My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success

How Andrew Davis Burned Out as a Buddhist Monk and Found Balance in Tech

Aug 12, 2024

Andrew Davis, Chief Product Officer at AutoRABIT, shares his remarkable journey from Buddhist monk to tech leader. He discusses the burnout he faced as a monk and the vital lessons in self-care that followed. Addressing psychological safety in the workplace, Andrew emphasizes the importance of fostering open dialogue for innovation. His insights on 'Flow Engineering' highlight the balance between tech and mental well-being. This conversation bridges spirituality and technology, offering valuable strategies for maintaining well-being in a high-pressure environment.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

From Monastic Life to Balance

02:30 • 20min

Finding Flow: Balancing Tech and Mental Health

22:33 • 6min

Navigating Workplace Dynamics

28:29 • 11min

Fostering Psychological Safety in the Workplace

39:01 • 7min

Navigating Transformation: From Buddhist Monk to Mindfulness Advocate

46:21 • 3min

My guest for Episode #271 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Andrew Davis, Chief Product Officer at AutoRABIT and the author of Mastering Salesforce DevOps. He's also co-author of the new book Flow Engineering: From Value Stream Mapping to Effective Action - with Steve Pereira.

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He’s a Salesforce architect, developer, and product leader who focuses on the human side of software development. He’s been the leading figure in introducing DevOps concepts to the Salesforce world.

Trained as an engineer, he spent fifteen years as a Buddhist monk, teaching meditation and personal transformation and helping develop communities of practice. These days he studies the intersection of business, technology, and psychology through systems thinking.

In this episode, Andrew shares his fascinating journey from being a Buddhist monk to becoming a leader in the tech world. He discusses his favorite mistake of experiencing burnout as a monk, the lessons learned, and how these experiences have shaped his approach to work and life. Andrew discusses the concepts of flow engineering, psychological safety, and the importance of creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up and innovate. Join us for an insightful conversation that bridges the worlds of spirituality and technology, offering valuable lessons for anyone striving to balance passion with well-being.

Questions and Topics:

How do you guard against repeating a similar path to burnout in your current work?
How did you choose to become a Buddhist and then a monk?
How did you transition from being a monk to getting into the software and technology world?
Companies can be crazy; how do we help avoid that?
What are your thoughts on value stream mapping and breaking down silos?
Why did you emphasize psychological safety in your book, and what have you learned about it?
How do you offer free classes on personal transformation, and can you tell us about that?