Beyond Coding

Connect with Mahdi Fanidisfani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahdifanidisfani Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/geoUh6Tdl3Y New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:23 - Mahdi's new role as CEO at Kruso00:02:53 - Typical consultancies00:04:36 - Value delivery squad00:06:17 - First months as CEO00:07:23 - Consultancy at Xebia00:10:36 - From tech lead to engineering manager00:12:19 - Many responsibilities00:14:11 - Lead by example and togetherness00:16:41 - Head of engineering00:18:59 - Unified engineering priorities00:20:37 - No more hands-on coding00:23:25 - Pull request reviews are amazing00:25:55 - Making sure people don't overwork00:27:50 - Proper focus00:30:52 - Overachieving and personal growth00:33:21 - Staying close to your people00:36:15 - Fueling ambition00:39:07 - Exceptional solo programmers00:42:07 - Hiring questions00:45:15 - Handling new technology00:47:12 - Forming a team as the CEO00:49:58 - Handpicking people00:52:26 - Maintaining relationships00:55:25 - An economic view00:56:26 - Creating a shared vision01:00:39 - Aligning the company

Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/bKKQm6A1jJ8 New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:35 - Dutch IT market salary and engineering efforts 00:03:36 - Not feeling valued 00:04:19 - How do you manage your time? 00:05:23 - Learning off the job 00:06:21 - How would you build your own team? 00:08:40 - Technical skills 00:09:42 - How do you know a deadline is not realistic? 00:13:11 - How to overcome imposter syndrome? 00:18:42 - Is it possible to succeed in IT if you have ADHD? 00:20:38 - Have ever come close to burning out? 00:24:41 - Do's and don'ts for people starting a podcast 00:28:51 - JUST DO IT!! 00:29:27 - How can developers get into the content creation space? 00:34:07 - Rounding off

Connect with Tom Siebeneicher:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-siebeneicher Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/XEdICT5kSCA New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:25 - Tom ran his first marathon00:02:42 - Running long distance00:04:47 - Connecting with others through running00:05:48 - We hate swimming00:07:08 - Mental clarity and flexibility00:10:15 - How to not overwork00:12:27 - Sharing team goals00:14:00 - Tell me what to do00:16:22 - Understanding the why00:17:28 - Growing up in a different time and world00:18:37 - Why do we want to change?00:21:38 - Adapting based on people's needs00:23:56 - Ask me anything sessions with architects00:24:52 - The issue with agile coaching00:26:58 - Agile will not work everywhere00:29:19 - Comparing what is logical00:32:02 - Having the mindset to adapt00:32:46 - Being tired of change00:34:32 - How to measure organisational change00:36:18 - Who drives initiatives00:38:24 - Mistakes Tom made00:40:34 - Mature organisations00:42:50 - The freedom to fix things00:44:17 - Different organisational problems and solutions00:47:15 - Disrupting your own organisation00:49:43 - Challenges with acquiring companies00:51:07 - Dollar shave club00:52:45 - Starting your own company00:56:41 - Time catches up00:58:16 - There is always the next sprint

Connect with Joseph Muli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-muli Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/l__mtnOduoU New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:25 - Levent Tutar00:02:16 - Losing everything00:05:30 - Survival mode00:06:30 - Seeking help00:08:12 - Telling your story00:11:15 - What truly matters00:13:16 - Finding a community00:16:22 - What lead Joseph to NL00:18:08 - Different problems00:19:43 - Acts of service00:21:27 - A broken home00:23:29 - Learning about yourself00:25:00 - Self improvement00:27:39 - Reflecting00:29:18 - Gratitude and anxiety00:31:57 - Psychedelics and religion00:34:09 - Life experiences00:36:51 - Leading by vulnerability and empathy00:39:21 - Connecting with people00:40:40 - Equal level of communication00:42:21 - Professional boundaries00:44:14 - Relationships where you can be yourself00:47:00 - Leadership is difficult00:50:26 - We are all human beings00:53:21 - Existing in bubbles00:55:41 - Ideas and conversations with yourself00:58:01 - Seeing yourself from outside-in01:00:17 - We do what we must01:01:45 - Compounding momentum01:04:30 - Why we do the work

