{"id":396482,"date":"2021-12-30T00:15:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T00:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uat.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?post_type=blog&p=396482"},"modified":"2022-01-08T00:49:18","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T00:49:18","slug":"new-years-resolution-gis-professionals","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/new-years-resolution-gis-professionals","title":{"rendered":"A New Year\u2019s Resolution All GIS Professionals Should Embrace: Become a GIS Ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year where we connect with family and friends over the holidays. Inevitably you meet a new significant other or guest who asks \u201cSo what do you do for a living?\u201d or some derivative. You hesitate for a moment and think\u2026 is it worth the effort? But then you blurt out, \u201cI work with computer maps.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

And then you probably think to yourself, I just lost an opportunity to share the passion for the work I do. A missed chance to explain the difference you make in the world.  Not to mention how you help improve an organization\u2019s efficiency, improve productivity of employees, provide time savings, work to save money, and improve decision-making.<\/p>\n\n

This experience made me realize that taking the time to educate co-workers, management, and family members on what we do for a living (as a GIS professional or a professional that uses GIS), can open new doors to advance geographic information systems (GIS). By sharing the geographic approach and placing an emphasis on geography first, we can help others rethink their own work and realize how life-changing GIS can be. Just like it was for you.<\/p>\n\n

Advocating for our chosen profession starts with developing the skills to explain GIS in a context of the person you are speaking to. Let me explain. I was at an event for city and county administrators years ago. My colleagues and I were busy greeting individuals at our booth as we always do when a city manager walked up to the booth. He quickly stated his staff already uses \u201cour stuff\u201d (a common phrase we hear). In reality, he stopped by because he wanted a free T-shirt. He mulled over our displayed material long enough so as not to seem too obvious. <\/p>\n\n

Then another city manager walked up and said, \u201cMan, I love your stuff.\u201d He then proceeded to go into detail explaining how his staff had used GIS to reroute their fleet of solid waste trucks. He shared that they had gone from 34 to 28 trucks, which saved them over 1 million gallons of fuel, minimized associated costs, and eliminated long-term maintenance expenses. They were also able to reassign workers to new areas that needed coverage. Obviously, it was clear his staff took the time to educate this executive and document the benefits of how GIS helped the city achieve their goals. <\/p>\n\n

The best part of this story is, the first city manager that had intended to just quickly let me know they already had our \u201cstuff,\u201d had overheard the entire conversation. He waited until the other executive left, and then reapproached me. \u201cWhat was that guy talking about? I thought your software just made maps?\u201dThis led to a conversation that resulted in a better-informed executive.<\/p>\n\n

As we ring in the new year, I want to challenge you to make a New Year\u2019s resolution to become a GIS Ambassador. In 2022, I want all of you to take the time to share your work and the value you bring.<\/p>\n\n

Sharing your story can be powerful! I speak from personal experience. Early in my career I received one of the most meaningful compliments and experienced one of the most memorable career moments. A very senior executive who was well-known in the regional planning industry, approached me at a planning conference. I was a young GIS Manager working in city government at the time. He said he had really wanted to meet me. I was shocked he even knew who I was. But he went on to say he had been hearing about all the great work I had been doing in planning, public works, police, and fire, economic development, and public engagement. I thanked him for his kind words and asked how he heard about the work. He said he had read some of my articles and sat through some of my presentations. He went on to explain how his own organization was borrowing from our organization\u2019s work to implement the same workflows and approaches. The exchange led me to realize that taking the time to share your work can inspire others.<\/p>\n\n

Here are a few simple ways you can work to better communicate your chosen vocation:<\/p>\n\n