career

#74 - Books, Remote Work, and Q&A, with Adrienne Tacke

March 15, 2024

Welcome back to The Work Item. Today we're exploring the ins and outs of remote work, writing, and community engagement with a show veteran, Adrienne Tacke. I'm delighted to welcome Adrienne back to the show, especially considering that since our last recording we received quite a few follow-up questions. Just like last time, Adrienne brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our discussion, especially when it comes to remote work culture. And today, we're adding a new twist: a dedicated Q&A segment where Adrienne will be addressing your burning questions directly.

#73 - Put The Passion Aside And Go For The Market, with Rob Walling

February 12, 2024

If you’ve ever listened to Startups For The Rest Of Us (which, by the way, is approaching seven hundred episodes), you might already be familiar with the energetic host of the show - entrepreneur, bootstrapper, and podcaster extraordinaire Rob Walling. Rob and I chat about his early days as an employee, the transition from the more traditional path of working for someone to starting his own business, building MicroConf, and how the trifecta of skill, hard work, and luck can help folks be on a more predictable path to success.

#70 - Building a Career In Developer Tools, with Kenneth Auchenberg

December 31, 2023

Today, you're in for a treat as I sit down with Kenneth Auchenberg, a seasoned product manager - you might know him from his work at Microsoft on Visual Studio Code as well as on developer tools at Stripe. He is also a developer and overall a very nice person to know.

#69 - Product Management In The Era Of Generative AI, with Shyvee Shi

December 30, 2023

In today's episode, I sat down with Shyvee Shi, a seasoned product leader with a wealth of experience in steering products from conception to market success. Shyvee has been at the forefront of industry trends, contributing significantly to the evolution of product management practices.

#68 - Why You Need An Executive Coach, with Eric Nehrlich

December 29, 2023

In this episode, we're exploring the nuances of executive coaching, demystifying the process and shedding light on how individuals can break through the barriers that often hinder their career growth.

#65 - Data, Impact, and Sustainability, with Jane Yang

December 18, 2023

Learn about finding the balance between your passions and incentives in the tech industry, career seasonality, positive community impact, and recipes on measuring your growth and sustainability.

#63 - Beyond Just Engineering Skills, with Adrienne Braganza Tacke

November 8, 2023

If you want to be intentional about your career and become a multidisciplinary professional, this conversation with Adrienne Tacke is for you.

#61 - Career Moats And Beyond, with Cedric Chin

October 9, 2023

In this episode, I am chatting with Cedric Chin - the founder of the CommonCog blog and business series. You might've read some of Cedric's writing on career moats before.

#60 - Defining A Force Multiplier, with Sam Saccone

December 28, 2022

When we choose our career path, we often try to optimize for one specific bucket - you're a product manager, or a project manager, or a UX designer, or any other variation of an expertise area in tech. Sam Saccone defies the expectations of a single role and instead believes in being a "plumber" - doing whatever work is necessary to enable others to do their own version of great work. I sat down with Sam to learn more about his path to a Senior Staff Engineer at Google, what it means to brute-force your way through problems, and what the best avenues are to become a force multiplier for your team.

#59 - Building On Your Own, with iOS Developer Donny Wals

December 22, 2022

Leaving your full-time job behind and starting your own business based on your own brand is a somewhat scary proposition. And yet, this is exactly what Donny Wals, a prolific iOS developer and technology teacher, is doing. In this episode I sat down with him to talk more about his work, what was his thinking in going solo, and what one needs to learn quickly in an ever-changing technology space.