A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

About Dave Dave Bittner is the producer and host of the CyberWire podcast, a top-rated daily cyber security news program produced in Baltimore. He’s been tinkering with electronics practically his whole life, cobbling together a computer system to dial in to pre-internet BBS systems at the age of ten with the money he saved from his paper route. After college (University of Maryland, Radio TV and Film) he was among the pioneers of desktop digital video, cofounding Pixel Workshop, an award winning digital media production company in Columbia, MD. Following twenty years as an entrepreneur, he was lured away by one of his clients, CyberPoint International, to help support their mission of protecting what’s invaluable in cyberspace. The CyberWire was spun off from CyberPoint in early 2016, and since then he has been working with a talented team of creative and technical professionals to make sure the Cyberwire Daily Podcast maintains its leadership position in the industry for quality, integrity and relevance. Dave Bittner lives in Columbia, MD, with his wife, two sons, and a dog.   "Every successful business needs a Walt and a Roy"    We Talked About: Time Management Calendly (a tool that I use too!) Every successful business needs a Walt and a Roy (Walt Disney reference) Security Response Plans Customer Service Integrity Best piece of business advice that Dave ever got... "When there are hard times, be open about it to your bankers and to others, as they want to help you.  They want you to succeed. Asking for help Malicious Obedience Tactical Empathy Security Training Current Events Dave's Podcasts: The CyberWire Grumpy Old Geeks Recorded Future Hacking Humans Things leaders should be doing: Use a password manger multi-factor auth defense in depth Staying informed with security news   Being a leader is being a collaborator I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we have Alan Stevens.  I heard Alan speak at a local conference on leadership many years ago and he is one of the people that first sparked my interest in leadership.  I was honored to have him on the show.   Alan is an advocate of open spaces and today we talked about how to get fired... that's right. About Alan Stevens Alan Stevens is a passionate software developer with years of experience delivering working software that meets users’ needs. He has shipped software on the web and Windows desktop using a variety of languages and technologies. He loves learning new technologies and using them to solve challenging problems. Alan is self-motivated and gets things done. He enjoy understanding the needs of users and stakeholders to solve the important problems. Alan is an advocate of testing as the best means to create successful designs and insure quality. Alan prefers readable and maintainable code. He follows the guidance of Ward Cunningham, who said that once you get your program working, “Make it look like it was easy to write this program even if it wasn’t.” Alan prefers using open source solutions to building his own, limited solution. He insist that building the right thing is always more important than building it right. Because, it doesn’t matter how well you build the wrong thing. Alan enjoys engaging with other developers by presenting at developer events, participating in meet-ups and online communities and especially through Open Space Technology. If you don't trust your employees, then fire them. What we talked about: Open Space Technology What it feels like to get fired Obstacles Ones you can influence Ones you can route around Ones you have to live with Ones you can't live with (immovable obstacles) Trust your people Ask Don't Tell You're not a failure just because you failed It doesn't last forever You have to talk about it You are responsible for your own happiness   Connect with Alan Stevens Twitter Website

Joe Topinka, a career CIO, is a dynamic author, speaker, and coach and a three-time CIO-of-the-year award winner. He has over 35 years of success leading IT organizations and driving meaningful business results in the process. His game-changing IT Business Partner Program bridges the chasm between business stakeholders and IT organizations. Joe is a frequent keynote speaker on this subject where he shares his vision at industry events across the country.  His bestselling book, IT Business Partnerships: A Field Guide was recently named a top-ten read for CIOs. Joe is Board Chair of the Business Relationship Management Institute, an organization dedicated to advancing the BRM capability worldwide. Joe is the founder of CIO Mentor, LLC, a consultancy focused on helping companies leverage the power of technology to achieve profit-driven business results. As a veteran CIO, Joe has experience across many industries including banking services and packaged software, brokerage, accounting, manufacturing, and retail. He is currently VP-CIO of SnapAV and is responsible for an innovative award-winning IoT-based platform call OvrC (pronounced oversee) that is changing the way home and SMB integrators serve their customers. Today we talked about Adopt the right language (not customers or peers) IT leaders are business leaders and need to think like them IT Business Partnerships. IT as the central nervous system of most companies The importance of Field Studies (field trips) You have to get the operations running smoothly Start your business relationships with Sales Departments because they are closer to the customers Team Building Converged IT 4 Principles of Accountability Commit to something 100% Be resilient Ownership Learn Facts before Stories Human API (Assume Positive Intent) Support it, don't debate it Don't BMW drive (Bitch, Moan, and Wine) No sub-comb to the trap of an open door policy Stop judging and start helping Books Mentioned Joe Topinka - IT Business Partnerships: A Field Guide Jocko Willink - Extreme Ownership Cy Wakeman - No Ego   Connect with Joe Personal Website CIO Mentors Twitter LinkedIn I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

