D’où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous

Why do we seek?

When do you feel most alive?

What causes you to be up at 4am and feel invigorated?

When I first thought about writing this post, I was trying to come up with something pithy to write in parallel to Brad’s post. I failed. I do not have something pithy. What I have is a feeling that I have not had in a long time in tech. It is the feeling of being most alive. I have this feeling because I am meeting people who are seeking. Let me describe a scene:

You are an experienced IT/technology executive. You are told in a few days that some company you have never heard of will be in town and they might have something of interest you should see. You do not really have an accurate description of what you should see; yet you make appointment to go see it. You are given an address. You find the building. It is difficult to gain access, as you need to be on the list at the desk. Once you have arrived at the correct floor, you find another set of doors and then a reception area where you name is checked again. You state your business and are led down hallway past nice offices and well-apportioned conference rooms. A few turns later, down a narrowing hallway you arrive at the smallest, windowless conference room that is next to the storeroom. Inside your conference room you find a few people, some IT equipment. It is hot. There is a tabletop fan swirling the warm air. You sit down. There are no PowerPoint slides – just the white board, a flat panel, a rack of gear and some people. The conversation begins. You can leave at anytime; yet you stay. It is hot; yet you stay. Sleeves are rolled up, your brow fills with sweat and still you stay. The white board is filled many times over. Time goes by and the conversation goes on. When it is done you leave hot, tired, exhausted and alive.

What would you call that? I call that a meeting of the revolutionaries. “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

/wrk

* It is all about the network stupid, because it is all about compute. *

** Comments are always welcome in the comments section or in private. **