Podcast: Mindful leadership in athenahealth with Bela Labovitch
Podcast – Episode 41:
Mindful leadership in athenahealth
Tech to help doctors focus on what they are good at
We all hope for a day when we don’t need to mention, or even be surprised, when we see women leading in tech. But, until that wonderful moment arrives, we will celebrate a marvelous leader’s journey and her leadership practices. Bela Labovitch, the VP of engineering at athenahealth, joins us to share her story and why she has much gratitude for her job. Of special interest, how she makes the role effective and delightful for her people, the end customer, and the business itself.
“I think as a leader, what should be important to you is the continual improvement of your teams, what should be important to you as a signaling of something going wrong? So, make that time, it is important.“
We also look at the problem that athenahealth is solving in the market and how it allows doctors and similar professionals to focus on what they love doing by adding ease and automation to important aspects of their business operations.
Key takeaways from the podcast with Bela are:
- The importance of metrics and measuring
- The power of a tool we all have as leaders—mindfulness and the surprising impact it can have on all aspects of the tech leader role
- How companies can help create more diversity within their companies and encourage girls and women to pursue tech careers
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Bela's tech journey to her position to VP of engineering at a well-respected organization
3. Bela's tech journey to her position to VP of engineering at a well-respected organization
4. Transition from techy to tech leader
5. What the problem athenahealth are solving in the market?
6. What is Bela's passion around the work she does
7. How does Bela roll as a leader?
8. How do you align people to a vision (herd the smart kittens)?
9. Bela's support of the "Girls that Code" program
10. Being a woman in tech and was it fun?
11. What are the barriers stopping women/girls getting into the tech space?
13. Discussion on making the onboarding process smooth (especially during the COVID remote era)
14. Creating high performing teams to serve the business and the customer
15. Being the purposeful leader
16. Bela's advice on maintaining a healthy social system within the organization during the remote COVID era
17. Bela's advice to aspiring tech leaders out there
18. Do metrics really matter? Why bother?
19. Bela's parting key takeaways for tech leaders out there
20. What books would Bela recommend to other leaders
21. Bela's parting key takeaways for tech leaders out there
22. TC Gills key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: Solving address poverty with Emre Turan
Podcast – Episode 40:
Solving address poverty
Creating the internet of places
You wouldn’t believe it, but 4 billion people in the world do not have an address. We take it for granted in first and 2nd world nations. But imagine not having a framework to get things to you. Shocking! This is why Emre Turan, the tech leader of UNL Global, leads the tech to create the internet of places. An addressing system to bring people out of address poverty. Maybe we in more modernized countries will adopt the same system. Thus, creating a standardized global standard.
“First of all, you have to learn how to listen. You need to understand what kind of things people need and you need to serve in that way, if you don’t know what kind of things they need, it’s not gonna work.”
The key takeaways from the conversation with Emre are:
- The importance of creating a system that anywhere in the world can have an address
- Making sure external outsourced teams are invited into the fold of a company. Please don’t treat them differently
- Using data to create self–healing maps
- The importance of reading the book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. It raises awareness around a bug that all of humanity has and will serve your leadership immensely.
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
12. How does Emre evolve?
13. Creating high-performing teams
14. As a tech leader, what keeps Emre up at night?
15. Emre's book recommendations
16. Advise for aspiring tech leaders out there
17. Emre's wish for the tech genie
18. Emre's key takeaways from the podcast
19. TC's key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: FinTech's blockchain solution to take security trading to the next level with Amit Goyal
Podcast – Episode 39:
FinTech’s blockchain solution to take security trading to the next level
CTO in the trading space
We all see big stock markets trading shares in big companies, with their stock-tickers showing the ups and downs of an organization’s perceived value. Imagine if you could invest in, let’s say, a sports star’s career or the local shop down the road. Well, this is the platform that tZERO’s CTO, Amit Goyal, is working on. He joins us to share his trials and tribulations, not forgetting the successes in creating this novel trading system.
“I think the best advise is to plan small, go with one service, go with one team, let them be successful, don’t be too impatient.”
The key takeaways from the conversation with Amit are:
- How a more democratic trading system will create investment and growth opportunities in some weird and wonderful places
- Slicing big projects into manageable small value deliverables enhances the Agile space
- The importance of reducing the delay of developed code getting into the production space. Ultimately to ensure developers don’t get disconnected from their work and technical debt doesn‘t sit around out of sight.
