Thank you Jeffrey Snover.   I think he hit an extremely critical point in our industry last night.

He related IT Professionals to Lumberjacks.  Now, nothing against lumberjacks.  They do fine work, and they’re extremely good at it, and I think that’s the key point of it.  Lumberjacks have a different career path and its very much set on a routine that will remain the same for life with the freedoms of not having to constantly move and remain current with technology at a pace as such in the IT realm.

IT Professionals, are paid to do a job professionally.  IT constantly evolves and we pay our professionals to learn new things.  If a person is unwilling to learn the skills required to keep current as an IT professional, that person might as well be a lumberjack.  Lumberjacks are fantastic at their jobs, and rightfully so, there hasn’t been a new tree in many, many years – so they’ve got it pretty much figured out.  The thing a manager has to figure out is, well, is a lumberjack worth it, or is there a better way out there to do IT.

Now, if you’re an IT Professional – make sure you’re engaging if you’re going to stay in this space.  Find the people, social spaces, twitter, blogs.  Make this a part of your career, make it part of your routine.   Contribute back – remember, there’s always someone that knows less than you – there is, really… how do I know – It’s called the birthrate.

Now, if you’re in this space and you’re still feeling pretty comfortable, well – after sharpening that axe to go after me, consider taking a few practice swings at a tree.