Episode 349 | Eric Potter - Harness Your Enthusiasm

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Eric Potter talks with Dave Rael about being a leader, speaking at conferences, the relationship of life to software, and relationships between experienced and inexperienced developers

Eric is a Software Architect for Aptera Software and a Microsoft MVP for Visual Studio and Development Technologies. He works primarily in the .Net web platform but loves opportunities to try out other stacks. He has been developing high-quality custom software solutions since 2001. At Aptera, he has successfully delivered solutions for clients in a wide variety of industries. He loves to dabble in new and exciting technologies. In his spare time, he loves to tinker with Arduino projects. He fondly remembers what it was like to develop software for the Palm OS. He has an amazing wife and 5 wonderful children. He blogs at http://humbletoolsmith.com/ and you can follow him on twitter as @pottereric.

Chapters: 1:23 - Dave introduces the show and Eric Potter5:36 - The diverse landscape of applications Eric gets to see and architect at Aptera6:57 - Timeless principles and perspective gained with experience12:13 - Hardships and health challenges and the joy of having software as an outlet14:52 - Eric's story of failure - underestimating everything, not seeking needed help and not communicating jeopardized status20:24 - The things that "light Eric up"23:40 - Eric's book recommendation25:09 - How Eric stays current with what he needs to know26:41 - Eric on conference speaking31:55 - The importance of knowing the warts and downsides of what you use32:57 - Eric's success story - Contributing to the excellence of young developers via mentoring37:57 - Eric's experience with teaching college classes44:03 - Eric's top 3 tips for delivering more value48:12 - Keeping up with Eric

Resources: Aptera GeePaw Hill on Developer On Fire Developer On Fire Book Recommendations QBasic Nibbles (video game) The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition) - Frederick P. Brooks Jr. The Mythical Man-Month Quotes (including "pure thought-stuff") The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master - Andrew Hunt Andy Hunt on Developer On Fire Dave Thomas on Developer On Fire Jeremy Clark on Developer On Fire Derek Comartin on Developer On Fire GitHub Education Azure Cognitive Services Object Design: Roles, Responsibilities, and Collaborations - Rebecca Wirfs-Brock Rebecca Wirfs-Brock on Developer On Fire Scott Wlaschin on Developer On Fire

Eric's book recommendation: Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware (