How Do I Get Promoted? CRA-W Workshop at GHC September 2010 Laura Haas IBM Fellow Director, Computer Science IBM Research – Almaden

Who am I? Basic facts – AB in Applied Math from Harvard – PhD in CS from UT Austin – Joined IBM in 1981 as a Research Staff Member – Left Research in 2001 to work in Development – Appointed Distinguished Engineer in 2002 – Returned to Research in 2005 Director of Computer Science, Almaden Research Center WW lead for Information Software Research (2007) – Appointed IBM Fellow in 2009 WW lead for “far-reaching” research/science (Dec 2009)

Who am I?

Your Career is a Journey… There are many paths! TechnicalManagementTechnicalManagement Business Promotion is in the eye of the beholder! Career and personal growth should be the focus.

Impact is the key (Laura’s 5 I’s) Innovate – Solve problems in new ways – Invent new algorithms, system constructs, etc – Patent and publish their work Initiate – See new opportunities and pursue them – Anticipate issues and head them off – Think broadly about how to be more effective Implement – Make sure that the task gets accomplished -- well – Take responsibility for all aspects of the task Influence – Shape how key players think about the task, technically, motivation, etc – Work within and across teams  Impact – Create quantifiable improvements in quality, function, performance, process... – Change the field they are working in! – Enable increased customer satisfaction and/or revenue With increasing effects as seniority increases Tend to have multiple types of impact (but not always!)

You Need Good Problems – And Results What is a good research problem? – Something people care about – Something which, if solved, would have impact – Something challenging, but not totally intractable (P != NP ) – The resources required are not unreasonable – at least initially – Something that excites you!!! Where do you find them? – Your management/development partners/… – Academic buzz (hot topics) – sometimes – Clients – Your imagination or your own experience/frustrations How do you recognize them? – They’re exasperating/intriguing/scary (but not too scary) – Other people get excited when you talk about them – When you imagine the world without the problem, it is DIFFERENT

Things to think about (what else do you need?) Technical depth and breadth Communications skills – Correct, concise, clear – Match form and style to occasion, recipient Connections: A network of real relationships – Mentors, mentees, teams – Visibility Basic skills – Prioritization and time management – Analytic skills – Negotiation skills – “Business” sense – understanding the broad goals A good character – Trustworthy, caring, committed, courageous – Positive, empowered and self-aware – Share the credit, take the blame Credentials – Vita, patents, publications, awards Avoid derailment: personal, interpersonal, organizational blunders