Working to Find Happiness

We got some incredible news this past month at Cisco. The company was voted as #1 World's Best Workplaces 2019! This is obviously a wonderful accomplishment and there's plenty documented on how it was achieved. Whether it's the Culture, the People, the mantra of "Use Your Voice," Work-Life Balance, Flexible Time, etc etc etc, each of us have had our own path to get here and what we, as individual contributors, have gotten out of it.

When I heard the news, it didn't really dawn on me what it meant, but a little while later, my mind started racing and I began to reflect a bit on my journey. So, this is my brief story... starting with one of the worst days of my life.

(April 22, 2009)

"Damon, I'm calling today to let you know that this just isn't working out."

"What do you mean, it's not working out?"

"I'm telling you that we're going to have to let you go..."

And with that, I was unemployed. For the first time in my professional life. I was laid-off (some say "fired") from a small start-up company where I was supposedly considered a pivotal operational member. To get this job, not only was it a "friend" that I went into business with, but I had just spent the first 11 years of my post-collegiate life building my skillsets and reputation as a network and cybersecurity engineer and architect. I ran a firewall team for a large federal agency. I was coming off of two great projects from my previous employers where I handled IT security functions for a Federal agency, as well as being a key security architect contributor to one of the training systems for one of the largest weapons systems projects in the U.S. Things had been going great, or so it seemed?

(Does this type of scenario sound familiar to anyone?)

That call in 2009 changed my life, and my family's lives forever. Both, for the obviously bad, but also for the good. Let me try to explain.

After the complete shock of the call, I couldn't waste time. I immediately took to email, Facebook, LinkedIn and calling anyone and everyone I could to find my next landing spot. Luckily, within a couple of days, I had made contact with an old friend who had just landed on a government contract overseas. Fortunately for me, they needed someone who was interested in running a network operations center and possibly building a security operations center capability, which was in line with my experience.

After the phone interview to which I received a verbal commitment, my next conversation was with my wife and kids. Although let's be honest, neither the 2 nor the 4-year-old had much to say in the matter; but nonetheless, we make decisions as a family.

"Tracy, I just got offered the job. There are a few stipulations though; the job is for almost half my previous salary, and we'll need to move in a month... to Germany. You in?"

To which, my wife unceremoniously said, "Yes, of course. I'll go anywhere with you and the kids." -- It was somber, scary, crazy and exciting all at the same time.

A month later, I was on a flight across The Pond to start my new job, in a country I'd never stepped foot into and certainly couldn't speak the language. A month later, my wife had prepared the house to be rented out in Orlando and she took the kids on a flight to meet up with me. Yup... we now live in Europe.

I'm going to save our German and European experience for another entry later, but suffice to say, the next 5 years were crazy, fun, sad, adventurous, tenuous, difficult, surprising, but definitely full of happiness. The range of emotions and experience will last our lifetimes and shaped us into the family and people we are today.

No matter how cliché it always sounds and no matter how many times you think you've redefined yourself as a person, every experience changes you. Today truly is another opportunity to build a new person tomorrow.

Through the 2 years of helping to lead a network operations team, I had an extreme feeling of appreciation because of the work I had participated in. I felt like I had contributed to an organization that was making a difference, and I was part of a larger effort to keep those I love dearest safe, as well as put IT systems in place that were being used all over the world. Of course, my role was simply that, a role; and I played it the best way I knew how; even if it was for much less monetarily than I was used to. Come to find out, it didn't really affect our family's quality of life, as we were able to make it work.

After those first 2 years, I garnered the attention of a company that I had admired for a long time. I found an opportunity to interview for a position at Cisco Systems. The company that built the hardware and software that I had used for years to bolster my career. Truth be told, as a long-time "contractor" employee, I never wanted to put all my eggs in one basket with a technology. So, the idea of working for a single vendor was typically a foreign idea for me. I also didn't envision working for the "machine." In my mind, I didn't want to work for super layers of management who, from the outside, may not have valued their employees as much as their customers. It just didn't feel natural. At least, that's what I thought.

Despite my hesitation, I went on to interview for the position of sales engineer (SE) anyway. But, my mind was made up for me... while I had been down-selected with one other guy, he had vastly more experience in sales and had the chops to handle the face-to-face needs that a is required by a sales engineer. So, I didn't get the job. I can tell you today, without a doubt, Cisco made the right choice at that time. That guy is still a rockstar and is an incredible asset to the company.

I didn't really miss a beat and quickly went back to business-as-usual with my work as a network engineering contractor. My curiosity though, had peaked with that initial opportunity and the process with Cisco. I sincerely didn't give it much more thought at first and carried on with my job, but that didn't last too long.

A few months later, another position as a network consulting engineer (NCE) had come available and sure enough, the opportunity was in the same town as where I worked in Germany; with some potential travel throughout Europe and the Middle East, as I had already been doing. I didn't spend too much time thinking about it, and I figured, "Why the hell not?" and I applied for the position.

