Environmental Portrait #3

Chris Connors, Design Principal for IBM Cloud. He started with IBM in 2015, and has been in his current role for over a year.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I spend as much as as 6 hours a day in WebEx meetings, reviewing work, the status of plans, and developing strategy.

Have you enjoyed your time working for IBM?

Yes. I am about to cross my 7 year anniversary, which makes IBM the single longest employer of the last 24 years

What is your favorite part about your job?

Helping teams deliver their best work, and helping less experienced designers become better than even they could have expected or believed.

How has the recent COVID-19 pandemic affected your work?

I had already been remote for 4 years before the pandemic, but what it affected was everyone else, who were unaccustomed to remote work only. It also meant I couldn't visit the teams in Austin, which I had done 19 times in 2019.

Does working remotely have a positive or negative impact on your work?

I would say it has both. No more time or money wasted commuting, no more money spent dining out for lunch, the ability to work wherever I want. Our work/business hasn't suffered either. But it is harder to create team culture, and establish relationships so important to work success.

Interview has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.