Mathew Carley

Welcome to 2009. Good Riddance 2008. Anyway, it has been quite some time since I wrote, but in a nutshell, I’ve handed over directorship of my company (in Finland), I’ve left Finland and moved to India.

For now, though, I’ll get straight to it and write about my last 6-weeks of adventure, err… soon (I arrived on the perfect day to arrive – 5.30am on 27/11 – blissfully unaware of anything… but more on that in the appropriate installment – perhaps I need to compile some emails and paste them here).

Anyway, the other day, I wrote my New Years resolution – so to speak – on my Facebook profile (Askmen.com suggests that resolutions should be specific and not too vague, so I hope this is satisfactory):

Mathew is planning to spend 2009 solving some of the worlds biggest problems, like the so-called financial “crisis” and becoming the world-leader he’s destined to be.

How? Why? What? Huh?

Well, 2009 is already looking positive – I’m hoping the inspiration I’ve received from having been in Mumbai now for about 6 weeks will continue to roll in and give me new ideas. Ideas that will not just benefit me, but if I play my cards right, hundreds… thousands… millions of others. The next couple of years shall be important for me.As we all know, the economy is in the shitter, BUT, the USA has a new President (yay), so Bush can fuck off and get the hell out of our lives forever (keep in mind, you only have 10-years of SS protection motherfucker, then, I’m sure someone will fuck you up… if they even remember your name) AND, recession – believe it or not – means opportunity – for guys like me. (Looking for someone like me? Check my Curriculum Vitae)

What then, does 2009 have in store? Well, it seems my array of skills and the services my company offers will finally be appreciated:

1. Ethics and morals
2. Critical thinking and problem solving
3. Collaboration
4. Problem solving
5. Communication: Oral
6. Communication: Written
7. User relationship management
8. Creativity/Innovation
9. Managing expectations
10. Programming/Application development
11. Decision making
12. Functional area knowledge
13. Project leadership
14. Database
15. System analysis

Since I’m not the hard-core programmer-type, I can deal with 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 and 13 but with my technical wizardry, I can deal with 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15. Number 1 (Ethics) just comes with being me – and perhaps it’s why I’ve not come as far as I’ve dreamed of coming, yet: I’d not figured out my little formula for being rewarded for NOT screwing the customer. (Looking for someone like me? Check my Curriculum Vitae)

In addition, here are some more of the things I’ve been following and doing for a while – persistence pays off, eh?

1. IN: IT pros with business skills – OUT: Technical certifications
2. IN: Web-based applications – OUT: Build-it-yourself custom software
3. IN: Automating processes to save money – OUT: Long-term projects
4. IN: Macs in the enterprise – OUT: Upgrading XP machines to Vista
5. IN: Virtualization – OUT: Infinite racks of small servers
6. IN: Core i7 – OUT: The Pentium brand
7. IN: Thin clients – OUT: A laptop for every knowledge worker
8. IN: WiMAX – OUT: Metro Wi-Fi
9. IN: Ubuntu – OUT: Red Hat
10. IN: Business Intelligence (BI) – OUT: SNMP data overload
11. IN: Telecommuting – OUT: The 8-5 work day
12. IN: HP laptops and desktops – OUT: Dell laptops and desktops
13. IN: Multifunction server appliances – OUT:  Best-of-breed network devices
14. IN: Smartphones – OUT: Desktop-replacement notebooks
15. IN: Video conferencing – OUT: Air travel for a single meeting
16. IN: More internships – OUT: Filling open positions
17. IN: Conserving energy – OUT: Building IT for future growth
18. IN: WAN acceleration – OUT: Dark fiber
19. IN: 3G broadband – OUT: Frame relay
20. IN: Netbooks – OUT: Desktop PCs
21. IN: Microsoft Office on the Web – OUT: Azure, Live Mesh, and Windows Live
22. IN: CIOs with minimal tech background – OUT: CIO as lead engineer
23. IN: IT/business integration – OUT: Centralized IT departments

I already do/deal with/have solutions for numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20 and 23 – a large chunk of the list… I’m so in! And it’s about time. (Looking for someone like me? Check my Curriculum Vitae)

Now my favourite part is what comes next: advertising. I think I need to start harassing people a bit more… Hello hello hello! I’m here! I can solve your problems! Not necessarily CHEAPER, but certainly better, faster and with more value overall – which would save the client money in the short AND long-terms anyway.

In any case, my first overhaul, naturally, is Hostenz. We’re going to be giving away some luxury-wear for people who find us a few clients. I’m still working out the finer details of the “promotion”, but, I got an idea from an article in the DNA India newspaper a few days ago, which says something to the effect that if people feel like a million bucks, if they look like a million bucks, the role of HAVING a million bucks will come to them. If I can read through all my papers, I’ll transliterate it a bit better.

Well, actually, OK, not all credit can go to them. I should now give credit also to Priyanka – who is totally going to overhaul my wardrobe, and plans to have me in fashionable clothing… well… soon – she’s already working on my hair, facial-hair, fingernails and toenails (those with facebook may have seen the photos).

Now, Priyanka works for Salvatore Ferragamo at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai (to move to the Oberoi store in February, I think) and listening to not-only her insights but those of her customers got me a thinking – how did they get there?

See, when I’ve acted as a “low-rent” guy, I’ve got to be one. I’ve been given that role. When I’ve acted like the top-of-the-class, high-end guy, I was given that role. The same could be said for many of my friends.

Case in point: Justin. Has very good stuff – expensive watches, relatively expensive (over 1m€) house in the south of France… but a “normal” car and lived for a while in a youth-hostel (not because of the price, believe me – one night I was awoken at 3.30am to fix his internet – because he would lose/forfeit US$250,000 in a game of online-poker… or something along those lines).

Anyway, the whole point I’m trying to make here – I’m changing my attitude. I’m planning to remain optimistic and take advantage of the situation I’m in: I have these services, these ideas, the knowledge and ability to make it work, plus I’m in India – so if I need help, it’s not too far away. And toward the end of 2008, when I left Finland, I have kind of learned how much easier I can make things if I just get other people to do the gruntwork for me.

A lot is changing, and it’s changing very quickly – not just out there in the world, but inside my head too.