JoeK: Professional Experience

I've worked as a programmer, analyst, project leader, trainer, and architect (a role I have found more appropriate to some business environments than others and, therefore, treat with some skepticism). You can check the formal details on my resume, but the following informal summary highlights the personal significance of my experiences:

• EDS introduced me to the best of Corporate America. At the time I was sometimes baffled by policies that I've subsequently come to understand were aimed at avoiding the momentum and myopia challenging many large organizations. My esteem for the hard-nosed, no-nonsense values I saw while at EDS has grown every year since I left to learn how other parts of the world worked.
• I loved the engineering culture of Ford Motor Company. There I experienced the marvel of Smalltalk in action -- far too few programmers have had this experience. I also saw the stresses of the engineering culture grappling with global reorganization.
• Gale Research definitely ran the most fascinating business I've encountered, and the editors I worked with rank as my all-time favorite group of customers. I still enjoy evaluating new technologies I learn from the perspective of what they might do for Gale's business. Of the companies I've worked for, Gale is the one I miss the most!
• Because I could see so much of the business during the growth and collapse of the internet bubble, I learned more than I would have thought possible during my four years at Artesia Technologies. Most importantly, I observed in detail how productiveness, honesty, and integrity are practical, essential parts of any business enterprise.