Based in New Jersey, Michael Eoga is a strategic IT leader who has held senior leadership roles with innovative global companies in verticals such as health care, pharmaceuticals, and retail. His present position with a nationwide IT infrastructure operations firm includes oversight of operational elements such as voice and networking engineering. Michael Eoga fine-tunes a revenue-driven strategy in the regulated medication access and patient support sector, with a focus on the end-user experience.
Mr. Eoga’s past positions include a role as director of enterprise architecture with David Yurman. As head of corporate IT, he supported the needs of 850 clients in service areas such as desktop services, IT service desk, IT security, and network and voice services. He also has experience as director of infrastructure services with Catalent Pharma Solutions, where he delivered IT support to clients worldwide through an Atos Origin outsourcing agreement.
Known as a thought leader in global IT Infrastructure, Mr. Eoga maintains an expanding audience of 1,400 followers on LinkedIn, where he defines ways of achieving maximum impact in industries that are complex and highly regulated.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
In my professional information technology (IT) career, my typical day consists of first meeting with my team in a daily scrum to ensure that they are aware of any operational items that have happened in the previous day and what will be happening today. Second, the day consists of participating in any planned work sessions or projects and advancing those activities through delegation and planning. As a leader, it is the team interaction that makes it productive.
How do you bring ideas to life?
First, socializing the idea with others to get an initial read as to what they think. Second, if an idea seems feasible, progressing it further to determine the cost and return-on-investment (ROI). And third, if the ROI seems reasonable, gain further alignment from leadership and the business for buy-in and implementation.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the IT workforce and population in general.
Some IT professionals seem threatened by AI, but in fact, they should be fully embracing it. At present, no machine or simulation can replace the creativity and wisdom of a human being, but it can help that person become more efficient in the work that they do.
For the general population, again, they should not feel threatened by AI but should fully embrace it in helping them perform everyday and mundane tasks. However, they should take heed that: (a) it is not infallible and, like a young child, constantly learning new things and what is right and wrong and (b) it should never replace the creativity and originality that lives within all of us.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Actually, two habits:
1. Making a list of all the items I need to accomplish that day and concentrate on the top three that will drive the most value.
2. Perform a continuous review of my calendar for various meetings and commitments and ensure that I am properly prepared for each.
What advice would you give your younger self?
For career advancement:
1. Always work on highly visible projects that provide a lot of value to the business. No one was ever promoted doing the day-to-day work well.
2. Perform the work to the best of your ability, and the career advancement and recognition will follow.
3. Focus not only on WHAT needs to be accomplished but HOW it needs to be accomplished. How we conduct ourselves in achieving our goals at work is just as important as the goals themselves.
Tell us something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on.
When dealing with a customer or internal client, always provide a way for them to contact you, i.e., your email and mobile phone number. Contrary to conventional wisdom, individuals will have the respect and understanding to contact you directly only if it is a matter of great importance or business need.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Tell and retell. When working on an initiative or project, ensure that all participants are reminded of the final goal and outcome and ensure that they have decided that it will be a success.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Take a deep breath and put my faith in God to give me the strength to get through whatever challenge is facing me. God has given us free will to make our own choices. And when things do not go as planned, He has never promised to fix them for us. But He has promised that He will never leave us and will be with us to help get through it.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Always talk to people face-to-face if possible. Professional and social media tools like LinkedIn are great, but they can never replace the human interaction that is critical for business growth and career advancement.
Always maintain a positive mental attitude. People love being around individuals with “can-do” attitudes, for they know that they will be more successful than the ones who say “that will never work.”
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
The one thing I have learned is never to say “NO” to a customer request but always offer alternative options. This approach will leave the door open for future inquiries and a continuous dialogue, which will help both parties in the long run.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
At present, it is tools like Microsoft Copilot, Amazon Kiro, and ChatGPT. E.g.
1. Copilot – Allows for facilitating meetings, capturing notes in real time, and identifying key next steps. This tool has been a real time-saver!
2. Amazon Kiro – Allowing IT code development for various talks to be done in a fraction of the time.
3. Copilot and ChatGPT – A good starting point for coming up with the framework for a needed communication or structure for a particular project or initiative. It is not a panacea or will do that work for you, but it will help get you started!
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Personally, it was three items:
1. Taking my wife to her grandmother’s hometown in Italy.
2. Taking my oldest daughter to a World Cup game.
3. Taking my youngest daughter to a Billy Joel concert.
All three are obviously more than $100 each, but it was the experience with each of them and the memories that we made together that makes it priceless.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Yes, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, a World War II Holocaust survivor. The basic message is that even faced with unspeakable challenges and unavoidable suffering, we possess the ultimate freedom: our ability to choose how we react to those situations and find purpose, a freedom that no one can take away.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
“Life Is Beautiful,” a 1997 Italian period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. In a way, it encapsulates the essence of what Viktor Frankl describes in his book.
Key learnings
- God has empowered us with free will.
- The ultimate freedom is the ability to decide how we will react to the situations presented to us.
- It is not what we do in life and at work that’s most important, but how we do it.