Success in the Technology Field: A Guide for Advancing Your Career

Success in the Technology Field is a practical "how-to" guide for a career in technology. There are countless books, textbooks, articles, and training courses that cover all manner of technical disciplines, especially in the areas of information technology and cybersecurity. Whether dealing with technical theory, practical application of a particular technology, or the process and management disciplines needed to implement and operate technology effectively, there is available material across all technical and process disciplines. Yet, when it comes to how a technologist or someone choosing to work in the technology field plans and advances a career, surprisingly little material exists. Every individual is unique, and how someone defines success in their career will differ markedly from others. Yet, within the technology field, there are critical knowledge, skills, and behaviors that, if pursued and adopted, provide a significantly improved chance of career advancement, irrespective of how one defines career success. Richard Spires learned lessons regarding these critical knowledge, skills, and behaviors in his journey, both based on his own experiences and by observing many others in the technology field. And these lessons apply to everyone in technology-related disciplines, whether someone is a software developer, a project manager, or a salesperson for a corporation offering technology-based solutions. Based on these lessons, Richard presents twelve practical, tangible recommendations in Success in the Technology Field. Some of the recommendations involve adopting crucial behaviors that apply throughout your career. Other recommendations are actions you should take, some more relevant early in your career, and others more relevant later in your career. The recommendations are grouped by career phases to help you visualize your career arc. Through this structure, these recommendations can serve as a career planning aid, supporting you in developing new skills and abilities and adopting the behaviors needed for success in the technology field. These recommendations don't define your success or journey, but they help you determine what success looks like for you in the technology field and what steps you should take on your journey.

Business & Money

Spires, Richard A

Job Hunting & Careers

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Government Can Deliver: A Practitioner's Guide to Improving Agency Effectiveness and Efficiency

Government Can Deliver presents a framework for government agency performance improvement designed to change an inefficient culture and drive operational excellence. It outlines how government leaders can drive such change, and most importantly, it presents a proven approach for creating an environment that will affect positive change. This framework, a set of practical attributes and implementable best practices tailored for government agencies, is based on real-world experiences in which government did deliver. There are examples in each chapter of agencies that implemented elements of this framework and the resulting impact on agencies' operational performance. And while mainly using examples from large federal government agencies, this book can aid those in all levels of government and differing agency sizes. 
In writing this book, Richard endeavored to create a practical guide on transforming government agencies that can benefit all readers-whether you have made government service your life, study government as an academician or student, or are simply a concerned citizen. After establishing the need for improved government operations, the book presents attributes and best practices for eight solution functions. When properly addressed, each of these functions can, individually and collectively, significantly improve an agency's performance. The examples and arguments can help agency leaders justify implementing the necessary attributes and best practices to improve their agency's performance. The final chapter provides recommendations on how a government agency can develop a transformation plan to incrementally implement the attributes and best practices for each of these eight functions. 
Richard has seen first-hand the amazing things government agencies can accomplish when they have experienced, capable leaders, adopt best practices tailored for government, and appropriately leverage technology to support improved operations. Change is hard, but through government leaders' and employees' efforts focused on implementing the right changes, agencies can significantly improve their operational performance. Under the right conditions, magic can and does happen.

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Books by Spires, Richard A