What's your Plan for______?   I decided to do another short solo show for those of you that might have missed the earlier format of A Geek Leader shows.  This is a quick tip that I picked up from a parenting course.  Now before you rule out using parenting techniques at work, let me confess and say that I use them all the time... and they work.  This one is is called "What's your plan for______?" Let me explain.  If you notice a task that you've delegated to one of your team members is not getting done as you would like it to, you may be like me and start to get nervous, or annoyed with the lack of progress.  This is when I would either take the task back to make sure it got done, or micro-manage the employee to death to get it done.  Either way, this leaves the employee feeling bad and sometimes inadequate.  You may think that this would encourage them to do better next time and not drop the ball, but in reality, it usually does the opposite. It teaches them that maybe they aren't capable of those tasks, and that if they don't do them, its okay, because you'll just pick them back up and make sure they get done. Another approach is to take the "What's your plan for____?" approach.  This is very simple, just ask your employee "What's your plan for ?"  and let them answer.  For example, if I had an employee that is delaying on getting a new system deployed, I would approach them and instead of saying "How's the new system going?" which they may reply with "fine" even though no progress has been made... or instead of saying "I need you to get that new system done..." which would likely lead to annoying the employee and not really making headway towards the goal.  I would say, "What's your plan for the new system deployment?"  And listen intently on the new plan and offer feedback.  If there isn't a plan, then this is the perfect time to work together to come up with one.  But, what I found is that the employees typically have a "rough draft" plan in their head that hasn't been documented or vetted yet.  When they start to tell you the plan, have them document and go over it with them right then and there.  This shows your interest in their project and shows that you aren't going to forget about it. I've found that this also encourages the employee to make this a higher priority than they did before.  Its also important to let them know that you believe in them and that you know they will do a good job with this project (even if you have your doubts).  Sometimes people just need a little bit of encouragement, a jumpstart, and map to point them in the right direction.  Good leaders can do this without being demeaning or putting down their employees. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today we have Kent C. Dodds on the show.  He and I talked about lots of things including how he got started developing software and some of his early work in automation.  We talked about some of his mistakes and why its important to share your mistakes so that others can learn from them.  We talked about giving back to the community, teaching to learn and many more topics. This is a fantastic conversation and a must listen. Kent C. Dodds works at PayPal as a full stack JavaScript engineer. He represents PayPal on the TC39. He's actively involved in the open source community. He's an instructor on egghead.io, Frontend Masters, and Workshop.me. He's also a Google Developer Expert. Kent is happily married and the father of four kids. He likes his family, code, JavaScript, and React. Today we talked about: Kent's origin story in technology Lessons's learned Why its important to have an attitude of gratitude The importance of making mistakes Why you should teach what you want to learn Links Website Kent's Blog Kent's Twitter Kent's GitHub JavaScript Air - A podcast Kent created (Kent also started Angular Air) React30 - A podcast about React that Kent co-hosted 3 Minutes with Kent - A briefs.fm podcast Kent occasionally does I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the podcast we've go Jay Harris.  I met jay a few years back at a conference.  I've heard Jay speak several times and thought he would be a good guest for the show and he did not disappoint.  He came with good topics and the ideas of celebrating our own expertise as a well to improve overall mental health and confidence in our own abilities.  This is a must listen to show for sure. Jay is a code wrangler, software consultant, and owner of Arana Software. He has been developing on the web since 1995, when the Blink tag lured him away from Visual Basic 3, and has been awarded as a Microsoft Regional Director, ASPInsider, and Microsoft MVP. Recognizing that the greatest application performance bottleneck is a developer's time, Jay's continuing quest is for frameworks, modules, tools, and practices that make developers stronger, fitter, happier, and more productive. Today we talked about: Jay's Origin Story in Tech Burn out How to celebrate yourself Don't be afraid to say that you're an expert What are you an expert in? Mental health days Enable your employees to take a day Imposter Syndrom Lack of diversity GiveCamp - President Managing Humans - Michael Lopp Connect with Jay Twitter Website LinkedIn I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Scott Drake - VP of Technology Scott Drake is on a mission to help great technologists become great leaders. His 20-year career includes stops at Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., at startups in Silicon Valley, and he is currently the Vice President of Technology for a medical education company in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. He is the author of "The Programmer Hiring Playbook: A Crash Course in Interviewing and Hiring for Your Real-World Needs," and he is the founder and curator of LearnLeadership.org, a free website that helps technologists create leadership development plans and discover high-yield learning resources. Things we talked about The hiring process Re-hiring your team annually Leading isn't about "Me" Success in tech isn't determined by "tech itself" Make sure you build the right thing, not just build things right The Four Levels of Leadership (see below) Second order thinking (get over tech) Be willing to