Kelsey Hightower’s pin-drop speech
I’ve lost track of the number of conferences I’ve been to. Candidly it’s a lot and not all of them have value. I just spent the week at the Red Hat Summit with some of the most amazing talent in technology and saw some really great speeches by notable leaders and technologists.
So when I tell you this speech I watched evoked emotions in me I haven't experienced in a long time, you will be shocked to know it wasn’t part of the Red Hat Summit. It occurred more than nineteen hundred miles away on a live stream from Austin, Texas.
Austin was hosting a “DevOps Days” event and one speaker in particular literally had the attention of the entire room, for the duration of the speech like I’ve never seen before. He wove a tale, that captivated the audience, had them on the edge of their seat and ready to sit, listen and revel in the story he was telling for however long he felt like speaking.
Kelsey Hightower walked us through a brief excerpt of his life, his journey into tech and told us many things. One of the most influential individuals in Kubernetes stood on stage, talked for a lengthy amount of time, not about technology but about his journey, from his heart. He was vulnerable, honest and the speech was as powerful as I’ve seen.
He reminded us in this speech that “Buzz words will come and go and you’ll remain. The key to doing this thing right, begins and ends with you.” He reminded anyone who would take the time to listen that doing the right thing, no matter what is what matters. This is the very picture of integrity, honesty and vulnerability. It’s not the tech that matters, it’s not the buzzwords or the titles. It’s about giving a damn and doing the right thing.
“Many people and organizations were successful before DevOps, before this thing had a name, before people found a way to work with each other. It’s my belief that organizations that were most successful were filled with people who had one amazing trait, they gave a damn.”
He touched on so much in such a short time, from being afraid of the unknown in race to hiring “our future selves” because of age. The interesting dichotomy of mature talent and age that seems to be something the tech industry continues to look past. Decades of talent and experience are put out to pasture every day simply because we’re afraid of hiring “old people”.
One thing he said, which I find to be important and empowering is that people change. Not just that people can change, but that people do change. He recalled a story of his life, being the first black man in the house of a white customer and how he spent time helping the man. He ended the anecdote by saying, “I also learned that people can change and if you do it right, you get to watch it happen.”
Throughout the speech, one mantra held fast… his work ethic. Like many of us in technology he has fought and bled for what he believed in. Sometimes we get caught up in the current buzzwords, the current tech fads and the future rather than realizing the key to it all is giving a damn. You can do just about anything, with any technology stack… you can solve the problem however you want, or are able… if you give a damn.
Do yourself a favor, take the time to watch this emotional, amazing speech. It will help remind you why we do what we do. It will remind you that no matter your industry, no matter your passion… we all do what it is we do because we love it and because we give a damn.
Altruism is not dead, it’s alive and well and Kelsey Hightower reminded me of that today. Using your keynote slot at a tech conference to speak from the heart like this shows a commitment and compassion for the industry which I believe is missing.
Thanks Kelsey Hightower for being brave enough to stand up and give this speech, it means something to the world.
