The tradition of New Year's resolutions stretches back 4,000 years. In Babylon, people sought the favor of the gods for a good harvest by making promises to return borrowed items or to repay debts before their crops were planted, according to History. The Romans took it further when Julius Caesar made January 1 the start of the new year, named after the god Janus, who was often represented in arches and doorways because he would look ahead to the future and back to the past. Romans often made sacrifices and promises to Janus that were tied to improvements in their behavior.

SHARE Board and editorial committee members have shared some of their New Year’s resolutions below to help the mainframe community get into the spirit of looking forward to 2024.

Sing Mainframe Praises

• “Find new ways to explain why the mainframe is very relevant and critical to our everyday lives,” says Carla Flores, global cyber security solution advisor at Broadcom and SHARE board liaison to Broadcom.
• “Put even more effort into telling people that the mainframe is the most securable platform and is not inherently secure. It needs time and effort to secure it appropriately,” says Mark Wilson, technical director at Vertali, GSE UK region manager, and SHARE editorial committee member.
• “Promote mainframe cybersecurity-governance plans to ensure the most securable computing platform is actually secured,” says Steve Hosie, cybersecurity executive advisor and strategist at Broadcom and SHARE board deputy director for Veterans in IT.

Prioritize Mainframe Efficacy

• “Identify the top critical business services and ensure there is comprehensive service level reporting aligned to the respective technical and business audiences,” says Dan Ruehl, senior software implementation specialist at 21st Century Software and SHARE board lead of conference operations.
• “Tune or audit Workload Manager (WLM) to accurately reflect the goals that can be achieved in the computing environment. This includes making good use of WLM reporting classes,” adds Ruehl.
• “Meet with my application development areas on a regular basis to share reporting and gather ‘intel’ on new development being pushed into production,” Ruehl advises.

Personal Growth

• “Adopt a planning methodology and stick to it. Buy a planner — either electronic or not — and use it in 2024. You might even consider taking a time management class,” says Craig S. Mullins, president of Mullins Consulting, Inc. and SHARE editorial committee member.
• “Improve your people skills. Take a Dale Carnegie course or start by reading Carnegie’s seminal book, How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Mullins advises.
• “Technology changes more rapidly than other fields, so it makes sense to keep learning continuously. Take a course on a technology you don’t know or buy/read a book on a topic you’ve been meaning to learn about,” Mullins adds. “Being more curious is always a good resolution for mainframers.”

Mentoring Others

• “Mentor at least one early career mainframer,” says Michael Dickson, brand, tech marketing, and product management leader at Broadcom and member of the SHARE editorial committee.
• “Convince more young people under 25 years of age that the mainframe is a great platform with exciting technology and increasing career opportunities,” says Mark Wilson, technical director at Vertali, GSE UK region manager, and SHARE editorial committee member.
• “Promote and build SHARE’s Veterans in IT program — veterans networking, mentoring, and recruiting other veterans into IT and the mainframe as a career,” says Steve Hosie.
• “Connect at least five ‘new’ mainframers with a mainframe mentor in their area of expertise,” says Carla Flores, global cyber security solution advisor at Broadcom and SHARE board liaison to Broadcom.
• “Mentor five college women who are looking to make an impact in the mainframe cybersecurity space,” says Cynthia Overby, director of security, customer solutions, and engineering at Rocket Software and SHARE board secretary director of membership.
• “Develop a successful SHARE mentoring program for young mainframers with the Women in IT team,” adds Overby.

Looking over the accomplishments of 2023, mainframers have a lot to be thankful for as the platform remains secure and reliable. Moving into 2024, they have the skills and curiosity to support new applications and technologies, as well as upskill themselves and those around them. What are your goals for 2024?