I am excited to open this new chapter in my life and look forward to new friends, experiences, and challenges.

Stay tuned for more information.

The goal is to present your theme as a mantra to help the audience remember it easily. You need to be able to craft a vision that is both vivid and powerful that it rallies listeners and allows them to see it as you do and convince them to come along.

I’m trying to enlist strategic technology partners for our organization and during a recent presentation I said:

“Do you want to make another sale or be apart of the journey to cure diabetes in our lifetime?”

I had outlined my vision in that simple statement.

At a previous employer, one of my projects was to modernize all aspects of the IT Infrastructure at our Toronto office. After all the planning was completed and approvals obtained, I presented the planned changes to the staff in a town hall format. I opened the presentation with “I’ve been looking forward to standing here for the past 6 months”. After opening I proceeded to list of a few of my past successful changes, allowing the audience to believe in my next vision: to reinvent the network.

This mantra is simple, bond, and reflects a concise core purpose that is easy for the audience to remember and to rally around.

Now that you’ve outlined the presentation and have the audience sharing the vision, you need to sell them on the benefits.

I’m surprised how many presenters have trouble doing this. The goal here is to explain the real-world problem, and then offer your solution.

So after outlining my vision (to reinvent the network), I jumped into a discussion of why we need a new network. I went over the current state of things, describing failure rates and touching on pain points such as slow internet access, etc.

This sets up the problem and makes it easier for me to present a solution.

Most presenters will describe the solution before the problem. If you flip it around, it’s a lot easier for the audience to follow.

Another goal of your presentation should be to use a captivating storyline to structure the presentation. There are several different techniques for this including:

1. Telling personal stories. One time during a presentation the projector died on me. I smiled, knowing that the AV staff were already taking care of the problem. I proceeded to tell the audience about the time I had 15 people at my place watching the Superbowl when the TV died and we had to run over to a friend’s house to finish watching the game. I used the opportunity to make an emotional connection with the audience. Once the problem with the projector was fixed, I continued on as if there was no break. Pretty effortless, but powerful.

2. Keep it visual. In most of my presentations I don’t use bullet points, mind-numbing data, or excel screenshots. I’ll use slides with key statements on them, a single number with a percent symbol, or a photo.

Too much text on the screen distracts from the presenters words. You need to strike the right balance between visual and verbal by creating slides that are big on images and low on text.

3. Rehearse. I spend hours rehearsing for presentations. Nothing is taken for granted. I know the flow of the story, how I’m going to build up to my announcement, and how I will open and close the presentation. It appears effortless – but only after hours of rehearsal. Motivation takes preparation.

One key aspect of a presentation is reinforcing an optimistic outlook. Nobody buys in to major change without an optimistic outlook. I believe in what I present and the audience sees that in my body language and hears it in my voice.

One last piece of advice, always end your presentations on a hopeful note. People need to leave the room feeling confident in your ability to execute and should feel good that they are along for the ride.

I’ve got the original blue bad boy himself at the core of my network… the Linksys WRT54G router. Just kidding…

One of my more recent projects was to redesign my home network to handle not only data, but also voice and video. I stream video from my NAS to laptops, my iPad, and PS3 and run Unified Communications – I need a solid network.

Let’s breakdown the components:

Internet Connectivity: Bell Fibe 25 VDSL2+ FTTN service

I can download at 25Mbps and upload at 7Mbps. With my service I have unlimited downloading and 2 static IP’s. Not bad for $75 a month! Bell provided me with a branded 2Wire modem which I’ve configured as my standalone internet gateway. The router also features 802.11g and a 4 port 10/100 switch which I’m not using. The software interface is heavily customized with Bell branding, but you do have access to configure essential network settings.

Edge Firewall: Cisco ASA 5510 (3DES / AES) /w SSL VPN

Protecting the network from external threats is paramount! These days you have every 14-year-old with a dell laptop trying to compromise networks. I have experience working with the Cisco ASA devices, loving the fact that not only does it feature stateful packet inspection, but also functions as my SSL VPN host.

Router: Cisco 1861 Integrated Services Router

The router serves as the core to my home network. I’ve loaded Cisco’s newest IOS onto the box (15.1 SPSERVICES-K9) version running Call Manager Express 8.1. Integrated into the router is an 8 Port POE switch and a 4 port FXO expansion card. I run Cisco VOIP at home and use a Bell land line to connect the router via the FXO card to the PSTN. The IP Phones all connect via Cat6 to the router and receive 48V DC via POE. In my home office my desktop plugs right into the IP Phone which gives me access to the network and internet.

