I've gotten a decent amount of pings over Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and also directly about my Juniper.net account bouncing and why.
First: I apologize for that. I've reached out to folks at Juniper to add a re-direct in there for you so you'll be connected with the right folks moving forward.
Second: Yes, because you have asked and I have not yet answered most of you - I did decide to leave Juniper Networks and last Thursday was my last day.
Third: Yes, I do have a new opportunity I am heading to, but I have a few weeks before I start. The what, the where - none of that is relevant right now. Why? Because I'll pop up in a few weeks. And you'll hear about it then. It's an awesome gig, it's with a great team and there's a whole hell of a lot to do. And I'm psyched (understatement). But that's for another post.
When one makes a decision in their career sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it's very difficult, and this for me was the latter simply put because of an amazing, passionate group of individuals I worked with at Juniper and the wonderful partners, developers, consultants, customers and individuals I had the joy of getting to know. Period. But when making decisions like this I've learned (and thank you Sheila for reminding me) that you need to take out the emotional and look at the facts of what you truly want to do. When I did that I saw a very clear path towards the decision that I made.
Ah, Juniper. What a freaking ride it's been. Our team (known as the Developer Business Unit or DBU) was a start-up, kick-ass little engine that could. In under one year, we joined the Eclipse Foundation, created the framework and model for new ways to look at networking through Programmability (because it's not just about a box anymore - it's about the magic that happens inside and exposing it through APIs and new software that drives value not only for businesses but for developers by giving them the tools to build more intelligent applications and services), getting the keynote and I think surprising the pants off of everyone at JavaOne ("What's a networking company doing at a Java developer show? Don't you just sell boxes?") and the beta of the Juniper Developer Network, which included a full application and code gallery (Diet Coke, Clif Bar, and Quaker Instant Oatmeal should have sponsored NagiP, the IT team and me for that one. But hey, if you hit the dates you promised people and knock numbers out of the park, sleep doesn't matter, right?).
What a year. Some of the most trying work I've done (if I ever have to explain to someone again why you build a community, you don't "launch" one . . .) but also some of the most rewarding. And definitely with a team that I'll never, ever forget and will continue to call my friends.
- Eddie Amos, Jeet Kaul, and Mike Harding - the three headed monster (in a good way!) that continuously paved the way for things to get done from marketing and evangelism to engineering. I can tell you as someone that needed air-cover more than once in a while to get new things done, these guys did it. They are high on the get-it factor, they push the needle when it comes to execution, and lay it on the line for doing the right thing for the business. Looking back, I've learned a tremendous amount in just over a year working with these guys. And yes Jeet, I do remember and will be forever grateful for that night two weeks into my role at Juniper when I know you should have been home eating dinner with your family but you took the time to explain the intricacies of networking hardware to me. :)
- The brilliant and always inspiring Hal Stern who I think finally has figured out that sometimes I didn't answer his calls because his thinking was just so over my head from a technical perspective that if he wrote it down in email I could at least Wikipedia it :)
- Ivan Vojvodic, who was a great partner and colleague in driving multiple inroads and ventures with partners and development organizations.
- The Junos and Space SDK teams: Saurabh, Connie, Bijou, Karthik, Usama, Brian, Parag, Pratik, Sunit, Sree, and the rest of the crew who do amazing work and I know will continue to build amazing things.
- From the marketing side: Anna Griffin, Juniper's VP of Global Branding & Advertising, who has an amazing awareness and knowledge of brand and the right way to go about building a strong one, Barbara French who took the time to sit down and actually understand the goals of this "new" developer and software business and truly help us deliver from the analyst perspective, Adam Christensen, my buddy from IBM days and Juniper lead for Social, and of course, Brad Brooks who I wish I got to work with a bit longer and who brings loads of leadership and talent to the team (and although he'll never admit it and I'm not sure if he knows it, is usually one of the smartest guys in the room).
- Lastly, Nagi Punyamurthula and Helen Sebhatu - countless hours spent on website coding, events, partner strategies and evangelism, building new programs and who I could count on for anything and everything when we were building JDN and multiple different programs - you guys are the best. Period.
I don't give compliments that often to folks - maybe it got knocked out of me at MSFT or maybe I'm just not that good at it - but when I do, I mean them. That said, the DBU team is hands-down some of the best folks I've ever had the joy of working with, and I wish them and Juniper the best.
Signing off for now./LC
Email: laurencooney@gmail.com/Twitter: @lcooney
