Year in Review - 2021

When thinking about what I am going to write, these posts always sound better in my head. Having read several year in review posts myself over the last week, I have gone back and forth between covering the big things that happened in each month, using data from the various things I did throughout the year, or just something else entirely. I decided to go with a mixture of data and some of the high points throughout the year.

This year started out like most years - a resolution to be more healthy and lose weight - and it turns out like every prior year that did not actually happen. What did make this year different however is that I was leading several groups within an Information Security team, instead of being deeply focused on the technical details I have been previously. As the Director of Security Architecture, my team and I were focused on enterprise/cloud/product security architecture and maturing our application security program. What I was most focused on however was being a better business partner; making sure less slipped through the cracks, and reducing the amount of time it took for us to respond to requests.

Outside of work, I was focused on completing my private pilots license. This is a major step in a journey I started 18 years earlier when I first logged time in a Cessna 150 (N11518) on July 26, 2003 at Ryan Field (KRYN) in Tucson, Arizona. On February 2nd, 2021 I passed my checkride in a Cessna 172 (N523AB) at Erie Metropolitan Airport (KEIK) in Erie, Colorado. Since then, I have taken my family on several flights, and have myself visited several airports in the central and western United States, taken a mountain flying course, received my high performance endorsement, bought into a partnership of a Cessna 182 (N5788J) at Centennial Airport (KAPA), and sold my share of the partnership. Going into 2022, I am a few hours into my Instrument rating, and plan to get it wrapped up in early 2022. I flew for a total of 67.5 hours in 2021.

“I flew for a total of 67.5 hours in 2021.”

2021 Airports

• Erie Municipal Airport, Erie, CO (KEIK)
• Centennial Airport, Denver, CO (KAPA)
• Central Colorado Regional Airport, Buena Vista, CO (KAEJ)
• Meadow Lake Airport, Colorado Springs, CO (KFLY)
• Steamboat Springs/Bob Adams Field, Steamboat Springs, CO (KSBS)
• Pueblo Memorial Airport, Pueblo, CO (KPUB)
• Lake County Airport, Leadville, CO (KLXV)
• Las Vegas Municipal Airport, Las Vegas, NM (KLVS)
• Payson Airport, Payson, AZ (KPAN)
• Scottsdale Airport, Scottsdale, AZ (KSDL)
• Marana Regional Airport, Marana, Arizona(KAVQ)
• El Tiro Gliderport, Tucson, AZ (AZ67)
• Limon Municipal Airport, Limon, CO (KLIC)
• Kit Carson County Airport, Burlington, CO (KITR)
• Renner Field/Goodland Municipal Airport, Goodland, KS (KGLD)
• San Luis Valley Regional Airport/Bergman Field, Alamosa, CO (KALS)
• Northern Colorado Regional Airport, Fort Collins/Loveland, CO (KFNL)

At the beginning of May my family welcomed home its’ newest addition “Coco”. I became a father to a beautiful daughter, and was on leave from work for 3 months thanks to the benefits provided by Alteryx. I was happy to have the time - I had only one week with our previous kiddo - but the longest I had not worked since I was 14 years old was 3 weeks. We had big ambitions and tight timelines at work… I definitely had FOMO prior to going out on leave, but that quickly went away. In sort of an unplanned drive, I decided to do some learning while I was out. Many of the mentors, peers, and leaders I have learned the most from in the past are avid readers and always have a number of recommendations. I read more in 2021, than I had in any previous year. Not something I am actually super proud of - but I definitely understand the love of books my wife has a little bit more now (for the record she read over 100 books this year). Here is what I read (or listened to):

• Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right - Jamie Glowacki
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick Lencioni
• An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management - Will Larson
• Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders - L. David Marquet
• Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
• Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track - Will Larson
• The Managers Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change - Camille Fournier
• Death by Meeting - Patrick Lencioni
• The Kubernetes Book - Nigel Poulton
• This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race - Nicole Perlroth
• Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility - Patty McCord
• Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the and Middle Class Do Not! - Robert Kiyosaki
• Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly - Anthony Bourdain

I had another 8-10 books that I started, but did not make it through them yet.

“I read more in 2021, than I had in any previous year.”

After returning from leave, the latter half of the year has come with a number of changes.

• I transitioned back into the Alteryx Engineering organization, and am building out a new team focused on DevSecOps
• We sold our home in Denver
• We welcomed our first au pair to the family
• We moved our family across the country and bought a home in Poulsbo, Washington

We’re still getting settled, and though we have moved almost a dozen times in the past decade, doing it with two kids is A LOT more work than it has been previously.

Looking forward to 2022, here are some more realistic things I would like to accomplish:

• Continue posting on mattgoodrich.com & improve my writing skills
• Complete my Instrument Rating
• Read at least as many books as I did this year
• Keep my family healthy and safe

Stretch goals:

• Buy a new (to me) airplane
• Actually take our scheduled vacation to Maui in February

-G$