The large part of the world was a mystery to me two years ago, before I began my journey as the CCIE agent. There were places I had heard of, but they were abstract, places with no real meaning to me. And there were people, people I had no idea how I would be able to speak with given my limited language skills. Then I went to London and London became a place I now know. I have been back several times and now London is a city to me. Yes I am comfortable in London now and it feels like any city, anywhere else where I can walk, ride the bus or train and fly in and out of with no concern other than my agenda. Then I went to Brussels and then Brussels became a city to me not just a place I had heard of. Again and again it happened to me in Dubai, Zurich, Atlanta, Athens, Cairo, Toronto, Burbank, and Johannesburg. I have Brazil, Mexico, and Australia on the horizon now and I am looking forward to making friends with the cities I travel to. The people became real to me. People like me who struggle, love, work, play and survive.
The economy has hit the world hard, not just America, not just Iceland, not just Britain, not just India, not just Australia, not just Canada, not just Germany, not just Russia, not just Spain, not just South Africa, not just Japan, not just the Emirates, but the whole world.
When I visited Dubai I was told by friends that I was going to see the gem of the Emirates, a place where islands were being built to house fabulous estates and hotels, a place where I could buy anything I could think of. When I arrived the price of oil had dropped by more than $100 a barrel the week before. What I discovered was that projects were losing funding while others were delayed. CCIEs were being put on the bench or on the street. High rise skeletons of splendid awe inspiring skyscrapers were now standing an additional year maybe two due to the delays cause by funding. There was the shock not unlike thunder rolling across the landscape and people were worried. The price of oil had stalled many people’s livelihoods. This gem of the Middle East had been hit hard and swiftly. A similar fate awaited many more of us and it was a slow lumbering monster consuming jobs and homes. This beast crept more slowly into the rest of our lives around the world. With financial institutions struggling and businesses loosing revenues and real people losing jobs it seemed the whole world was bent by this storm.
One thing amazes me looking back now in the shadow of the monster that has loomed over us all. In the dark I was made aware of the stars. During the heavy pause in spending that I still feel was a product of media focus on the economy, I saw channel partners stepping out of the darkness looking for CCIEs. Like the stars that begin blinking in the dark of night I was made aware of these small and medium size companies still pushing ahead with money saving and business enhancing solutions that need to be implemented by CCIEs.
The stars came out!
IT professionals around the globe were being hit hard and some still are, but in the world of Cisco Channel Partners I was seeing quite a different story. In the past few weeks I have had offers to my CCIEs in my network from Norway, Libya, Greece, Canada, US, Saudi Arabia, and Angola so I was not just seeing stars and believing in pie in the sky but I was experiencing firsthand the turnaround in our economic crisis. I am a believer that small and medium businesses are the companies that will lead us out of the turmoil and most Channel Partners qualify as businesses of this size. So I witnessed the stars coming out almost like that first dawn, I witnessed the stars coming out.
80% of CCIEs work for either Cisco or a channel partner and the 20% who do not, are the most likely to feel the knife of downsizing or cutbacks. Yet of the 80% we still have a large number of contractors who are also affected. So what do we do to protect ourselves as we worry about that next job or project? What we are seeing are thousands of resumes submitted to the few companies that are hiring using websites or job sites posting a position. The problem is that the qualified candidates get lost in the pile of those less qualified and the pile has become huge. Networking is not just a term for your work but your survival. Your network has the key to your next role or even your risk. Turn to it and as a CCIE you will learn a lot.
So what’s next?
Hiring is up for CCIEs in a few places like large population areas in the US and in emerging markets where channel partner stars are aggressively winning new business. Global demand for CCIEs is still good and improving as economy that slow lumbering monster passes by and improves. We are left with bruises and scars but never let it take your spirit. I was in California in July to finally meet Karam our friend from Iraq who has spent many months in s a refugee camp in Lebanon. His lovely wife and daughter hosted me for dinner in the home in Southern California. I use Karam as a model of resilience and perseverance for us all.
What to do? Well to start with if you are working let’s hunker down and wade through what’s left of the down turn hoping the bottom has been hit already. If you are out of work let’s talk pronto, some stars are out now and they are appearing more each day.
Peace!
Return to the top of 'When it is Dark you can see the Stars'.
Send Feedback