Episode 320 | Scott Drake - Future Proof

Guest:

Scott Drake

@tscottdrake

Scott Drake talks with Dave Rael about building, learning, education, and becoming a genius maker rather than an genius

Scott Drake is the Vice President of Technology for medical education company ScholarRx in his hometown of Louisville, KY. His career in software includes stops at Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., at startups in Silicon Valley he founded, and for seven years managed his own software development company. He is the author of "The Programmer Hiring Playbook: A Crash Course in Interviewing and Hiring for Your Real-World Needs," and he is also the founder and curator of LearnLeadership.org, a free, community-produced site designed to help developers create leadership development plans and discover high-yield learning resources.

Chapters: 2:19 - Dave introduces the show and Scott Drake3:46 - Similarities in building software and building businesses7:05 - The importance of quick feedback8:08 - How Scott got started in software11:36 - Positioning yourself12:47 - Schooling and education16:12 - Future-proofing your career by taking a broader view20:11 - Scott's advice for developers to have a broader and more useful, future-proof view22:11 - Scott's story of failure - Missing the mindshift needed in going from individual contributor to leader, including lessons about that mindshift and the levels of leadership28:58 - Scott's success story - delivering on a solution with a smaller team, smaller budget, and shorter timeframe on which bigger teams with more time and bigger price tags failed32:19 - Scott's current team and building great teams40:38 - Scott's book recommendations44:04 - The best ways to learn while avoiding catastrophe46:24 - Scott's top 3 tips for delivering more value50:12 - Keeping up with Scott

Resources: LearnLeadership.org The Programmer Hiring Playbook: A Crash Course in Interviewing and Hiring for Your Real-World Needs - Scott Drake Articles by Scott Philip Morgan on Developer On Fire "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Grant Allen (apparently not Mark Twain) Scott's Twitter Response to Dave's Question about Long-Term Focus Fred George on Developer On Fire 8 Factors That Reveal if a Programmer Will Fit Your Team and Organization - Scott Drake

Scott's book recommendation: Multipliers, Revised and Updated: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter - Liz Wiseman The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded - Michael D. Watkins Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Daniel H. Pink

Scott's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Diversify your interests Cut your own path Be picky