Norm Oshiro
About the Author
EDS, 1997
I grew up in Hilo on Hawaii's Big Island—a barefoot kid climbing coconut and guava trees who never imagined one day climbing the corporate ladder at a large multinational corporation. My journey began in Honolulu, where I answered a tiny ad in the Sunday classifieds that my wife came across, which led me to Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a Fortune 500 company founded by Ross Perot. I had never heard of EDS. Starting as a computer programmer, I later transferred to the mainland and, to my surprise, rose through the ranks to one day lead EDS's 192-person Southern California Systems Engineering/Solution Center in Los Angeles. I continued my career with Hewlett-Packard (HP) after it acquired EDS.
Education & Certifications:
More than my education and credentials, I attribute my accomplishments to the quality and professionalism of my colleagues, as well as the leaders who guided, coached, and mentored me throughout my career.
Over the 32+ years in management, I learned that leadership is rarely easy or glamorous. I faced self-doubt, shaky hands at the start of presentations, confrontations with demanding customers, difficult one-on-one conversations, and the painful reality of conducting layoffs. Yet I also experienced the rewards of mentoring, celebrating individual and team achievements, and earning the trust of employees and colleagues.
Those lessons inspired my book, Individual Performer to Manager, a candid, story-driven guide for professionals who may doubt themselves but still aspire and are willing to persevere to develop as leaders.
Today, I'm retired and live in Southern California with my wife of five decades, my childhood friend since third grade. We still travel to the Big Island when we can. I enjoy road course track days in my 2009 Corvette, "run-what-ya-brung" drag racing at NHRA-sponsored tracks, listening to a wide range of music (except jazz, for some reason), and video editing. Our son, who is also involved in Motorsports, and our daughter-in-law also live in Southern California.
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Education & Certifications:
- BA in Sociology (with a focus on Inter-Ethnic Relations), University of Hawaii (UH), at Hilo.
- MS in Meteorology, UH, at Manoa.
- Executive MBA, University of Southern California (USC), Marshall School of Business.
- Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute (PMI).
- ITIL V3 Foundation Certification, Info. Tech. Infrastructure Library, IT Service Management (ITSM).
More than my education and credentials, I attribute my accomplishments to the quality and professionalism of my colleagues, as well as the leaders who guided, coached, and mentored me throughout my career.
Over the 32+ years in management, I learned that leadership is rarely easy or glamorous. I faced self-doubt, shaky hands at the start of presentations, confrontations with demanding customers, difficult one-on-one conversations, and the painful reality of conducting layoffs. Yet I also experienced the rewards of mentoring, celebrating individual and team achievements, and earning the trust of employees and colleagues.
Those lessons inspired my book, Individual Performer to Manager, a candid, story-driven guide for professionals who may doubt themselves but still aspire and are willing to persevere to develop as leaders.
Today, I'm retired and live in Southern California with my wife of five decades, my childhood friend since third grade. We still travel to the Big Island when we can. I enjoy road course track days in my 2009 Corvette, "run-what-ya-brung" drag racing at NHRA-sponsored tracks, listening to a wide range of music (except jazz, for some reason), and video editing. Our son, who is also involved in Motorsports, and our daughter-in-law also live in Southern California.
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