How Civil Engineering Can Guide The Future of Telecommunications with Mark Potter, CIO, Optus

We can be so passionate about tech that we can get caught up in its concepts and capabilities. But what is at the core of all technology?

Our guest today, Mark Potter, the Chief Information Officer at Optus, says “that great technology is a result of people.”

Mark’s fascinating career evolved from studying civil engineering to eventually working in the banking and telecommunications industries. The throughline for him has always been a desire to come up with solutions to challenges.

Tune in for more of Mark’s story and learn how he keeps perspective on what he values the most. Enjoy this episode!

Main Takeaways:
Humanity is the Foundation: Mark reminds us that humanity is behind impressive tech. He also points out how a company with “purpose” attracts employees who are seeking the same. His view is that engineers want to be a part of performing meaningful work.
Building a Career: In advice to up-and-coming talent, Mark advises that people focus more on attaining an employment situation with “career” potential rather than narrowly looking for a “job.” Leaning into a longer-term mindset is sage advice to build one’s career and life.
The Future at Optus: In envisioning the future of Optus, Mark imagines a business that moves rapidly with simplified processes and where there is a great deal of interconnection. His vision is a beautiful one that’s hopefully realized in many companies.
Maintaining Perspective: Shouldn’t we assess our values just as rigorously as our work data? Mark describes a process he’s undertaken to map out his priorities and then contemplate if he’s been focusing his attention on these values.

Key Quotes:
[05:58] “As a CIO, I think that great technology is a result of people. The paradox is great Technology is all about the people, and that's absolutely true across banking and telecommunications.”

[09:03 - this is the correct timestamp. If I try to hyperlink, it goes to a different section] “And typically what I find is that great engineers want to solve real problems and get beyond tech for tech’s sake and get into tech for some sort of higher order purpose. And so our purpose is really key to the way that we attract and retain people and [it’s about] creating the opportunities for teams to have that real impact.”

16:49) “I'd love to see technology as just part of the product and product management. So you can imagine moving from a project management bias that we have at the moment into product management and then the technology is embedded [and] embraced within the product itself. So, the distance between a business stakeholder and an IT colleague is a lot more blurred than what it has been historically.”

[29:57] “So I think platforms as an economy have kind of broken the economic paradigm of a traditional value chain.”

[39:58] “I think organizations where there's a meritocracy rather than a bureaucracy is important where talent can be elevated based on merit. And then maybe, last but not least, organizations, that have got a culture where failure is okay. Learning through getting things a bit wrong is a great way to learn.”