My network is segmented, with 4 VLAN’s in use. I have device management (2Wire router, ASA, 1861 router) on one VLAN, while data, voice, and wifi all have separate VLAN’s. The 1861 router serves as my DHCP / DNS server for the local network. I’ve set the DNS to lookup against Google’s public servers (8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4).

Wireless: EnGenius 802.11N Access Point

I use a high power EnGenius AP which is more than capable of blanketing my condo with 802.11N WiFi. DNS / DHCP is passed through to the 1861 Router. I have both a public and private WLAN, one broadcasting the SSID for guests using WPA2 TKIP, and another that is non-broadcasting for my laptops and mobile devices. The nonbroadcasting WLAN uses 802.1x authentication (EAP-TLS) for added security.

Network Storage: Cisco 4 Bay Smart Storage Solution

I use a 4 Terabyte NAS solution at home, providing enough space for H264 encoded HD video, iTunes library, applications, and photos. This system has proven rock solid since installing a few weeks ago and I recommend the smart storage product to anyone looking for a home NAS solution. It can be easily expanded to 8 Terabytes in the future.

I’ll admit it’s overkill for a home network, but I’m a geek and proud of it! Of course, this is all installed in my closet and not in the middle of my living room. I have yet to bring a date back to my place and have her interested in which firewall and switches I use…

Thanks also to my friends at a certain internet communications company for helping me design and deploy the ultimate converged high-speed home network

I informally call it my Steve Jobs presentation, why? because I present it in upbeat, off the cuff style that Apple’s CEO is famous for. It’s a lot of fun to do, but also takes several weeks of prep work and rehearsals to get it right…

It’s very hard to compare any presentation to one Steve Jobs gives as he is really in a league of his own. He is the most charismatic pitchman in business today.

He has a way to tell the story visually that turns customers and employees into evangelists. If you want to learn more about this effect, read “The Cult of Mac” by Leander Kahney. There is even a photo of an apple fan with the logo shaved into his head.

A few things your presentation should have:

The goal here is to engage your listeners’ passion by tapping into your own.

Steve Jobs is passionate about designing cool, fun, and easy-to-use computers, digital music players, and now phones. And he’s not too bashful to admit it. His words and phrases reflect his enthusiasm. These quotes are from the iPhone launch and from previous presentations:

“We’re going to make some history together today…”

“Today we’re introducing revolutionary products…”

“We’ve got amazing stuff to show you this morning…”

“This is an awesome computer…”

“This is an incredible way to have fun…”

“This is the coolest thing we’ve done with video…”

Steve Jobs is exciting to hear, and many public speakers consider him to be a role model for their own presentations. Rarely, however, do most speakers take the opportunity to express their excitement about a particular product, feature, or service. They might be passionate about their story, but when asked to deliver that message in front of others, they fall into presentation mode: serious, glum, stiff, and formal. I can admit to doing this once or twice, but you learn quickly that the audience doesn’t like hearing a monotone talk about something new and exciting.

If you honestly believe that something is “amazing,” go ahead and say it. After all, if you’re not passionate about the topic, how is your audience going to be?

So, now what not to do in a presentation:

Some words and phrases are meaningless, and overused. You don’t have to eradicate each and every one of them from your speech, but try to avoid them as much as you can.

• Maybe
• I think
• Well, you know
• Uh, Um, Ah, and other filler words
• Buzzwords of any type (e.g., mission-critical, optimized, monetize, synergy, no-brainer, etc.)

This is just touching on presentation do’s and dont’s… tomorrow I’ll expand more on getting into the nuts and bolts of a presentation including navigation and how to properly outline a presentation for the audience.

This is more of a family trait. My Dad has always worked very hard all his life to achieve goals and make sure that he provided for our family. He would be the first person to tell me that nothing in life comes easy and that if I wanted anything I had better be prepared to work for it.

My Grandfather would echo that comment, and proceed to tell me that I will do something great with my life but I need to work hard to get there.

In the past I would spend far more hours at the office than I would at home or out with friends, something I regret, but at the same time it has worked out in other ways.

Because I spent many years prioritizing my career, I’ve been able to learn a lot and advance up through the corporate ladder. I’m 26, an IT Manager at a very cool startup and have worked for one of the largest companies in North America maintaining mission critical infrastructure.

I have many things to show for all my hard work and I throughly enjoy what I do each and every day.

There were two turning points in my life which led to me balancing out my career with a healthy personal life, one is good… the other hurt a lot.

It was May 2009, the weather was excellent and I was invited to go mountain biking with a good friend in Burlington. I accepted figuring it would be fun and a nice change from work. A couple of weeks prior I had purchased a bike and had yet to use it.

