I’ve been fortunate to have a varied career – prior to, and at Cisco – and most of it has been focused on leading change, either locally, organizationally or globally.

We’ve all experienced change in our lives: change created by us, change created with us, or change that happens to us. Most of us want to be in the first two situations – authors (or at least co-authors) of change in our lives.

Bearing that in mind, when I’m leading change, my team and I ensure that we understand WHO the change will be impacting, HOW it will impact them, WHY the change is needed and then create change with the consumer in mind.

When we focus our efforts on empathy around change, understanding consumer needs and what will make everyone’s lives easier, everyone wins. As a developer/engineer, your designs are positive and meaningful to those who use them; as a consumer, you’re delighted (or at the bare minimum, you’re not annoyed).

As a leader, I get great joy from seeing it all come together – seeing the designers and consumers walk away fulfilled.

Find what fulfills your passion and work very hard at it to change lives.