Connect with Michael Doye: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdoye Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/zyebooludUo New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:26 - Barbecuing00:03:02 - Back to the office policies00:06:32 - Enforcing back to the office00:07:57 - Logging all your time policy00:09:34 - Dutch perspective00:11:40 - From software engineer to engineering manager00:15:04 - Different leadership styles00:17:34 - Being authentic00:19:38 - Letting go of hands-on work00:22:34 - Prioritising work00:23:00 - Burnout signs within a team00:25:18 - Being mindful of when you work00:26:36 - Hiring in tech is broken00:28:45 - Teaching technical skills00:30:06 - Setting expectations with new hires00:30:51 - Having difficult conversations00:32:30 - New responsibilities that aren't fun00:34:01 - Fully letting go of hands-on work00:36:00 - Friendships as engineering manager00:37:54 - Work is like a box00:40:13 - Renegotiating your position00:42:38 - Putting more energy in certain people00:45:31 - Transparancy as a manager00:47:40 - What information can not be shared00:50:01 - Be like water

Connect with Andrew Snare: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asnare ⁠https://toot.community/@ajs⁠ https://twitter.com/asnare Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/h4O3up5m0PU New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:25 - Disagreeing how things work00:03:18 - Understanding 99%00:05:44 - Comfortably being the expert00:06:47 - Getting used to making mistakes00:08:26 - The ingredients to an awesome work environment00:10:00 - Delivering high quality software00:12:12 - Building for scale00:13:25 - Removing components00:15:55 - The biggest problems in modern engineering00:18:15 - In tech, not all opinions are equal00:20:44 - The Mythical Man-Month00:21:52 - Understanding why00:23:10 - Losing trust and respect00:24:20 - Being at fault for incorrect decisions00:26:38 - Compounding knowledge00:28:52 - Learning different programming languages00:29:59 - Patrick's struggle with foundational knowledge00:32:18 - Top down vs bottom up knowledge00:34:40 - Going a layer deeper00:36:38 - Understanding new concepts00:39:07 - Comparing engineering disciplines00:41:03 - Uncharted territory00:42:24 - Integration complexities00:45:14 - The properties of elegance00:48:22 - Are smart solutions elegant?00:49:28 - Messy problems and messy solutions00:50:58 - Making solutions too simple00:53:50 - 3 audiences when writing code00:56:11 - Last thoughts

Connect with Marleen Kappert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marleenkappert Connect with Sebastiaan Bekker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiaanbekker Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/CwiDLWboAvs New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:28 - Work and holidays00:03:03 - Hotel and restaurant industry00:04:54 - Differences in tech organisations00:06:15 - Early in career program at Xebia00:09:56 - Hiring globally00:11:33 - Everyone is working from anywhere00:12:55 - Keeping the culture00:14:38 - Culture is ever-evolving00:16:26 - Behaviour and values00:18:22 - Workshops on virtues00:20:13 - Understanding the business as a developer00:21:57 - Remote working challenges from the development side00:23:35 - Being deliberate when you work remote00:25:05 - Marleen set up the people experience team00:27:26 - Openly discussing challenges00:29:48 - The way of working within a team00:31:51 - Wherever people work, mistakes happen00:34:45 - Having a clear purpose00:37:12 - The challenge to align everyone00:39:54 - Remote town halls are challenging00:41:56 - Processes that change when companies grow00:44:43 - Being flexible in the way you communicate00:47:02 - Patrick's memory of working in diverse teams00:47:51 - How Marleen and Sebastiaan started working together00:49:31 - Talking about systems00:50:23 - Not taking things personally00:53:26 - High quality interactions within a team00:55:37 - Rounding off

