even cooler if we could help people set up networking sessions. The Technical Leadership Exchange conference had some meeting places set up beforehand, but the 4,000+ attendee list was a bit overwhelming. If the attendee list could be mashed up against your contact list and some kind of social recommendation system, then it might be more manageable. Calendar, too?

Main tent, second time: (~200 people)

• The value of keeping it fresh
• Adding humor: illustrating generational change through VCR joke. "It used to be that you could tell if you were on the wrong side of the generation gap if your VCR said 12:00. Now, it's if you know what a VCR is."
• Relaxing and connecting with the audience
• Video
• Slides: images are very flexible. I didn't change my slides, I just changed my content and delivery.
• People liked my presenter remote because it provided good feedback when advancing slides, it had intuitive controls, it had fantastic range, and it had a slim, dark profile.

Web 2.0 tools, third and fourth times: (~15 + 10)

• I took responsibility for follow-up
• I used the talk as an opportunity to collect data
• I changed it from a list of ten things to a multiple-choice quiz to help people think about how they were currently doing things
• I could really use two easels next time
• Maybe I might have a webcam watching the audience, to aid with counting and improvement?

Main tent, first time: (~ 200)

• Not having text means being able to drop in even better statistics and references on the fly
• Speaker notes are terrific
• River metaphor frequently cited afterwards
• Good joke about half-empty, half-full room

Web 2.0 tools, first and second times: (~ 30 + 15)

• Back to back sessions are hard
• People liked my energy
• Second session was a bit tougher than the first - people may be tired, too
• Need time in between sessions to mingle and recharge
• Still good, though!

Sowing Seeds: A Technology Evangelist's Guide to Grassroots Adoption (~20)

• Remote presentation early in the morning - doubly-tough!
• Liked the webcam part - Sametime Unyte has added this, but it's not available for IBM early adopter accounts yet
• I need to work on this. Who am I being that people's eyes are not lighting up?

Ideation:

• My notebook of business ideas turned out to be useful
• Random sources of ideas: phone book, StumbleUpon, HalfBakery, good questions
• One of my strengths that I should build on

Miscellaneous:

• Bernie Michalik told me about two funny IBM ads: "Websphere isn't for dummies" and "Should've called IBM Global Services here." I can't find the originals, though. =(
• Between my own presentations and some client-related work, I didn't get to attend many presentations. I'm glad I got to see Jean-Francois Barsoum's presentation, though. He was funny! Particularly clever things I want to steal: roadrunner running across the screen, and a good illustration of the impact of government policies: the Haiti/Dominican Republic border showing the effects of deforestation. I may also find an excuse to use a fake Powerpoint end screen. Also, during the Open Space thing, he used his cellphone to record people summarizing the points, and he played it back during the wrap-up. Terrific idea - showed diversity of input while getting the points across. He recorded a video and put it up on YouTube, actually.
• Ruth McLenaghan recommended the book "I Can See You Naked".
• Met a number of recent hires (same cohort), like Nancy Gabor and Sameer Gupta).
• Promised to follow up with people through e-mail, will need to get some kind of mailing thing going
• Difference between culture (how things get done around here) and climate (how we feel)
• 5y half ValuesJam gone, good way to illustrate
• Interest in rotational assignments
• Utilization versus skill development
• Blue Consulting?
• Interest in employee engagement, future leadership development

Tags: conference, networking, weekly by Sacha Chua
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Oh no, I've hit the slump.

I spent some time working on the Wicked Cool Emacs today. Spam filtering - not something I'd set up before. I'm writing it because I promised to write it, but I can't shake off the feeling that this part would be better done by someone who's passionate about Emacs and spam filtering. I have Google handle my spam filtering for me, so I haven't needed to do anything more sophisticated. Still, not everyone's going to have the same set-up, so it would be good to document that too.

I'm tempted to jump to a different chapter and start working on that, just to make working on the book fun again.

Tags: Uncategorized, emacs, networking, writing by Sacha Chua
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Do you have a professional website, or do you just leave your professional profile up to random Internet search results or sparse corporate directory listings?

Although we have a terrific centralized corporate directory at IBM, I've found it very useful to also have a simple professional profile with a short biography, my contact information, and links to the other services I use on the intranet and on the Internet. Having one site that brings all of these things together makes it easier for me to help people get to know who I am, what I'm passionate about, and where they can find out more about me. I include this URL in my e-mail signature and in my presentations so that people can find me easily.

I use Wordpress as a content management system so that I can quickly add links and pages without editing HTML. On my internal site, I use the Blueprint theme for Wordpress. It's clean and easy to read, and it fits with Big Blue's color scheme. The front page explains who I am, what I do, and what my team does. It also links to places where people can check out my bookmarks, download my latest presentations, and so on.

To set up something like it:

1. Download and install Wordpress.
2. Download and unpack the Blueprint theme to your wp-content/themes/ directory.
3. Choose the Blueprint theme from the Wordpress administration interface.
4. Create a page called "About". Fill it in with details about yourself.
5. Set the About page as your site's front page in the Settings - Reading menu.
6. Create links to your profiles on other services and other related websites.

Technorati Tags: wordpress

Tags: Uncategorized, networking, web2.0 by Sacha Chua
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I gave a presentation on social networking for new hires to the GBS Application Services Foundations new hire network.12 people attended, and a few more dialed in, including one person from Poughkeepsie. (Yay international companies!) We had a lot of fun during the roundtable introductions. After things settled down, I gave my presentation.

