This is not a tribute to Mr. T of the A Team TV series. This is a tribute to a VP of engineering I had before F5. Prior to meeting Mr. T for the first time, I had just been RIFd from a company I had been employed with for 10+ years. The reason for my RIF? I was told that my skill set didn’t match the future direction of the company. A week later, a former manager at that company said I should call Mr. T at #####. I did and after going in and talking with him for 30 minutes, I was offered a Senior Software position on the spot. I knew nothing of the product line or technology however in the first 6 weeks I found and fixed the root cause of 3 major issues that they had been chasing. I soon became the knowledge expert on these two products. Some months later, this company entered into an agreement to OEM these two products to the company that I had been RIFd from. After about a year I asked Mr T why I was hired. He said simply that I had a skill set to learn and learn deeply. F5 is not looking for that in its employees anymore - you must immediately have the skill. Although Mr T had an office with a door - it was rarely closed and you were most likely to find him walking around the building talking with employees. He had a rare trait for a VP - he listened and he was visible. He would spend time actually using the products and asking questions about them and their design. Our team went on over the next couple of years and developed 3 more innovative first products. Regrettably we did so well that we were bought by a larger company for the product lines and soon the company was shut down. Mr T - thank you as you made #### the best company I’ve had a chance to work for. You showed and lived what a VP should be. This type of exec doesn’t exist at F5.
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F5 has that motto and proud of it!!!!!
This type of exec wasn't uncommon at F5 when JM was in charge. Likewise, hiring people for aptitude was common as were speedy hiring decisions.
Executives being forced out in SJO/TLV, Liberty Lake and Seattle was part of the issue as well as unnecessary push to HYD (who the fu-k has the motto _go cheap or go home?_).
Many of us have that skill set to learn. But F5 doesn’t help us with that skill set. You are on your own to manage your learning and growth. You’d think that a company like F5 would promote growth. But learning and growth is something like 10th place, if even that high, for its priorities for us.
I wish I worked for a Mr T.