During the process, I experienced 4 phone interviews (technical and non-technical), as well as an intense in-person technical deep-dive by 2 employees at the local Cisco office in Stuttgart. I don't care what they ever tell you about how easy they took it on me, from start to finish, it was the most intense interview process I had ever gone through in my life. During one of the technical phone interviews, I remember my parents being in town and hearing the 1.5-hour meeting through the closed door of my home office. I must have looked like a ghost or something coming out because my mother saw me when I exited the room and told me that she doesn't know how I endured what she listened to. But, if you've ever really done a technical interview for a larger IT company, its a fairly typical process.

After checking all the boxes it was literally a waiting game; and I waited... and waited... and waited... for what seemed like an excruciatingly long time. At least, that's what it felt like to me. I had started the application process in November of 2010. For a couple of reasons out of anyone's control, I didn't get the offer letter until July 19th, 2011.

Today, I still cannot express the feelings I had about getting the job, even though it was really happening. I was excited, nervous and happy all at once. There really was an element of validation that all the work I had done leading up to this was all worth it. The previous 2 years were a bit brutal. I had gone from some serious highs to some of the lowest emotionally in my life. I busted my rear-end to put myself in this position, and I had succeeded.

Just as I was riding high on Cloud 9 and feeling an immense amount of accomplishment, I was quickly slammed back to the ground. For reasons that still boggle me today, the company I just left decided that it as in their best interest to begin blaming me for several of their short-comings on the contract, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. My purpose in mentioning this isn't to drag down my previous company, but the actions that a couple of people had, created an environment that wasn't the easiest for me to exist in. Luckily for me, there were many that knew how much I accomplished, the work ethic I put into it and plainly knew what type of person I was. Which was great, because unbeknown to my previous employer, I was headed back into the same work location as I had left.

I spent the next 3 years with a feeling of doubt, but I quickly found that I was surrounded by a team of individuals that weren't going to let it define me. So, I was encouraged by their example, to simply put my head down, and work. The new peers I worked with supported me, guided me and had my back as I started my life at my new company. With their support, I spent my time letting my work, my actions, and my results speak for themselves as I had done my entire career. Maybe though, I needed the gut check? Who knows? I didn't know it at the time, but I was brought into a team of people that I would build firm, professional relationships for the coming years.

After all, we were all in the midst of change. No sooner was I was hired, that our manager had gotten an opportunity to move to another role within the company. The team and I were now left with a new leader. What did that mean for me, though? I found that I had to reinvent and prove myself, all over again. After all, I had been brought into the company on my merit and skills, but a shadow had been cast by a few of my previous peers.

Suffice to say, I felt like I did the best I could with the position, and by the end of my 1st 3 years at Cisco, I had regained much of the confidence I lost during the previous 2 tumultuous years at my former employer. Aside from the work I had done with my customer, I owe a huge amount of gratitude for the team of people that I worked with while there.

I can say all of this confidently because the new leader that had stepped in took me aside and expressed how he witnessed the type of person I was, how hard I worked, (even through some adversity) and how he knew all along, that I could be a successful contributor to the team. The conversation was very quick, and happened over a team-building event we were attending, but his words meant the world to me and have had a lasting affect on my attitude and demeanor.

Fast forward, my time in Germany came to a close and we moved back to our home in Florida. I've now spent the last 5 years stateside, and am happily continuing my journey. Upon returning, I continued to work in the customer space I was in, but now back in the U.S. There are a series of opportunities that were now available to me. After all, I was back where the bulk of the company was; getting more exposure to engineers, customers, and leaders than I previously had. It was easier to volunteer for extended and special projects, in addition to several series of small teams who have worked tirelessly to shape the organization and how we do business today. Suffice to say, I volunteered for just about anything I could get my hands on, and I was allowed the opportunity to do so.

Because of the increased exposure, the positive momentum I was trying to create and more importantly, the culture of the company, I've been able to grow more as a professional than I ever have previously. I'm venturing down a path of leading groups of people with a common cause, and the work has never been more rewarding. The impact that I feel I'm contributing to stretches across the entire organization, not just my immediate peers and it feels awesome.

Now, I'm sure I could've and would've learned how to navigate a successful path in other companies or other organizations because that's just who I am. Or at least, who I strive to be; but, I didn't. I can say without a doubt, Cisco has provided me the opportunity to grow, the environment to be successful, if I so choose, and has created a culture that nurtures their employees and gives us a safe place to communicate, innovate and be leaders. Are there bumps in the way? Sure... learning doesn't happen without failure. Due to the values being cultivated from leadership, on down, I can say there has been a profound effect on myself and those that work around me to "think, outside the box" and to not be afraid to stumble as we drive our mission.

I'm telling you my story and I wrote this article all to say that I'm not surprised that Cisco has become the #1 Best Company to work for and I'm excited to be an extraordinarily small portion of its ecosystem. The vision of the company was set many years ago but has been carried on by its current leadership. It's been flexible with corporate change, as needed, and has adapted with the dynamic nature of the IT business over the last 30+ years. As long as the vision continues to be clear and its people adapt to changes in the economy, I have high hopes that this type of achievement can be sustained. I am grateful and thankful for every single individual I've come in contact with in the past 8 years and I've learned what it's like to find happiness at my profession. For those of us already with the company, I hope we continue this journey. Likewise, for those who are considering joining the team; just know, that it's worth it.

Damon Abruzere

Security Architect -- Cisco Systems .:|:..:|:.