It has been over a year now since I have been in the trenches dealing with all the issues that security and network people have to deal with. When I was in there, I wrote a series of posts that talked about all the things a security manager has to deal with and how to be a successful security manager (see here and here – and forgive some of the weird characters and formatting since those posts were imported from my old Blogger site). But just the other day I realized just how separated I am from that world. Yes, I talk to clients on a daily basis. I know what they deal with. I have been there, so I can relate. But now that it is really not a part of my day-to-day job, I just have forgotten the amount of crap those people have to deal with.
What brought that to the forefront for me was when I was in Fort Worth earlier this week talking to a client. After our meeting we were shooting the bull, and my sales guy asked what they had planned for Valentine’s Day, where they were taking their wives, etc. They both said that they would be spending tomorrow, Friday, and through the weekend testing and deploying all the new MSFT patches that came out this month. When he said that, it really hit me how long it had been since I really had to mess with that kind of stuff.
Now don’t get me wrong. I work hard. I have worked on four RFP’s this last month, have put out several SOW’s (statements of work), and have worked on several solution and design documents for clients. I have worked every weekend for the last month and have worked quite a few late nights (the wife is not all that happy about those). I have been on many, many meetings, have flown back and forth between Houston and Dallas, Houston and Lubbock, and Houston and New Orleans (actually, the Big Easy trip is tomorrow). So I don’t think what I do is a cake walk. In fact, I probably work harder now than I ever have, with a few exceptions. I guess it just comes down to the fact that everyone has their own crap they have to deal with.
But I also know that the guys in the trenches are the real heroes out there. Those guys have to navigate the murky waters day after day, they have to worry about management breathing down their necks, they have to keep users happy, they have to deal with me and my sales guy trying to sell them stuff, etc. So here’s to those people in the trenches. Keep it up. We have got your back.
Vet
