Community From IT Developer To Strategic Leader: My 25-Year Journey At Greyhound John NaraJuly 10, 2024 Image from Bigstock

When I joined Greyhound back in 1996, as an IT developer, my plan was to stay for a year and then move to some cutting-edge development company. Greyhound was not the sexy development shop that I had hoped to work for.

Now having worked there for 25 years, I have nothing but fond memories of the challenges, opportunities, and people.

Joining Greyhound

I’m pretty sure everyone knows what Greyhound is. This has been a benefit, never having to explain to people what my employer does. The problem has been convincing people I am not a bus driver. Why would Greyhound have any IT needs? As it turned out the technical opportunities were thoroughly abundant and sexy.

Key Projects and Technological Milestones

I was initially hired to “retire the mainframe.” The mainframe was used for several key business processes including dispatching and managing the fleet. Being young and aggressive, I was sure I could knock this out quickly. Digging in and realizing the complexity of a national network, ensuring DOT compliance, union rules, and having a bus and driver available was a challenge. I became obsessed with accomplishing this project. I quickly realized this was a multi-year project, hence my one-year plan was quickly dashed.

This ended up being a very large, sexy, and evolutionary project for Greyhound, leaving me hungry for the next big sexy project. Thanks to the economy, getting the big sexy projects approved became a new challenge. With my ability to understand technology, work with the business, and present thorough and convincing business cases, I was able to keep the projects flowing. Projects included implementing e-commerce (greyhound.com), implementing mobile phone sales solutions, implementing mobile phone driver applications, as well as implementing a data warehouse and moving to the cloud amongst several other projects.

Navigating Ownership Transitions and New Opportunities

Throughout my tenure, Greyhound was purchased by new parent companies a few times. Each owner presented different opportunities and challenges. The most recent purchase was by a German company shortly after the pandemic. This was a technology company with several existing systems. This proved to be another sexy project that even included international travel.

I was an integral part of the operational integrations and was excited to manage the integrations and development teams. The business relied on me to help them understand and trust the new systems will meet their needs. I architected the integration to protect business processes unique to Greyhound. Some systems were too cumbersome to replace and really had no application for European operations. This included the core dispatch and operational systems I developed 25 years ago, still in use today.

So, the not-so-sexy company can have some sexy projects, providing several years of rewarding and challenging work. I have since moved on from Greyhound feeling confident I left them in much better shape than when I joined.

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executives Partner Boost 11 Ways To Enjoy Summer When You’re Working A Full-Time Job Ariella CoombsJenna ArcandJune 13, 2024 Bigstock

There you are: sitting on the beach, covered in sunscreen, reading your favorite book, drinking your favorite drink under the cool shade of an umbrella. Life doesn't get any better than this. Suddenly, a door slams, a phone rings, a printer turns on. You jolt back into consciousness. You're at work, sitting in your cubicle, without even a hint of sunshine streaming in from outside.

When you're working a full-time job, finding time to enjoy the warm, bright summer weather can be a challenge. This is especially true for young professionals, as many of them are used to having summers off (or, at the very least, having a flexible summer schedule). But there's no need to feel trapped behind your cubicle walls. Go out and enjoy summer!

Here are a few tips for making the most of your summer while working full time.

1. Grab Some Foldable Chairs

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Keep a couple of foldable camping chairs at the office so you and a co-worker can catch some rays during lunch—whether it's in the park or the parking lot.

2. Keep A Beach Bag In Your Car​

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Keep a bag full of summer supplies for your favorite summer activities. Having a bag (or, in my case, a backseat) full of towels, sunscreen, and swimwear keeps you prepared for anything. Friends hitting up the pool after work? You're covered. Once the clock strikes five, you can head to your destination of choice immediately.

3. Plan An Office Outing

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Plan an office field trip to the beach, the park, or the pool. Just do something fun so your brain can recharge and refresh!

4. Organize Group Walks

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Get a bunch of co-workers together and go on regular walks around town during lunch. (Or you could suggest a quick jaunt over to the ice cream shop.) This is a great way to get some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.

5. Eat Lunch At The Park

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When you find yourself eating out, hit up places with a deck, porch, or patio of some sort. Obviously, eating out every day isn't really a feasible option for most of us, so look into alternative ideas as well. Pack a lunch and hit the park for your own little picnic.

6. Organize Office Sports

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Whether it's setting up an official office sports team or just hanging out with your colleagues a few times a week, playing sports is a great way to get out and enjoy the weather. Have a field nearby? Try setting up some slow-pitch softball games. Or see if you can get a basketball hoop for the office so you and a few co-workers can shoot some hoops at lunch.

7. Join A Professional Group

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During the summer, professional networking groups often have fun events like harbor cruises, pub crawls, and outdoor mixers. Find a professional group in your area and make networking fun this summer.

8. Have An Office BBQ

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Get your grill on! Talk to your boss about setting up an office BBQ. Ask everyone to contribute their favorite dish, side, or drink. Fire up the grill and relax! Hey, it's summer after all.

9. Wake Up Early

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Yes, yes, I know...waking up early is an incredibly painful and unbearable experience for some of us, but waking up even an hour earlier has its benefits—especially in the summer. Go for a morning run, putter around in the garden, or watch the sunrise with a loved one. Talk about starting the day off right!

10. Strategically Use Your Time Off

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Strategically use your vacation days around holidays. This way, you can make a potentially long weekend longer without having to use too much of your precious vacation time. Half days are also pretty awesome. It's amazing how much you can do with four extra hours! If you want an early weekend but don't want to burn up your vacation days too quickly, try taking a half day on a Friday instead of using a full day off.

11. Bike To Work

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If you're one of the lucky few who live within walking or biking distance of work, take advantage of it! Not only will you get plenty of fresh air, but you'll also save money on gas, which is always a plus!

There are plenty of easy ways to enjoy summer when you work a full-time job. So this summer, try out a few of these ideas and make the most of the sunshine and warm weather—while they're still around!

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