Connect with Lindsay Faller: https://cloudfields.cc⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/cloudfields.cc https://www.lindsayfaller.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-faller-2277243 Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/1vPDA54Yg9k New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE00:00:00 - Intro00:00:23 - Podcasting experiences00:02:10 - Comparing yourself to others00:03:45 - Moving goal posts00:05:18 - Acting within your values00:06:57 - Lindsay's core values00:09:12 - How to find your core values00:13:08 - Self development00:15:27 - Sharing career perspective00:17:44 - Life purpose00:19:58 - Being a generalist00:22:36 - Being drawn to how businesses run00:25:02 - From doer to thinker00:27:29 - Burned out from working with creatives00:28:52 - Systems and processes are not sexy00:31:22 - Challenges for small businesses00:33:30 - Figuring out how to be more effective00:35:49 - Postponing what you don't like00:38:37 - There will always be things you don't like doing00:38:58 - Outsource when you can00:40:18 - Lindsay is not a micromanager00:42:51 - Letting go00:44:16 - Giving and taking ownership00:46:47 - The first phase of your business00:49:48 - Entrepreneurs are responsible for everything00:52:19 - Bare minimum processes00:53:36 - Businesses evolve00:56:03 - Recognising things are outside of your skillset

Connect with Rens Dimmendaal: https://rensdimmendaal.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/rensdimmendaal https://twitter.com/R_Dimm Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/2VOGakc2qvk New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE 00:00:25 - Hosting and being a guest00:01:42 - Day to day of Rens00:03:29 - Generative AI: Where do we stand?00:06:18 - Honeycomb.io using an Gen AI to increase conversion00:09:23 - Plagiarism and chat bots00:12:23 - Integrating different solutions00:14:37 - Testing AI solutions00:16:21 - Slack GPT00:17:36 - Sensitive information00:19:56 - GitHub Copilot, Sweep AI and new ways of coding00:22:08 - Way of working and quality control00:24:17 - AI will change the way we learn00:25:45 - Distinguish yourself when applying for jobs00:26:44 - Three types of knowledge and AI00:28:45 - Learn by doing00:30:01 - Doing more as a single person00:31:42 - Patrick generated podcast summaries00:32:55 - Easy to make something with LLMs00:35:12 - Long term LLM challenges00:39:11 - Metrics to focus on for LLMs00:40:44 - Rens's greenfield LLM implementation step by step00:43:03 - How to leverage open source LLMs00:44:12 - Monopolising organisations gathering data for AI00:46:27 - Big companies play unfair in the AI playing field00:47:49 - Generative AI steals art from other artists00:50:40 - The future of AI looks bright

Connect with Eva Zahrawi Ruiz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evazahrawi http://the2ndhalf.nl https://twitter.com/evaza Check out her podcast! https://podcasts.apple.com/en/podcast/the-2nd-half-your-guide-to-a-more-fulfilling-career-and-life/id1493425732 Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/oldZF_jgy9I New episodes every Wednesday with our host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎙Patrick Akil⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!   Big shoutout to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Xebia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for sponsoring this episode! OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:35 - Planning for Japan 2025 00:02:20 - Patrick missed out on a trip to Japan and Russia 00:03:00 - Why Eva loves Japan 00:04:21 - Japan is affordable 00:06:57 - Eva is big on travelling 00:10:12 - Patrick is travelling more and more 00:11:34 - Combining work and travelling 00:14:38 - Flexibility as freelancer 00:16:25 - International opportunities 00:18:56 - Discipline of working from abroad 00:22:36 - Stepping out of your regular routine 00:25:14 - Losing the title 00:27:18 - Profession crisis 00:30:20 - There is always a way back 00:33:39 - No one expected Eva to leave 00:37:37 - Enjoying the work you do 00:40:14 - Growing as fast as possible 00:42:37 - What is your mission? 00:45:29 - Eva's core values 00:50:10 - Working towards certain goals 00:54:28 - Difficult conversations 00:58:34 - For as long as it takes 01:00:09 - Being good with politics 01:03:29 - Eva hates escalations 01:07:51 - Not just executing on orders 01:13:32 - Figuring out the why 01:16:57 - Managing to avoid clashes 01:19:56 - Companies are big social experiments 01:21:28 - People are inherently good 01:25:40 - Making it your managers problem 01:29:51 - Only come with good news 01:33:21 - Complain in one on ones 01:35:39 - Final thoughts