WITI Women Survey Questions and Responses:
1. What was your first job in technology?
My first full time job was as a COBOL computer programmer for Connecticut
General Life Insurance in West Hartford, Connecticut. I accepted the job
before graduating primarily because I liked the hiring manager (I had zero
experience with computers). He left the firm before my start date, so, in a
way, my entire technology career began because of a one-hour meeting with a
charismatic hiring manager. Connecticut General trained me on COBOL
programming for RCA computers, and I excelled! It turned out I was an
extremely structured thinker. The day I left the firm to relocate and marry
my college sweetheart, RCA closed their doors making it impossible for me to
find a similar job again. So, after not marrying my college sweetheart, I
accepted a job as a sales support representative for a key-to-disc company.
Quiet, shy and technical, I had to learn to teach, relate and communicate.
This assignment clearly redirected my life. Although I stayed in technology,
my career centered around marketing, strategy and leadership rather than
technical excellence. My lesson: Be open to the possibilities!
2. Who has been your most significant mentor? Why?
I've never really had what I would call a mentor. I have had strong support
from a number of senior executives for whom I have worked. The executive who
probably had the greatest impact on my career was a regional manager for
Inforex (a firm long since acquired and absorbed). His leadership and
support caused me to move from a branch role to a regional role to a
corporate role, which led to my success in corporate marketing and general
management.
3. What has been your greatest challenge and what strategies did you use to overcome obstacles?
My toughest challenge was joining a very successful, high-growth company as
the general manager of a line of business that was failing. I didn't know
how bad the situation was when I accepted the position, but I rapidly found
out. Almost coincidentally with starting the assignment, most of the senior
staff left. My strategy was three-fold: hire very talented people with
diverse experiences to bring new insights to the problem; talk with lots of
customers to find out what was needed that we were missing; and to find out
from the sales force what they needed to make selling my line as attractive
as possible. My team revitalized the offering, created a tight relationship
with the channel and focused on constantly responding to changing customer
requirements. The first year, the erosion stopped. The second year, the
business had dramatic profitable growth.
Barbara Babcock answers these questions:
1. What was your first job in technology?
2. Who has been your most significant mentor? Why?
3. What has been your greatest challenge and what strategies
did you use to overcome obstacles?
4. Who has been the most influential person in your life?
Why?
5. What lessons have you learned that would be valuable to
women beginning their careers in technology?
6. What new technology do you believe will have the most positive
impact on the world in the next 20 years? The most negative impact?
On the lighter side:
1. If you could have dinner with any 2 people (living or not),
who would they be?
2. What was the last book you read? What books do you love to recommend?
3. If you couldn't do what you are doing now, what profession would you choose?
4. What is your definition of success?
