One of the great supporters of the IT Pro community in Canada is Rick Claus of Microsoft Canada. Rick has been a great inspiration to me and to my career over the past few years. If I had to point to a single moment in time that has most positively altered the course of my professional life it would be a presentation Rick gave to the Montreal .NET User Group in November, 2004. It was at that presentation - on ISA Server 2004 - that Harp Girn asked for volunteers to help start an IT Pro community in Montreal, and after experiencing Rick's passion I could hardly not raise my hand.
Since that day Rick and I have become friends, partly because of a number of shared passions, partly because we are so alike in so many ways. As we built MITPro Rick was always available to offer advice, help as needed, or to come into town to present to the group when we asked. I would often ask him technical questions because I knew he would always have the answer. At first he would tell me the answer, then he would tell me where I should look. He reminded me of the Japanese proverb that says 'Give me a fish and I will eat for a day; teach me to fish and I will eat for a lifetime.'
When people ask me why I am successful I tell them that there are people who are good communicators and there are people who are good with technology, but people with both of those talents are a rarity. Rick is certainly one of them. He is able talk to an audience of IT Professionals of diverse levels and explain complicated technical topics in a way that everyone in the room will understand. That is a rarity among IT presenters.
In the ever-evolving world of IT we as professionals must find a way to keep up, and Rick has oftentimes guided (prodded, coerced, guilted, forces, shamed) me in the right direction. So many concepts that I use and evangelize daily were foreign to me before Rick introduced me to them.
As I transitioned from being a mediocre IT professional to (hopefully) an exceptional one, and then to being a presenter and trainer I looked to Rick for inspiration, support, and advice. His words of encouragement helped me over several hurdles along the way.
Having said all of that, Rick and I have two very different styles that one would think were so mutually exclusive that we could hardly coexist in the same space. Rick is soft-spoken and non-emotional when on stage, and when addressing any group that I have witnessed. I am… less soft-spoken and dare I say a little emotional when I present, or in almost any conversation. Where once I was a lot louder and in your face I have certainly toned down, and a lot of that as well is Rick's influence… as well as a necessity to succeed in a professional space where I would not otherwise survive.
One of the passions that we share is for the IT Professional community – commonly called User Groups. Over the years I have seen Rick present to countless user group meetings on various topics, and it is from him that I inherited my passion for doing the same. I learned from Rick and his team – Barnaby, Bruce, Damir, Ruth, and Rodney – that to be a good presenter you do not need to be a showman, you only need to be passionate.
Rick has influenced me and many others, and has given me the tools to in turn influence so many others which, in my books, qualifies him as a true IT Hero. The IT Pro community of Canada owes much to Rick and his teammates. I remember that every time I talk to him, so I thought for once I would take the time to extol his virtues. Thanks Rick!