Steve at Home

Q&A with Steve Krogull, IT Services CIO

 ITS Department Newsletter
March 2020

My work-from-home area is on the edge of our kitchen counter as our apartment has very little extra space.

Career accomplishment you’re most proud of:

Wow, hard question. I have been blessed to have a very fulfilling career. I’ll answer with the following:

I was the program co-director for a Master of Science degree program in medical informatics from 1998-2006. It was a cooperative program between the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. I represented the Medical College in program administration and was a student advisor and instructor. As part of that role, I supervised many clinical master’s thesis projects. My proudest moment was being able to “hood” our first program graduates as they crossed the stage at graduation. What a powerful symbol of passing along knowledge to others who will go on to do great things in the world.

Most important career influencer:

My father. Our family owned a small “mom-and-pop” grocery store / meat market when I was growing up.  Very helpful when I was a teenager and hungry all of the time. I started working in the store when I was 12 by stocking shelves, working check-out, making many of the deli salads and cleaning. Lots of cleaning. I hated all of the cleaning. However, it was a wonderful opportunity to learn some life lessons that I reflect on today. Doing your best. Doing the right and ethical thing. Doing things right the first time. Pitching-in and helping others. Doing what you say you will do. Owning your mistakes. Customer engagement and customer service. Building relationships with customers, vendors and other businesses in the community. Saying “it’s not my job” would never fly (see cleaning note above)! Always better to be early, never late.

Business leader you’d like to have lunch with: 

I’ll offer two for different reasons: 

First, I'd meet with Satya Nadella. He has transformed the internal culture and market influence of Microsoft in very fundamental ways. When you think about Microsoft’s origins and fiercely competitive culture, creating change in an organization of that magnitude is incredibly difficult and requires an amazing amount of focus and integrity. He has been a controversial figure, but he has learned from his mistakes and used those as leadership opportunities. I think lunch would be incredibly interesting. 

My second leader would be Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.  I have rarely found a book that captures so many personal and social dynamics and reframes them in a truly helpful way. I am very much an introvert, and this book felt like it was talking to me. It would be fascinating to learn more about Susan Cain’s life journey and influences leading to writing this book, creating her Quiet Revolution company, and how she is envisioning the future through the lens of her work.

Favorite computer/video/board game:

I'm more of a board games person right now as I have very little time for computer gaming. My family plays the games Upwards and Sequence most often.

In the computer gaming space, I like immersive experiences. I was part of a team designing learning games, simulations and online experiences at the University of Wisconsin when Second Life came out. That was a very novel and transformative tool for that time and helped make development of avatar-based immersive learning experiences accessible to non-programmers. I still try to maintain a presence in the “immersive world” gaming and simulation space.

If I weren't a CIO, I'd be...

A marine biologist. I was on that pathway and was going to go to UC Berkeley, but life happened and I changed direction. I had several 50-gallon marine fish tanks in Wisconsin and hope to restart those at some point here. Reef ecosystems are a particular area of interest, and I’m greatly dismayed at what is happening to marine spaces like the Great Barrier Reef. 

Hobbies outside of work:

My wife and I are “foodies,” and love finding interesting restaurants. We have “Lunch Date Saturdays” and use that time to have a fun meal at a new place. We love hiking and biking and have been exploring the regional trail system. I also collect rocks and minerals and am looking forward to adding to my collection as I explore Arkansas. I should note that my wife is not looking forward to that as much as I am.

Favorite family tradition:

My extended family is scattered throughout the Midwest, so we all try to meet on the Fourth of July as a mini annual reunion. Social media is fine, but not a substitute for spending time together. But, this year, we may have to rethink our approach.

Last book you read:

For fun, I’m reading David Baldacci's End Game. For personal interest / development, I’m reading Brene Brown's Dare to Lead and Peter Bregman's Leading with Emotional Courage. I have a sizable library of books in the leadership and management area and regularly add to that. 

I also follow content from many online resources ranging from Harvard Business Review to technical trade magazines. I have a “clipping list” of those items at https://www.scoop.it/topic/it-and-leadership.

Winter, our resident guinea pig, and my current co-pilot.