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing our guest Amit Goyal
3. The strangest thing trading on the market
4. Who's idea was a company such as tZERO?
5. Why does tZERO intend to achieve?
6. As a tech leader, what keeps Amit up at night?
7. Technical challenges
8. Difficulties in understanding Blockchain
9. How does one test Blockchain
10. Times during COVID19
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Podcast: Making businesses more human one video at a time with Brendan Schwartz
Podcast – Episode 38:
Making businesses more human one video at a time
CTO and co-founder of Wistia shares the startup journey
Many enlightened businesses work hard to make their brands and relationships with their customers stronger and more human, and that’s exactly what Wistia does. For those who think that’s obvious, well, there are many businesses out there that do the exact opposite. Either intentionally or unintentionally.
The CTO and co-founder of this interesting startup joins us to share his leadership learning and the importance of building that human face of the business one video at a time. With the bonus of making the process super easy and effective.
“An obvious thing nowadays, like video is a way to connect with people. It’s a very emotional medium.”
The key takeaways from the conversation with Brendan are:
- Creating the right funding model for your startup can have a positive impact on the way you run and do business
- Learning from Brendan’s reflections of leading through tough decisions (tapping into the wisdom of the organization)
- Leading with remote teams and making sure they become autonomous and effective development machines
- Especially getting the decision making and set of power closer to the cross functional teams doing the work
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing our guest Brendan Schwartz
3. Bringing the human element on display
4. The trick to bringing the human element to the brand (keeping it real and relatable)
5. Don't try too hard to pretend to be something you are not
6. Brendan’s transition to becoming a tech leader
7. Lessons to aspire other tech leaders
8. COVID times
9. Leaning around the leadership through rough times (COVID)
10. Making the decision about COVID-19
12. Augmented reality
13. Wistia’s Customers
14. Encouraging people to stop thinking and start doing
15. Brendan's leadership style
16. Creating the best performing teams
17. Brendan's wish to the tech genie
18. Brendan's key takeaways from the podcast
19. TC's key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: Healthy feedback loops improving cancer intelligence with Denali Lumma
Podcast – Episode 37:
Healthy feedback loops improving cancer intelligence
Denali’s story of turning the ship around. The resounding success of Agile
In this episode, we talk to a tech leader who has turned a technical ship around. Her leadership resides in an organization that works hard to improve palliative care.
Denali Lumma, the VP of engineering at Project Ronin, shares her story and her leadership. Particularly on how she, her peers, and team pivoted a troubling technical situation and created a state of technical flow in the organization. The best part is the improvements in care for patients. Feedback loops of care went from a month to days, allowing carers to be agile in improving the conditions of patients and enhancing their quality of life. Maybe even saving lives.
“If I can do it, you can do it. Anyone can do it. It’s just a matter of perseverance. And, and knowing that failure and defeat is part of the human experience. But that it is eventually worth it. I guess. I’m not sure if that’s very inspiring or not, but that’s the truth.”
The key takeaways from the conversation with Denali are:
- The concept of technical–debt–event–horizon (the point of no return)
- How Agile can absolutely work. It can be a success if you keep going, learn from the mistakes, and don’t see it as some magic formula out of the box. You have to be agile about Agile. Let it guide you, rather than dictate
- The huge power of healthy feedback loops–find the important ones and enhance them
- How systems and industries create incentives that really aren’t helpful, even damaging
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing our guest Denali Lumma
3. The journey to becoming a female VP engineer and tech leader
4. What's the mission of project Ronin?
5. The lag in the feedback loops
6. Leading in the tech space
7. Driving clarity
8. Good leaders have parrot genes
9. Like a Jedi Bringing order into one's galaxy. Crating alignment with the organization
11. Outsourcing
12. The event horizon of technical events
13. The feeling of turning the ship around
14. Avoiding the BS (avoiding politics)
15. Denali's wish to the tech genie
16. What keeps Denali up at night as a tech leader?
17. Denali's takeaways from the podcast
18. TC's takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: Layering technology onto the art of creating homes with Rajiv Peter
Podcast – Episode 36:
Layering technology onto the art of creating homes
Leading the modernization of the housing association industry
With technology permeating and threading through all industries, it’s surprising when you come across an industry that has further growth in the digital space, giving the tech leaders in that arena the opportunity to spearhead an industry evolution. This is exactly what our guest Rajiv Peter, Director of Digital Technology at Notting Hill Genesis, is doing. Under his leadership and tech team, the company creates opportunities for more growth, efficient operations, and insights from the data they collect.
Like the host, Rajiv has Dyslexia, from which he has adapted and created his own mechanisms and leadership style to thrive.
“My leadership style is pretty relaxed. I’d say, I would leave people to do what they need to do. I don’t interfere too much. I would just go in once in a while and dive in quite deep into some subjects.”