So it was a beautiful Saturday morning and we set out to ride the trails at Kelso Conservation Area. I managed to make it a total of 8KM before I had broken my bike and felt like I could go no farther. I was never an athletic person, but I thought I could do more than eight kilometers… I was wrong.

I was convinced to improve on this and I did. Not only did I significantly improve my riding skills, I trimmed down and became a much healthier person. In June 2010 I participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, raising $2500 for research and riding 350KM from Toronto to Niagara Falls.

The second event that convinced me to find balance was when I fell sick on a trip to Seattle for a conference back in February 2010. I spent two weeks in the hospital before being allowed to come home.

Even when I was sick my concern was what was happening at the office, and feeling the need to check my Blackberry for news and provide direction to the staff. I realize now how silly this seems, but at the time my priority was my career and anything that benefited reaching my goals. Getting sick came across as an inconvenience.

I can remember when I made up my mind that I needed a change. I was driving home from work, a week after getting out of the hospital and there was traffic on the highway. I was stuck waiting in traffic for 3 hours. Ordinary this wouldn’t have bothered me, but I wasn’t feeling that good and I just had enough.

So, as any good businessman would do… I came up with a plan to change some things. First, I decided I wanted to move to Toronto. There was a very nice condo building going up close to my office and I jumped on the opportunity to be one of the first people to move in. Within 45 days of planning to move, I was now living 29 floors up above the city and had taken back 3 hours of my day since I no longer needed to commute between Burlington and Toronto each day.

I adjusted my priorities slightly and started spending more time with friends and out having a good time instead of being stuck at my office desk. I still have a home office, but now keep my work confined to that room, when I decide to work off hours on a project.

I would say that I was very happy with the positive changes in my life up to this point.

Later on in the summer I was presented with an opportunity to advance my career and join a healthcare startup not that far from where I was currently working. Within a week or so I had made up my mind that I was going to make the change and handed in my two weeks notice.

I’ve been working at my new company now for 4 weeks and I can say that I made a good decision. I now have an excellent balance where I spend 9-5 working and can focus on other things outside those hours. One of the biggest differences between here and my previous employer is the working environment. Instead of fighting over projects, I now work in a very cooperative environment where 100% of the staff are committed to achieving the company’s mission.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my previous job. I had a lot of fun, learned a lot, and it taught me the essential business skills I need to succeed today and in the future. I worked with a lot of excellent people, but it was very challenging and took a lot out of me over the years. I would still recommend the company to anyone that likes challenge and can work at a fast pace.

Today I’m a much happier person, I still have a great job, and I’m out enjoying every minute of my life. If someone asked me what my priorities were today, the list has grown and includes one in particular I care a great deal about.

The following are some good tips for maintaining a healthy work / life balance:

1. Slow Down. Life is simply too short, so don’t let things pass you in a blur. Take steps to stop and enjoy the things and people around you. Schedule more time between meetings; don’t make plans for every evening or weekend, and find some ways to distance yourself from the things that are causing you the most stress.

2. Let Things Go. (Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.) It’s simpler said than done, but learn to let things go once in a while. So what if the dishes don’t washed everyday or that the house doesn’t get vacuumed every week. Learn to recognize the things that don’t really have much impact in your life and allow yourself to let them go — and then not beat yourself up for doing so.

3. Take Charge. Set Priorities. Sometimes it’s easier for us to allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed rather than taking charge and developing a prioritized list of things that need to get done. You need to buck the trend. Develop a list. Set priorities. And then enjoy the satisfaction of crossing things off your list.

4. Learn to Better Manage Your Time. Avoid Procrastination. For many people, most of the stress they feel comes from simply being disorganized — and procrastinating. Learn to set more realistic goals and deadlines — and then stick to them. You’ll find that not only are you less stressed, but your work will be better.

5. Find a New Career. Some careers are simply more stressful and time-consuming than others. If you need more time for yourself or your family, now may be the time to explore careers that are less stressful and more flexible.

So, here are some stress reduction tips that are good in the workplace and can even be applied outside the corporate walls of 9-5:

1. Humor

Humour is one of the greatest and quickest devices for reducing stress. It works because laughter produces helpful chemicals in the brain. Humour also gets your brain thinking and working in a different way – it distracts you from having a stressed mindset. Distraction is a simple effective de-stressor – it takes your thoughts away from the stress, and thereby diffuses the stressful feelings.

Therefore most people will feel quite different and notice a change in mindset after laughing and being distracted by something humorous.

2. Brisk Walk & Self Talk

Go for a short quick really brisk walk outside. Yes, actually leave the building and change your environment.

