Called Out: From 2012 to 2013

  • Article

clip_image001

Called Out

Departing from the usual scripting today's post is a reflection on 2012 and a look ahead at goals for 2013.  The overall theme today is the Heroes To Mentors vision we have embraced within Microsoft PFE.

Brian Jackett is a coworker and friend of mine (pictured far left above) who specializes in SharePoint and PowerShell. He has been very active in the SharePoint community coordinating and speaking at events. He's a great PFE, and I'm sure you would enjoy having him come to your company to help with your SharePoint or teach a workshop. Check out his blog here.

Brian "called me out" in his blog post this month. Each year he blogs about his goals for the year and encourages colleagues to do the same. This time Josh and I drew the short straw. (grin) Thanks, Brian. Really, this is a good thing to do, and I encourage everyone to do the same. I've done this in some form or fashion over the last few years, and it has always been a rewarding experience.

Last Year In Review

Last autumn I celebrated two years of blogging on TechNet, and I have continued to meet my goal of one solid post monthly. Many of you have either commented or contacted me through the blog, and I enjoy that dialog. Keep it coming. Here are my top five posts of all time based on traffic:

  1. Step-by-Step: How to use Active Directory PowerShell cmdlets against 2003 domain controllers
  2. Finally! Copy and merge GPOs! PowerShell saves the day!
  3. Using PowerShell to resolve Token Size issues caused by SID history
  4. How To Remove SID History With PowerShell
  5. Everything you need to get started with Active Directory

In 2012 I also had the privilege of meeting many of you in person either on site as a Premier customer, at a conference, or at a user group event. It has been fun sharing Active Directory PowerShell and new PowerShell v3 features with you in person:

Thanks to your visits my blog has consistently ranked in the top 10% of TechNet blog traffic for the last year. Thank you for your support and feedback. This blog is all about helping folks with practical needs. Let me know if there are topics you would like me to cover here.

I should also thank all of you who have Tweeted my blog posts. It is encouraging, and I appreciate your help spreading the good news of PowerShell for Active Directory.

2013 Professional Goals

  • This year I was promoted to senior PFE, and I want to make the most of it. I want to develop others around me and share more development opportunities with my peers as my mentors have done for me.  Bruce Adamczak was the first to follow my lead and started a very successful TechNet blog.  Next I have invited Tom Moser to co-present with me at an upcoming internal training event.
  • PFE Industry Leadership is one of our goals as an organization within Microsoft, telling the value story of PFE and helping build the brand. I enjoy talking about the cool stuff we get to do as PFEs. This builds "street cred" in the community for us individually and for Microsoft as a company. I will explore this more in the coming year and develop a training guide for PFEs who want to speak at conferences.
  • Ed Wilson took me under his wing as a mentee last year, and we are both enjoying our monthly conversations. Ed and Theresa have both become good friends, and I look forward to more mentoring this year. Thank you, Ed, for the opportunities you have given me.
  • I really enjoy blogging and scripting. This year I plan to publish some updates for the SIDHistory PowerShell Module, and I would like to write a new module for cleaning up groups in Active Directory. Send me your ideas on what would help with group cleanup.

2013 Personal Goals

  • Like Brian I am a man of faith, and I want to grow closer to God. I have already begun getting up 30 minutes earlier each day to pray and read the Bible. Any parent of teenagers would agree with me that more prayer is a good thing.
  • In February I will begin getting up another 30 minutes earlier to exercise in some awkward geek fashion. I plan to alternate days between cardio and strength training. I tried jogging two years ago and quickly developed a stress fracture in my right knee (twice). I plan on easing into it this time.
  • Brian is getting married this year, and I have been married for 21 years. I always strive to be a better husband and father, and this year is no different. We have some special family events coming up this year, and I am looking forward to those.  PS - Brian, my wife and I fondly refer to those pictures of our pre-marriage years as… "the skinny pictures".

This is an exciting time in IT and especially at Microsoft. I am really enjoying our new releases: Windows Phone 8, Surface, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 and PowerShell v3. I look forward to what our customer can accomplish with these new tools both personally and professionally. Let me know how I can help.  Consider yourself "called out".

Ashley
GoateePFE