The Skills to Do the Job

President Donald Trump of the United States of America doesn't have to run for re-election until 2020. So it's probably a little soon to be sizing up potential contenders, people who might decide that they have the right blend of character, chutzpah, and charisma to challenge the sitting POTUS. I mean, supposedly these pretenders to the throne would also have sound political ideas.

In the Age of Trump, however, political theory and political policymaking seem both to take a backseat to political magnetism and political gamesmanship. Good (or even adequate) governance is an afterthought, a thing to be sorted through and figured out after you pass the job interview. We only want to know if he (or she) can get the job. Actually do the job? We're not arguing that with you, Harry.

This is all swirling in the air this week on account of Oprah Winfrey, who delivered a crackling speech while accepting a lifetime achievement award from the Hollywood Foreign Press at the Golden Globes on Sunday. It's not so much what the First Lady of Media said (though the substance of her remarks is stirring) as how she said it. Like a boss, is how. Maybe like the Boss.

Like the president, we mean, not Bruce Springsteen. Oprah both spoke and sounded like a leader. And more than a few people thought so. By Monday morning, the grassroots campaign was practically growing beneath all of our feet, with Oprah confidantes speculating to media that the Big O is giving serious thought to her heretofore undistinguished (entirely unbegun, really) political career.

It's fun to speculate about President Oprah, just like it was fun to speculate about the President the Guy Who Used to Be a Wrestler Before Becoming Everybody's Favorite Movie Star. It can also be fun to speculate about your IT career. Are you the next budding tech king, the guy (or gal) whose million-dollar bright idea launches an IT empire?

Just remember that every good IT career requires a solid foundation of knowledge and experience. Maybe you can just be on TV — or in the movies — one day, and in the White House the next. When it comes to IT, however, you need to commit to a continual learning process, as well as, years of practical, hands-on delivering of nuts-and-bolts-level results, before you can really dream big.

It's good to dream big dreams, in IT and elsewhere. Just remember that it's always helpful, and almost always required, that you lay a lot of groundwork before enjoying the rewards of career success. Get your training plan in order and start certifying today. (We can help with that, incidentally.) When opportunity knocks tomorrow, you'll be ready to answer the door.