Breathe in some fresh air and smell the atmosphere…

Trees, rain, flowers, traffic fumes – doesn’t matter – stimulate your senses with new things.

On your way out keep saying to yourself out loud (and to anyone else you see, in that daft way people say “Elvis has left the building..”):

“(your name) is leaving the building.. “

And when you are outside and free say:

“(your name) has left the building.. “

You can extend the exercise by going to a park and jogging a little or do a few star-jumps – something energetic to get your body moving and relaxing.

You can of course use other mantras or chants, depending on what you want to do and how far you want to get away from the stress causes, for example:

“(your name) is leaving/has left the industrial park/district/city/country..” etc, etc.

Of course this is daft, but the daftness reduces the stress by removing you from the stress in mind and body.

Doing something daft and physical – and reinforcing it with some daft chanting – opens up the world again

3. Rehydrate

Go get a big cup or a bottle of water. Here’s why…

Most of us fail to drink enough water – that’s water – not tea, coffee, coke, ‘sports’ drinks, Red Bull or fruit juice…

All of your organs, including your brain, are strongly dependent on water to function properly. It’s how we are built. If you starve your body of water you will function below your best – and you will get stressed. Physically and mentally. Offices and workplaces commonly have a very dry atmosphere due to air conditioning, etc., which increases people’s susceptibility to de-hydration.

This is why you must keep your body properly hydrated by regularly drinking water (most people need 4-8 glasses of water a day).

You will drink more water if you keep some on your desk at all times – it’s human nature to drink it if it’s there – so go get some now.

4. Make a Cup of Tea

Any tea will do, but a flavoured cup of tea is even better. Experiment with different natural flavourings using herbs and spices and fruit. Fresh mint is wonderful, and excellent for the digestive system. Nettles are fantastic and contain natural relaxants. Ginger root is brilliant. Many herbs, spices, fruits and edible plants make great flavoured tea, and many herbs and spices have real therapeutic properties.

Use a ‘base’ of green tea leaves – about half a spoonful per serving – plus the natural flavouring(s) of your choice, and freshly boiled water. Be bold – use lots of leaves – experiment until you find a blend that you really enjoy. Sugar or honey bring out the taste. Best without milk, but milk is fine if you prefer it.

Making the tea and preparing the ingredients take your mind off your problems, and then smelling and drinking the tea also relaxes you. There is something wonderful about natural plants and fruits which you can’t buy in a packet. Use a tea-pot or cafetiere, or if you are happy with a bit of foliage in your drink actually brew it in a big mug or heatproof tumbler.

5. Crying

Not much is known about the physiology of crying and tears, although many find that crying – weeping proper tears – has a powerful helpful effect on stress levels. Whatever the science behind crying, a good bout of sobbing and weeping does seem to release tension and stress for many people.

Of course how and where you choose to submit to this most basic of emotional impulses is up to you. The middle of the boardroom during an important presentation to a client is probably not a great idea, but there are more private situations and you should feel free to try it from time to time if the urge takes you.

So next time you are stressed… just start crying in the middle of a presentation and leave the building yelling ” (your name) is leaving the building”. Once outside go and smell some flowers. You will feel 100% better

Programmer to Team Leader:
“We CAN NOT do this proposed project. It will involve a major design change and no one in our team knows the design of this system. In fact, nobody in our company knows the language in which this application has been written. The company should never take these type of projects.”

Team Leader to Project Manager:
“This project will involve a design change. Currently, we don’t have any staff who has experience in this type of work. Also, the language is unfamiliar to us, so we will have to arrange for some training if we take this project. We are not ready to take on a project of this nature.”

Project Manager to 1st Level Manager:
“This project involves a design change in the system and we don’t have much experience in that area. Also, not many people in our company are appropriately trained for it. We would need more time than usual to complete it.”

1st Level Manager to Senior Level Manager:
“This project involves design re-engineering. We have some people who have worked in this area and others who know the implementation language. So they can train other people. We should take this project, but with caution.”

Senior Level Manager to CEO:
“This project will demonstrate to the industry our capabilities in remodelling the design of a complete legacy system. We have all the necessary skills and people to execute this project successfully. Some people have already given in house training in this area to other staff members. We should not let this project slip by us under any circumstances.”

CEO to Client:
“This is the type of project in which our company specializes. We have executed many projects of the same nature for many large clients. Trust me when I say that we are the most competent firm in the industry for doing this kind of work. We can execute this project successfully and well within the given time frame.”