The key thing I learned while preparing the presentation is that people can get by without paying special attention to social networking, but some effort can help people really transform their lives into extraordinary ones. I talked about the intersection of passion, knowledge and skills, and opportunities. If you learn more about what you're passionate about, you'll find or create or attract opportunities to learn more about and practice those passions or to use your knowledge and skills. The more you learn, the more you'll be able to appreciate your passions, and the more opportunities will be open to you. It's a beautiful cycle that makes things get better and better.

I also gave a number of quick tips on how to be more effective at social networking using events, conversations, notebooks, business cards, personal sites, blogs, articles, presentations, and other tools and opportunities. All these things can help you learn, reach out, and share what you're learning.

The key thing I learned while giving this presentation was that although people could quickly identify passions outside work, job-related passions didn't come to mind. I believe that it's possible to love your work. My dad taught me this. I know that even if there are difficult days and boring days and lost days, if there's that underlying passion, all those days will be worthwhile.

I'm glad to say that my work allows me to exercise some of my passions. So, what am I passionate about?

I'm passionate about helping people connect. I believe that interesting things happen when we bring different kinds of people together, and that's why I love how blogging and other forms of social media allow people to bump into people outside their teams. I not only get to help people connect and collaborate, I even get to help companies figure out how to help their people do so.

I'm passionate about helping new hires connect with the rest of the organization and vice versa. I believe that a good social network can not only help new hires learn what they need to learn but also get opportunities to discover and make the most of their passions. I want to help new hire networks challenge and catalyze people's growth in addition to providing basic social support. I want to help new hires get connected and share what they learn. Because I've been helping people connect using these new tools, new hire networks approach me to find out how I can help them. =)

I'm passionate about helping people share what they're learning. I believe that teaching as you learn helps you learn more effectively. I want to help people share the tidbits that they're learning and passing those tidbits along to others who are learning too. I not only get to lead by example, I also get to coach others.

I'm passionate about spreading enthusiasm, energy, and passion. I believe that people can be happy at work and in life. I want to learn from people who are happy and successful, I want to be an example to others, and I want to help others along the way. I not only get to share my passions with my coworkers and with other people outside the organization, I also get to encourage others when they need that extra burst of energy.

I'm passionate about communication skills, presentations, public speaking, and storytelling. I believe that presentations should be more than just bullet points and that communication should be more than just talking at people. I want to share what people are learning, inspire people to action, and help them inspire other people in turn. I not only get to learn more about communication skills and practice them by frequently giving presentations, I also get to share what I'm learning and influence the way other people communicate.

What are you passionate about? What knowledge or skills do you want to develop, and what opportunities would help you be even more effective?

Technorati Tags: passion

Tags: networking, new-hire, passion, presentation, talk by Sacha Chua
6 Comments »

Tim Sanders blogged about the importance of having at least one really good picture. It's true: a good head shot adds a dash of personality to blogs, slide decks, corporate directory profiles, and everything else that forms part of your personal brand. If you don't have a picture on your blog yet, think about adding one! Besides, photos tell stories. =) Here's the story behind my current profile pic:

Last January, a colleague asked me for a high-resolution head-shot that would be included (along with something I said) in one of their annual reports. I no longer had the high-resolution version of the profile picture I was using at the time. Besides, I'd taken that picture myself in 2005 using a point-and-shoot camera and my desk lamp (you can see the ceiling of my dorm room at Graduate House!), and it was definitely time for a change. But where was I going to find a low-cost photographer on a Friday evening?

Right next to me, apparently. I asked W- to take my picture. It was a good opportunity to try the 50mm lens he got me for Christmas. We'd both read plenty of photography books, so we knew that we needed a plain white wall near a window with good light. The only suitable one was the wall directly across the bathroom, so W- set up the tripod across the threshold and I quickly put on some foundation and tucked my hair into a bun.

The window light was coming from my right, and the shadows were a little too dark. I tried turning this way and that, but I couldn't turn too far towards the light because my face would then be at the wrong angle. The tripod was stuck in the doorway and we couldn't move it further. Hmm…

Fortunately, reading books on photography and blogs like Strobist gave us the confidence to try a little lighting. W- had splurged on an external flash unit, though, and we put that to good use. J- got conscripted into holding the large white sheet of paper that was our reflector, and we bounced the light off that in order to fill in the shadows. W- also fiddled with the manual-focus lens until he felt that things were reasonably in focus. (Apparently, it's hard to get the eyes sharp when the subject's giggling too much because of the art direction and the assistant's antics.)

Naturally, J- wanted her picture taken too. (I remember some particularly good zombie-J pictures from this session.)

I was still breaking out in lots of pimples at the time, so I edited the most promising picture in Gimp in order to tone down the distracting bits. I didn't think I could do anything about my teeth (short of braces–tried them, couldn't stand them), so I left those alone. Anyway, I ended up with a profile picture that made me happy and taught all of us a little more about playing with light.

My picture's nowhere near as awesome as my mom's, but that's because my dad's a professional photographer. I'd love to practice taking portraits of friends, and once we either have that yard sale or put all the extra stuff away, maybe I can have people over again… =)

Tags: networking, photography by Sacha Chua
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