The key takeaways from the conversation with Rajiv are:
- Using the gift of Dyslexia to lead in a better way (Visual vision)
- The power of trusting your teams
- Preparing a business to be able to collect the right data for the next evolution so they can sense and adapt aspects of the business’ direction
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing CTO Confessions guest Rajiv Peter
3. What are Rajiv's technology solutions solving withing Notting Hill Genisis?
4. Exploring the ROI that technology can bring
5. The scale of the Notting Hill Genesis portfolio (Its huge) that the technology solutions are serving
6. Getting ready to mine the oceans of data (AI/ML)
7. Rajiv's leadership style to create high performing team
9. Introducing low/no code
10. The power transparency
11. Sharing ideas (getting the creativity juices going)
12. The gift of Dyslexia (the power of adapting and the benefits it brings)
13. Make a wish from the tech genie
14. TC's (IT Labs Chief talking Officer) key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: Clarity for the opaque world of seaborne energy with Maksym Schipka
Podcast – Episode 35:
Clarity for the opaque world of seaborne energy
The success of a reluctant tech leader
In this episode, we talk to a tech leader who initially had very little desire to become a CTO. However, once the journey began, not only was he a success, but he also came to appreciate and love the role. His passion shows and is a great inspiration to try things you think you don’t want.
Maksym Schipka, the CTO at Vortexa, shares his tech journey and what’s worked, and is working for him. Just to put into perspective the importance of Vortexa’s operation, it tracks more than $1.8 trillion of waterborne energy trades per year. That’s a great deal of ka-chings! Their work and innovations disrupt the way the energy markets operate, creating visibility into the very opaque world of seaborne energy trading.
“Don’t be afraid to try something out and see how much it interests you. If it does interest you will become good at it because you will put an effort to doing it.“
His desire (and deeper purpose) to solve problems and face difficult challenges, led Maksym to solve technical goals and even more complex ones like strategic and the dynamics of leading people. His desire to create elegant solutions in his leadership serves the business, the people, and his own leadership.
The key takeaways from the conversation with Maksym are:
- The amazing payoffs of taking small, uncomfortable steps –new realizations regarding what interests you and what doesn’t, plus the willingness to face fear, risk, and dislikes to make adventurous, inspired career choices.
- How data and machine learning are being used to disrupt the energy trading system – a disruption that serves and enhances the work of traders and the industry as a whole.
- The power in a leader is willing to become redundant in many of the tech activities and business operations. When your teams need you less, you are succeeding immensely as a leader. This reminds me of the quote from Nanny McPhee, “When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, I have to go.”.
- The importance of attachment and detachment in leadership, and how to allow teams and people to grow and expand their responsibility.
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing our guest Maksym Schipka
3. The beginnings of Maksym's journey
4. Advice for all the aspiring tech leaders
5. Becoming a tech leader was not Maksym's plan
6. What is Vortexa?
7. The way of creating a real time visibility into the world of seaborn energy
8. What was the need to create this kind of tech?
10. Hiring people who are expects in their field (moments of envy)
11. Leading the teams remotely during COVID times
12. Maksym's thoughts on external teams
13. Gaps around engineering in general
14. The organizational structure in a growing company
15. Maksym's book recommendation for leaders
16. Maksym's key takeaways from the podcast
17. TC's key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: Creating tech for chip manufacturers atomic metrology with Hamed Sadeghian
Podcast – Episode 34:
Creating tech for chip manufacturers atomic metrology
Leading entrepreneurial tech at the cutting edge of the cutting edge
Niches don’t get any tighter than this. Our guest Hamed Sadeghian, President and CTO of Nearfield instruments, shares with us his voyage to the helm of a super high-tech, high science market. From his metrology in the oil and gas industry to the measurement of atoms, he now heads an organization that helps chip manufacturers sharpen their cutting edge.
“Making the technology production worthy for the industrial world rather than the science lab.“
Several subjects are covered in the podcast, not to mention Hamed‘s leadership and self–leadership. He has carved out a great path for himself in a market that not many people operate. With his hand still in the research and development, he plays a pivotal role in keeping the company at the forefront of delivering products that enhance Nearfields customer‘s operations. Like Hamed puts it, it‘s a highly competitive market that has a constantly moving target.