Last Saturday I set out on my bike for an 80km loop from my place in North York, stopping to visit my Grandparents in Mississauga and then back home. It was 6pm, I was one kilometer away from my building when i suddenly started having really bad pains on my left side. I stopped and got of my bike just in time to collapse to the ground. Not exactly what I had in mind…

I’ll skip the part where a concerned citizen noticed me laying on the ground and called 911 and all the excitement that followed… Im surprised it’s not on Youtube yet

Anyways, I woke up in the hospital and the Doctor said that i had an infected pancreas and a kidney stone. This is what was causing the severe pain in my side. I can honestly say that I have never felt pain like that before and i hope I never experience it again… It hurts.

So i was at the hospital until late Sunday afternoon while they scanned me using every imaging tool in the building and then proceeded to break up the kidney stone using a really cool wave gun. It doesn’t hurt, but feels weird and you can definitely notice that something is going on inside. At this time i felt it was appropriate to crack a joke and mentioned to the technician that i like my steak medium well… I think she had heard that one before!

Oh, now would be a good time to mention that my first concern upon waking up was trying to figure out where my very expensive Cannondale road bike was. It might seem materialistic, but I figured since I was in the hospital I was ok for the time being and could distract myself from tar pain by piecing together the 60 minutes I don’t remember. It turns out that the Toronto Fire Department had taken my bike to the station for safe keeping. I’ve since had it returned, my thanks to the guys down at Station 151.

So when I got home Sunday I had several medications to take, and unfortunately they worked together to create a very happy Cameron that didn’t feel like doing anything except lay on the couch and stare off into the distance. I had hoped to get some work done or something productive all week, but lets just say that didn’t happen.

One thing I didn’t count on was having someone special spend an entire week taking care of me. I’m not going to mention her name here, but it was perhaps the single most nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and I will be eternally grateful.

As some people will attest to… I make a really bad patient, and not a lot of people would stick it out with me during the bad times and really bad times.

Monday through Thursday mid day played out the same – I woke up in pain, took my pills, feel asleep and woke up in pain again. Thursday evening I felt pretty good, the pain had subsided somewhat and I could move around without too much trouble.

Friday morning I woke up with sharp pains in my left side again and went back to see the Doctor at the hospital. They did another CT scan and discovered not only another kidney stone, but also a blockage in my left kidney. I was taken back over to the imaging lab where they zapped the stone and problem areas using the wave gun for a second time immediately after that I started feeling better again

The infection in my pancreas is also going away, which is another positive sign I’m on the path to full recovery.

So that was my week… Not how I had planned to spend my time, but at the end things worked out. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow and then visiting my favorite breakfast place and maybe a walk Downtown. I was told by the Doctor not to exercise for 2-3 weeks until everything is back to normal, which means I wont get to participate in the Toronto Waterfront marathon this year… But I still plan on doing the CN Tower climb in October.

And that’s it folks. Hopefully now I can get back to posting about my exciting career and other IT news instead of health issues. As a friend recently mentioned on Twitter, if I was a horse I would have been turned into glue by now…

“Whatever doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger”

That, and almost every IT service is outsourced. I’m currently working on an analysis showing how much cheaper it is to manage software and systems in house. Past experience has taught me that relying on external vendors for mission critical support is never a good practice – especially when delivering centralized IT solutions.

I am trying to put together as much data as possible on the current state of things by sending out an IT satisfaction survey to all users and pinging the local IT team with lots of questions. Once my assessment is complete, I’ll build the results into my overall infrastructure deployment plan and present to the Management team here, looking to gain approval to proceed with the new build out.

There are lots of pieces to manage, with very short turn around times. Our servers will be collocated at 151 Front Street or a similar facility, and will support 25 user communities across Canada. This is in addition to supporting a modern, secure, clinical research environment for CCTN. It’s pretty exciting to build from scratch and I can’t wait to get started deploying servers and equipment.

For those that don’t know, you can get email on devices other than a Blackberry!

Of course, the only thing I miss is BBM and the little blinking red light letting me know I have a message. Aside from that, my Nokia is linked to my corporate email box, Gmail box, and social media feeds. It also has a full qwerty slide out keyboard and a 5 megapixel camera.

I organize my life, both professional and personal, around several tools.. one of which is Microsoft Outlook. As such, all my appointments, contacts, and notes are securely accessible from Outlook and my smart phone.

I’m feeling pretty good about my decision to take a break from the Blackberry… very liberating not to have the device attached at the hip waiting for the next email to come in.

That being said, I do plan on switching back to a Blackberry when the new BB Bold 9800 slider comes out on in a month or so. Why? because I enjoy touchscreen phones, like a full size keyboard, and think the Blackberry is the perfect corporate email device.