The ServiceNow Career Time-Machine Series - Robert Fedoruk
ServiceNow is rocketing along with explosive growth and significantly impacting the world of work. The ServiceNow community is also growing, and it is being led by pioneers dedicating their time to pursue a joint passion for nurturing and cultivating its people.
This article asks: "If you could travel back in time to the start of your ServiceNow career, what would you advise yourself?" And we have the pleasure of hearing from community leaders. Together, they have inspired, set standards,
solved countless community challenges, promoted knowledge sharing, and published books and guides.
Presenting your time-traveler advisors: @Chuck Tomasi, @Maik Skoddow, @Pradeep Sharma, @Robert Fedoruk, @Jeremy Duncan, @Kali Alexander, and @Tim Woodruff.
As a cherry on top, you get a description of traits that will propel you toward success in the ServiceNow world, as seen from ServiceNow recruiters Erkan Ozlav and Cathy Allen.
If you are just now picking this series up, you have the opportunity to read:
The ServiceNow Career Time Machine - Chuck Tomasi.
The ServiceNow Career Time-Machine Series - Maik Skoddow
The ServiceNow Career Time-Machine Series - Pradeep Sharma
Robert Fedoruk
The Son of an Infantry Man
When I first started this article, I thought I knew some about Robert. However - as has been the case with all the articles - it is fascinating to unlock the deeper dynamics of the community champions we are inspired by.
I hope you find inspiration in this article, as Robert has learned a lot of valuable lessons that we are wise to consider before lessons are bestowed upon us by misfortune and unpreparedness.
If you want to be successful, you have got to put in the work and be prepared.
Though what does it mean to be prepared?
Achieve Greatness through the Habitual Drill
Habitual. That is the word.
Robert starts by defining himself as an "army brat", the son of an infantryman, which has been essential for how he approaches his daily work - or drill - and a significant foundational component for achieving his current success.
My dad was an infantryman and wanted his house to run efficiently. Things had to be done right. Oh, you’re making your bed? Make it this way.
Robert explains that this daily drill built habits that helped shape the outcome of his life by keeping him prepared and efficient.
Robert’s morning drill includes 30 minutes of reading ServiceNow Community, Slack (SNDevs), and Docs. During this time, he attempts to answer whatever questions he can, but also reads correct answers given to other people’s inquiries. In this way he’s sure to learn or reinforce knowledge daily.
As he says, “you stack that over 10 years… 30 minutes per day for 200 workdays a year for 10 years is a stupid amount of knowledge.”
Robert further decreases the lag time related to learning by not keeping a study objective. The study is the objective.
Its automatic. I sit down, I read docs, community and slack. I don’t care what I’m learning, only that I’m performing the drill.
Speak your Truth and Speak it Well
I’ve never heard a company call people out for adding value to a conversation. Everyone comes to the table wanting what is best for outcomes.
A clear advice from Robert is to speak your truth and speak it well. And if he could go back, he would always provide his opinion on whatever is going on.
It's like dressing for the job you want as well. How are people ever going to consider you as anything other than your current role if you are not showcasing that your craft and value go beyond the scope of your role?
Storytelling is an apex skill.
Most people need practice communicating. Robert believes honing this skill makes one more visible and opens new opportunities. It is important to state your views confidently, no matter the situation. What if you are the only person to see a blind spot that nobody else sees?
Understand the Problem and Objective before the Solution
A common and well-known fallacy within the ServiceNow - or any other tech - community is to jump to solutions.
It is almost a rite of passage that any technical consultant must go through to be able to stand a few years down the road and think, "wow, that was dumb."
A problem well-known is a problem half-solved. I read that on the internet.
Truths are often best delivered with humor, as above.
One of the reasons it is so easy to jump to solutions is that clients often know what they want (to some extent) but not why they want it.
There are people out there spending a quarter million dollars to get something implemented, and they have thought not one second about what outcomes are being achieved.
It is the responsibility of the technical consultant to do all that is reasonable to understand the underlying "why." This requires being a strong communicator and advocate.
At this time, I would like to reference three articles on understanding the why.
WHY are we doing this?! by Robert Fedoruk
Beyond Technical - Setting Sails for an Unsiloed Future - by Jakob Anker Nielsen
How to gather and evaluate requirements - by Jakob Anker Nielsen
More from Rob
Robert, The Duke, Fedoruk - YouTube
CJ & The Duke – Duke Digital Media
Duke Digital Media – Authentic, Authoritative, Un-apolagetic ServiceNow Commentary (theduke.digital)
Tips & tricks for starting in ServiceNow
Resources for Learning ServiceNow
7 TIPS TO BRIDGE THE GAP - From ServiceNow Bootcamp to Job
Up Next - Jeremy Duncan
Thank you for reading this article. I appreciate it a lot, and a special thanks to Robert for letting me do this article. I am happy to represent and write on his message, which has been a true learning experience in itself. Thank you.
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