Software People Stories

Today Gayatri is in conversation with Srini on his personal and professional s-curves, whereHe talks about his multiple decades of career span across geographies.He talks about S-curves that failed and succeeded.He also constantly gives a very good framework of thought processes on how you have to think. When you move up the ladder.He covers around why, what is the intention behind choosing the next level , the effort it needs and the time you should give for the same to materialize understanding the risks associated.He also talks about the need for a mentor or a coach.Happy Listening!!.

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague and Coach at PM Power, Mohan Ram..In this conversation, Mohan touches upon various topics, including:S Curves in Personal and Professional LifeConscious vs. Unconscious S CurvesThe Importance of Support SystemsLetting Go and Moving OnPreparing for New RolesRetrospective AnalysisThe Impact of Rapid ChangeThe Importance of PerspectiveLeveraging Organizational ResourcesHumility and LearningThe Role of Reflection and Self-AwarenessThe Power of Mentorship

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague and Coach at PM Power, Anantha Natarajan. In this conversation, Anand, as he prefers to be called, shared various significant S-curves in his personal and professional life includingDecision to enter the software industry,Migrating to Australia, Pursuing an MBA, and Transitioning to a leadership role. He emphasized the importance of considering multiple dimensions beyond career goals, such as personal growth, family relationships, and financial stability.

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague and  Coach at PM Power, Gopalan.In this conversation, Gopal shares:some Specific S-Curves:Transitioning from Home to Hostel: This early experience fostered independence and adaptability.Shifting from Academics to Professional Life: Adapting to the different demands and expectations of the professional world.Evolving Roles: Taking on leadership positions, managing teams, and transitioning from technical roles to business management.Navigating Organizational Changes: Adapting to changes within organizations, such as mergers, restructurings, and shifts in company direction.Building a Startup: The challenges and rewards of founding and leading a startup.

In this thematic  conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague, Coach and serial author, Paramu Kurumathur.In this conversation, Paramu shares some specific S-Curve in his life:School Change: Moving from Trivandrum to Calicut presented challenges like adapting to a new language, culture, and classmates.IIT Entrance and College: Entering IIT brought Paramu face-to-face with high competition, where everyone was a topper.Job Market Challenges: With limited job opportunities for Aerospace Engineers in India, Paramu had to choose between a scholarship abroad with an unrecognized degree or a less promising job.Shifting Gears to Computer Science: This was a major turning point where luck played a role. An available seat in computer science due to others' choices opened a new path for Paramu.Tata Burroughs and Corporate Life: This was another big change, requiring adjustments like dressing professionally. Paramu navigated these changes while building new friendships.Marriage, Children, and Work-Life Balance: These personal milestones presented new challenges alongside professional ones.Job Stagnation and Transition to Digital: Feeling stuck in his US job, Paramu found a pull factor in the challenge of setting up a GCC for digital right Unix development.Startup and NGO: Foray into a startup (Bell Soft) wasn't successful, coinciding with an industry downturn. He then transitioned to a contrasting role at Action Aid, an NGO.Leadership and Scaling: Paramu's roles at Action Aid and Bell Soft involved leadership responsibilities, scaling up operations, and navigating organizational challenges.Entrepreneurship: His entrepreneurial ventures, including the startup, demonstrate his willingness to take risks and pursue new opportunities.https://www.linkedin.com/in/paramu-kurumathur-01489a6/

I continue my conversation with Ben Johnson, the CEO of Particle 41, a company that provides fractional CTO services, software development, data science, data engineering, and AI solutionsIn this part, Ben talks about:The importance of user adoption for successful technology implementation.The challenges and benefits of agile development in contract-based projects.The value of personal practices like journaling and mindfulness for maintaining composure and productivity.Career advice for aspiring technologists, including the importance of continuous learning and specializing in niche areas.The enduring value of expertise and the opportunities created by emerging technologies like AI and blockchain.Benjamin Johnson, CEO & Founder @ Particle41Benjamin Johnson is a serial technical co-founder with a track record of success and hands-on open-source programming experience. He has a wide range of being both a board-level advisor and founder but also an in-depth understanding of how things work. Through his 20+ years as a software developer and leader, he has gained extensive experience with remotely distributed development teams and business hacks.Benjamin is the CEO & Founder of Particle41, a dev firm founded by industry veterans that aims to help companies accelerate their initiatives through Software Development, DevOps, and Data Science.With a constant focus on results and ways to improve, Benjamin is having fun building highly scalable and highly secure applications.https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrjohnson/

I am in conversation with Ben Johnson, the CEO of Particle 41, a company that provides fractional CTO services, software development, data science, data engineering, and AI solutionsSome of the highlights from the conversation are:How he started programming on the Commodore 64Starting a travel company and getting hands on experience with building and managing IT infrastructureWorking in different business domainsThe importance of being adaptable and embracing new technologies.The value of listening to customers and understanding their needs.The need to balance technology adoption with practical considerations.The importance of building strong relationships and networks.The role of personality traits in successful partnerships.The importance of building a strong team culture and focusing on employee engagement.The need for quality assurance and DevOps practices in software development.Benjamin JohnsonCEO & Founder @ Particle41Benjamin Johnson is a serial technical co-founder with a track record of success and hands-on open-source programming experience. He has a wide range of being both a board-level advisor and founder but also an in-depth understanding of how things work. Through his 20+ years as a software developer and leader, he has gained extensive experience with remotely distributed development teams and business hacks.Benjamin is the CEO & Founder of Particle41, a dev firm founded by industry veterans that aims to help companies accelerate their initiatives through Software Development, DevOps, and Data Science.With a constant focus on results and ways to improve, Benjamin is having fun building highly scalable and highly secure applications.https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrjohnson/

