SDI Employee Spotlight – King Sedore

This month, we’re shining our employee spotlight on King Sedore, a committed delivery executive and dashboard enthusiast whose plate is always full, at home and at work.

How did you get your start at SDI?

Funny story: I had a coworker at the time who was looking for a new opportunity; he had two offers and chose the other one. He recommended the SDI position to me, and I started two weeks later.

Tell us about your current role.

I’m the Delivery Executive on the City of Chicago Banner CIS Maintenance and Support Project.

What is your team like? (Describe the vibe, how you collaborate, etc.)

The team is a great mix of experienced consultants and a group of up-and-coming professionals. We all learn and grow together to provide the best service possible to the client.

How do you explain what you do for a living to family and friends?

My wife recently quoted that even though I’ve been working from home for the past three years, she is no closer to understanding what I do. She thinks it’s a bunch of meetings, but in reality, I try and separate work and home. If I’m being a dad, husband, volunteer, or coach, I want to focus on exactly that; and who likes to talk about work at home?

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

As a kid, I thought I wanted to be a baseball player, but in college I bounced a few things around.  From being a Teacher, Pilot, or in the hospitality industry, I ended up as a geographer. I think that is where I enjoyed data visualization that I continue to do in my current role.

Are there any professions other than your own that you’d like to attempt?

Someday, I think I will explore mentoring or life coaching for neurodiverse adults.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you have ever received? Why/how did it make an impression on you?

There have been a few, but I believe that “work smarter, not harder” and “go to the client with solutions, not problems” both make life better. There is always a better way to do things, and the client does not want to hear about problems. They want to know how you are going to fix their problems.

What professional accomplishment(s) are you most proud of?

Being awarded US Patent 7856310.  It was early on in my career but showed me how a team working toward a shared goal can make great things happen.

If you could wake up tomorrow with a new skill, what would it be? 

Something in the cloud. It seems like that is where everything is heading.

How do you unwind at the end of a busy day?

Being a family person, raising four kids, and being a husband, sometimes the best thing at the end of the day is a bed.

It’s Valentine’s season; do you secretly admire any emerging technologies or business trends?

I have been working in data visualizations for many years and love a good dashboard.  The emerging technologies on Business Intelligence excite me.