give up control Discover and Embrace your Authentic Self Four Levels of Leadership  Lead Yourself  Lead a Team  Lead a Department  Lead an Organization Connect with Scott Drake Twitter LinkedIn Learn Leadership Scott Drake's website The Programmer Hiring Playbook I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Derek Doepker is a 7 time bestselling author and consultant on leadership, personal development, and entrepreneurship. His team at Influencing Millions helps companies improve their sales, increase employee retention, and improve performance by teaching principles of behavior change, habit development, and influential communication. You can learn more at http://influencingmillions.com and http://derekdoepker.com Connect with Derek Twitter Website Consulting In this show we talked about: Identity Habit - How you identify yourself plays a big role in behavior Imposter Syndrome - overcome using self-awareness Focus outward and not inward Get a mentor or coach The inner doubter - listen to those doubts and ask "is this a limiting belief?" Que, Routine, Reward that make up habits Micro-habits Can I Just... Books mentioned: Start with Why? Power of Habit Derek's Books: Break Through Your BS The Healthy Habit Revolution Why You're Stuck Why Authors Fail 50 Fitness Tips You Wish You Knew How To Stick To A Diet Weight Loss Motivation Hacks I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show have Andrew May with a cameo from the one and only Brad Miller.  Andrew May, originally from Phoenix, AZ, started in computing when he was twelve years old, writing windows applications to assist in quick email responses. Throughout his scholastic endeavors, he continued to focus on computing; moving from desktop applications to web applications. Andrew attended Arizona State University where he studied Computer Science and Engineering. In 2007, Andrew's entrepreneurship grew and he patented his first major idea. He grew the project and sold it to the airline industry in 2008. Not stoping he partnered with other local developers in Tennessee and created a mobile social media aggregator. Late in 2008 Andrew founded ADM Software Consulting, LLC to focus on mobile applications on contract basis. Andrew's success has lead him to establish a downtown Knoxville, Tennessee office and work with fortune 500 companies, as well as local emerging start-ups. In 2015, Andrew merged ADM Software with Double-Apps, another successful local development company, to form CodeTank Labs. Their focus being native mobile application development, as well as AR and VR technologies. From 2012 to 2017, he accepted the lead role on the board for CodeStock, helping bring on new members, and establishing it as a 501c3 non-profit, while nearly doubling it's size. Follow: Andrew May on Twitter Brad Miller on Twitter am@codetanklabs.com Today on the show: We talk about the Andrew's beginnings in technology What it takes to build and keep a good team The importance of good community and culture How to hire affectively... i.e. dating the new hire How to build trust with your team What's new in AR and VR development The importance of trusting your gut and trusting your partners / team Codestock dates - April 12th and 13th, 2019 Important tips from Andrew: Don't get discouraged.  Make smart hires. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Today on the show we've got Jeff Roberts.  Jeff  has more than 20 years of experience leading Information Technology for top financial services and real estate firms.  Since 2015 he has served as the first-ever Chief Information Officer of HFF (NYSE: HF), a commercial real estate capital intermediary, where he is leading a digital transformation and technology platform upgrade.  Prior to joining HFF, he served as CIO for four other companies: Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV), Situs, a private global commercial real estate firm, Saxon Mortgage, a Morgan Stanley company, and Litton Loan Servicing, a division of Goldman Sachs.  In these roles, Mr. Roberts has gained significant experience integrating strategic custom software and analytics with leading 3rd party platforms.  He focuses on enabling IT as a competitive advantage, going beyond margin efficiencies to make IT a driver of revenue.  Jeff is a graduate of the University of Tulsa, and did post-graduate business and leadership studies at the University of Houston and Rice University. When you're new to management, you need to come in and listen and learn.  Building trust with your team is key. Book Recommendations  Jim Collins Good to Great - Level 5 Leadership, Coaching high standards. 27 challenges managers face - Brian Tulgan - All about one-on-one meetings. Tips when starting a new role as a leader Listening is important. We are typically thinking about what we're going to say next, instead of listening to what is being said. Active Listening - try to summarize what is being said in your head instead of trying to respond to what is being said. Coaching is number 2.  Its a mindset and performance difference on how people think about their job and how they should think about their job. What do you think your job is?  What is your thought process?  Try to find a reason to say yes, don't just jump to no. Technical management proficiency - How to manage a project, resource portfolio, communicate, etc. Don't be defensive -  People are reluctant to give criticism to new folks. Tell folks what you're going to do with the information. What advice would I give someone wanting to become a CIO? The main thing to realize about the CIO role is that it bridges multiple differences. Infrastructure and software development, etc.  Get exposed to the other side and get Leadership skills. Another tip Jeff had for us is to really learn your business; which is why Jeff stayed with financial services. Managing up Of all of the departments, IT is different than any other group.  Managing up is critical. Be proactive to simplify the process for other members of senior management.  Trust is critical because other members of senior leadership don't understand what goes on in IT. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!