I continue my conversation with Douglas Ferguson, an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist. He is the president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through various programs.In this part of the conversation, Douglas shares his story related to:Voltage Control: A facilitation academy focused on developing collaborative leaders.Facilitation skills: Valuable for individuals in various roles, not just facilitators.Community building: Emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and shared values.Entrepreneurial journey: Douglas's experiences in starting and growing Voltage Control.Leadership development: The importance of facilitation skills for effective leadership.And finally, he shares career tips for those aspiring to be facilitators.Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist with over 26 years of experience. He is president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through certifications, workshops, and organizational coaching focused on facilitation mastery, innovation, and play. He has helped transform leaders, innovators, and creatives from Nike, U.S. SOCOM, Google, the Air Force, Gap, Tesla, MSU, Church & Dwight, Apple, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC.Prior to Voltage Control, Douglas held CTO positions at numerous Austin startups, where he led product and engineering teams using agile, lean, and human-centered design principles. While CTO at Twyla, Douglas worked directly with Google Ventures running Design Sprints, and now brings this experience and process to companies everywhere.Douglas is currently active in the Austin startup community, where he serves on the board of several non-profits, mentors startups, and advises early-stage ventures.Douglas is a thought leader and often writes and talks about facilitation, leadership, collaboration, innovation, culture, meetings, and Design Sprints. He is also the author of four books: Magical Meetings, Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within, He has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Innovation Leader, and is a regular contributor to The Future Shapers. He publishes a weekly podcast called Facilitation Lab.When not facilitating or coaching facilitators, you might find Douglas patching up his Modular Synth, boxing, doing pilates, and taking photographs. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Douglas may be contacted at::https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasferguson/

I am in conversation with Douglas Ferguson. Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist. He is the president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through various programs.In this part of the conversation, Douglas shares his story related to:Douglas's journey: From individual contributor to leader, emphasizing the importance of understanding and empathy in building successful teams.Teamwork and collaboration: Discusses storytelling, creating a positive culture, and the challenges and opportunities of working with distributed and cross-cultural teams.Effective meeting practices: Highlights the value of rituals, storytelling, and focusing on generation and exploration.Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist with over 26 years of experience. He is president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through certifications, workshops, and organizational coaching focused on facilitation mastery, innovation, and play. He has helped transform leaders, innovators, and creatives from Nike, U.S. SOCOM, Google, the Air Force, Gap, Tesla, MSU, Church & Dwight, Apple, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC.Prior to Voltage Control, Douglas held CTO positions at numerous Austin startups, where he led product and engineering teams using agile, lean, and human-centered design principles. While CTO at Twyla, Douglas worked directly with Google Ventures running Design Sprints, and now brings this experience and process to companies everywhere.Douglas is currently active in the Austin startup community, where he serves on the board of several non-profits, mentors startups, and advises early-stage ventures.Douglas is a thought leader and often writes and talks about facilitation, leadership, collaboration, innovation, culture, meetings, and Design Sprints. He is also the author of four books: Magical Meetings, Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within, He has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Innovation Leader, and is a regular contributor to The Future Shapers. He publishes a weekly podcast called Facilitation Lab.When not facilitating or coaching facilitators, you might find Douglas patching up his Modular Synth, boxing, doing Pilates, and taking photographs. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Douglas may be contacted at::https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasferguson/

I continue my conversation with Karthik Viswanathan, the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm that specializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process optimizationIn this part, Karthik delves deeper into the challenges and opportunities within government IT. He discusses the complexities of balancing top-down mandates with bottom-up needs, particularly in large, decentralized organizations.Key points:Government structure: The unique structure of government, with different levels (federal, state, local) and political cycles, impacts IT initiatives.Technology adoption: While there is a growing recognition of technology's importance, the pace of adoption is slower than the private sector due to budgetary constraints, procurement processes, and risk aversion.Talent management: Government agencies face challenges in attracting and retaining IT talent, especially in comparison to the private sector.Intergovernmental collaboration: There's potential for increased collaboration and data sharing between government entities, but challenges remain in terms of standards, security, and trust.Consulting and government: Karthik discusses his experience in consulting for government agencies, highlighting the need for understanding the unique dynamics of the public sector.Overall, the conversation emphasizes the complexities and opportunities within government IT, providing insights into the challenges and potential solutions.Karthik Viswanathan is the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm thatspecializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process optimization.He was previously the Vice President for Development & Strategy for AIinGov responsible for driving strategic partnerships and relationships to accelerate the time to market and operational efficiencies for AIinGov’s customers. Prior to that, Karthik served in senior IT leadership roles in State and Municipal governments. He was the Assistant Secretary for Technology Services & Security to help streamline IT services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts including CIO roles for Labor & Workforce and Department of Revenue. Karthik has also served as CIO for the City of Somerville.He holds engineering degrees from the University of Mumbai and Texas A&M University, and an MBA from Northeastern University.LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaviswan/