Progress Makes Perfect

Linda Brotherton is chief technology officer at ConnectWise with responsibility for the development of the PSA software. She brings more than 25 years of technical expertise to this key organizational position. Linda oversees a team of developers essential to the creation of practical design methods and the ongoing enhancements to ConnectWise.

What drew you to a career in IT?

You know, I never really intended to have a career in IT. While getting my degrees in accounting, I got a part-time position on campus at the Small Business Development Center doing Fortran programming (I know that takes a lot of you back in time). Because of my mix of accounting and systems courses, I was hired by Price Waterhouse as a Consultant upon graduation. That started me down the IT path. I could see how accounting essentially threaded through IT systems – in fact, nearly everything ultimately ends up on the financial statement.

Arnie and I met while working at Price Waterhouse as consultants. He eventually left to start ConnectWise with his brother David, who still runs the IT services side of the business today. I went the corporate IT direction. Arnie and I kept in touch over the years and in 1998, I joined ConnectWise as Director of Operations.

ConnectWise had humble beginnings as an Access database that over the years migrated to the web. It continued to grow as the business did and we eventually added features that allowed us to track time, measure profitability and other financially driven metrics – which brought me full circle back to my roots in accounting!

What’s a typical day at work look like for you?

I start my day probably like many of our partners do – by checking out tickets. The development group handles the escalated support tickets, so each morning I look at the types of tickets that have been escalated and assess which items should go to our quality assurance team and which require the attention of our development group. From there I move on to reviewing work in progress with our developers and setting priorities.

We’re continually looking for ways to enhance our functionality and integration with leading business management software products, and our partners play a significant role in that process. Their input is critical to our mutual success, which is why I devote a good chunk of my day to ensuring their requests are given the highest attention.

What makes you excited about your job?

 Without a doubt the team here at ConnectWise brings so much energy and enthusiasm to their jobs that every day is a pleasant adventure. I’m also motivated by the impact ConnectWise can have on the success of our partners’ businesses. It’s when we hear from our partners that everything really becomes worthwhile.

Do you ever think that flipping burgers might not be too bad?

 Never. I can’t see myself doing anything other than providing a platform to help our partners develop their businesses to its fullest potential.

If there was a golden rule for CTOs, what would that be?

 I believe leadership by example is the most influential way to build relationships, earn trust and achieve long-term success. I wouldn’t limit that philosophy to CTOs though. It’s really the most fundamental management behavior, but I’m not sure it’s always recognized and modeled.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the numbers – which are pretty important – but the numbers will take care of themselves if you focus on setting goals and expectations and drive them by nurturing and developing people.

How would you describe the working environment at ConnectWise?

Dynamic. We’ve got our eyes squarely focused on new and emerging market opportunities, like cloud computing, and the impact these technologies will have on the channel. That keeps us pretty busy and enables us – and our partners – to grow rapidly.

And it creates a domino effect in that as business scales, our people are challenged to work smarter - and they do. There’s a tremendous amount of cooperation between departments here that you can’t always find in bigger companies. We’ve worked hard to retain that small company feel.

What do you do to unwind?

 My husband and I are big Tennessee Volunteer fans so our Saturdays right now are spent cheering on the team. I also have a vegetable garden which allows me a total break from technology. And for those of you familiar with the Andy Griffith show, we have a cocker spaniel named Ernest T and a cat named Andy who provide constant entertainment.