Key takeaways from the podcast are:
- Sanitizing your vision and making it your war
- What you need to be able to lead effectively in an entrepreneurial company
- Finding a pain and ensuring the solution is what the customer wants
- The kinds of people and teams you need in an R&D space
- Creating visibility for the customer so they know where you are going
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing Hamed the CTO and president of Nearfield Instruments
3. How does someone start their career in such a strange niche industry?
4. The equipment for measuring atomic resolutions
5. The art of measurement.
6. How did Hamed get into this niche market?
7. The different sizes of wafers
8. Hamed's tips for aspiring tech leaders
9. Hamed's leadership style and the art of managing the failures
11. How does Hamed manage finding investors?
12. The difficulties of marketing this kind of technology
13. What makes Hamed's life as a tech leader easier?
14. The trick to aligning to a vision
15. Naming your product (is it important)?
16. Being near the customer for collaboration
17. Hamed's key takeaways from the podcast
18. TC's key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: The art of digital experience with Marcus Lambert
Podcast – Episode 33:
The art of digital experience – Making big brands like Google, Shell, BP, Facebook more desirable
User-experience is the new brand
In this information-obsessed modern world, marketing takes on many forms. And a word that gets banded around a lot (and quite rightly) is brand. For Omobono, the brand isn’t just logos and fancy billboards; it’s more than that. The CTO from Omobono, Marcus Lambert, joins us to tell us about its importance and how an organization’s brand can be enhanced digitally.
“Be transparent and be honest. Your job as a leader is to get the best out of the individuals and your team as a whole.”
Marcus also talks about his leadership and how he works hard to keep to the foundations of Agile (the values and principles), creating a high trust environment through transparency. Knowing what is happening, what will be happening, and knowing each other thoroughly is a recipe for success.
Key takeaways from the podcast are:
- Organizational trust layered into every nook-and-cranny of the business is the key to lasting transformation. (Omobono’s story around this is a must-hear – truly inspiring!)
- Transparency creates clarity. It is a simple, sometimes painful, quite powerful tool that all establishments need to embrace for better leadership throughout the org.
- The lessons learned from oscillating between small companies and large corporates and back again.
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing our guest Paul Clarke
3. The transition from a startup into the corporate world
4. The story of Omobono
5. The clients of Omobono
6. The creativity of creating excitement around 'boring' products
7. What does Marcus's day as a tech leader look like?
8. Marcus's leadership style
9. Marcus's advice for tech leaders out there
10. Building trust among the team
12. How does Marcus manage his teams remotely during COVID 19?
13. What does Marcus miss the most during these times of working remotely?
14. The company's engineering challenges
15. UX and when to stop testing?
16. What keeps Marcus up at night as a tech leader?
17. Marcus's book recommendations
18. Marcus's tech leaders wish to the tech genie
19. Marucs's key takeaways from the podcast
20. TC's key takeaways from the podcast
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Podcast: Leadership with style with Florian Klemt
Podcast – Episode 32:
Leadership with style
Stories of a CTO in a B2B fashion startup
In this podcast, we look at an interesting B2B startup called Fashion Cloud. In particular to its CTO, Florian Klemt. The business idea that was born out of a strategic pivot shows great promise. It’s morphing into something bigger and providing more supportive avenues for end clients.
“Be brave and be honest and always ask yourself why are you doing the things you’re doing.”
During the podcast, Florian shares several subjects ranging from the business‘s pivot to solve a pain point in the market and his leadership approach to creating a healthy, happy business. He shares how happy engineers deliver business value.
Key takeaways from the podcast are:
- A human-centric leadership style has a great ROI. One that can’t be pinned down in a spreadsheet or ledger but exists non the less
- The pivoting tool in the business toolbox is an important device that should be employed readily to adapt to market needs
- Maintenance and looking after legacy systems is highly recommended. It’s not sexy, but tech leaders ought to appreciate the investment that’s gone into these systems and work to keep them maintainable.
TLDR: Straight to the point
(Quick Links)
We all live busy lives, and sometimes a long podcast is too much of a time-footprint for our busy schedules. So, to help you get to the bit you’re more interested in, use our table of contents below. Quick links to help you get straight to the point.
2. Introducing our guest Florian Klemt
3. The journey to the position of CTO
4. Solving the problem of connecting all systems in a company
5. The passion the gets Florian going
6. People-centric leadership
7. How does Florian handle delegating 'high stakes tasks'?
8. The 'air of happiness' within the organization
9. Can you measure ROI?
10. How does Florian set the line between friend/leader?
12. Leading the team remotely during COVID 19
13. Tips about leading external teams
14. Florian's engineering challenges
15. The importance of maintaining legacy systems
16. What keeps Florian up at night as a tech leader?
17. The company's growing pains
18. Florian's book recommendations
19. Florian's tech leaders wish to the tech genie
20. Florian's key takeaways for tech leaders
21. TC's takeaways from the podcast