So the other day I made a comment about our IT industry.

It did not go down well in certain quarters.

And so I did the only rational thing – I decided to expound further. In great detail

This series, based on my experience is the result of that.

No offence folks, but I’m tired of hearing about how mobile is the new frontier.

Everybody knows this. Nobody disputes this.

And yet there are innumerable seminars / workshops / meetups / white papers / blogs / articles to tell us this.

Why?

What’s the point of answering questions nobody is asking?

It is like having events to discuss if electricity or the wheel is the next big thing in 2012.

I think we can safely assume everybody knows the impact of mobility.

Nobody had endless seminars to discuss that electricity of the petrol engine were the next big thing.

They got on with it and innovated, improved, enhanced and built.

For many years I designed and implemented some solutions for the NGO sector, and that sector my friends is at another level when it comes to answering questions nobody asks and asking questions everyone knows the answers to.

The culture of meeting about doing things rather than actually doing things is poisonous, and we in IT are fast catching up with our NGO friends.

I have nothing against folks making a good living off this particular junket, but as a great man once said

Don’t hate the player. Hate the game

The rest of us should stop talking about where the fish are and FISH

So the other day I made a comment about our IT industry.

It did not go down well in certain quarters.

And so I did the only rational thing – I decided to expound further. In great detail

This series, based on my experience is the result of that.

So last year, after 12 years of what I fondly believe to be sterling service, I left the company that had employed me to start my own company.

I enjoyed myself very much in that company, and held a number of positions as I rose through the ranks in various capacities. I would be the first one to acknowledge the company took a number of risks believing in my … unique … way of getting things done, and all things considered I like to think the risks paid off.

So after the traditional send off lunch, and speeches I later asked the HR what token the company would give me from my decade of service.

She seemed surprised and puzzled by my question. "But we got you the lunch last week?!"

I must confess I had a momentary flash of intense outrage.

And then I thought about it some more. It’s been a pleasant run. I worked with amazing folks. I found unique and revolutionary ways to solve problems. I trained some of the best guys in the industry, many of whom have gone on to do great things. The company (daringly) mostly left me to my whims and did not question my unconventional methods of getting results. It let me indulge my numerous pet interests like www.mzalendo.com.

Plus it paid my salary.

By many measures I’m not exactly sure between myself and the company which got the better deal out of the arrangement.

And so it dawned on me perhaps my sense of expectancy was mightily misplaced.

Perhaps I did not make as big an impact as I fondly believe.

That, I confess, was a difficult pill to swallow.

So it dawned on me that perhaps, in fact I was the one that got a better deal out of the arrangement.

"Never mind," I told her finally. “Forget I asked.”

This world owes you nothing. In fact you might actually owe the world. You don’t live in a war torn country. You have three square meals a day. You have a roof over your head. You are of sound mind. You are healthy. You can walk. You can see. You can hear. You have family and friends who love you.

What more do you want?