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Build Better Business Relationships And Welcome Feedback Gratefully with Doug Arcuri
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Doug Arcuri
Doug Arcuri is a Software Engineering Manager for IBM who has worked in the IT industry for 15 years. His interest in computers began when his parents purchased a Gateway PC in 1998 which led to him developing a few successful game modifications for Half Life. Subsequently, Doug went on to learn engineering concepts, C++, website design and game modification tooling setting the foundation for his IT career.
Doug and Phil talk about the importance of building effective business relationships over being entirely purpose-driven, and why people should be the foundations of any career.
Doug also talks about why feedback should always be welcomed as a way of helping us grow and develop, instead of being seen as criticism.
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Resources
medium.com/@solidi – Check out Doug on Medium!
2 Top Career Tips
1) Don’t be entirely purpose-driven. It’s important to focus on the business and upon delivery, but we must also pay consideration to building effective, empowering relationships.
2) When you receive feedback, you should view it as a gift and accept it gratefully. We tend to have problems in accepting feedback objectively, but we should endeavour to remember that it can make us better in some way.
Show Notes
Worst Career Moment
After finding himself out of a job, Doug decided to not only hone his interviewing skills for the next opportunity, but to keep it going as a regular concern, meeting often ever since to further practice and develop the skills needed in order to keep sharp.
Career Highlight
As a leader, Doug has been responsible for not only hiring, but developing his team members. Using his three stage method of making sure the direction of the team is correct, mentoring others in the team and setting boundaries, and some project management, Doug has found great success is developing people.
The Future
Doug is particularly excited by The Developer’s Experience concept, which has many facets, and which shows that tools are opportunities for engineers to develop. Semantic Code Analysis, also, uses AI to gain clear feedback for code reviews, which should provide a new sense of expediency.
The Reveal
What first attracted you to a career in I.T.?
Doug grew up with video games, and found that he had an early knack for tweaking the experience through technical means. When he discovered a far more technical route to the same in later life, the career choice became obvious.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To write for the community at large. Writing helps to clarify thought, and to inspire others.
What is the worst career advice you’ve ever received?
To make things up. Working “off message” only leads to confusion and dissatisfaction.
If you had to begin your career again in today’s world, what would you do?
Doug would have nurtured the skill of building relationships with others, and sought more opportunities for collaboration.
What career objectives are you currently focusing on?
To become better as a software engineer manager, focusing heavily on the meta of the role.
What’s the number one non-technical skill that has helped you in your career so far?
To find the humour in conversations with software engineers.
What do you do to keep your own career energized?
Focusing on hobbies, such as scale-modelling, helps to keep the mind sharp. It also teaches the value of success and failure.
What do you do in your spare time away from technology?
Spending time with family, especially in the recent lockdown period, is a great source of comfort and happiness.
Contact The Guest
Contact Doug Arcuri through the following social media platforms:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dougarcuri
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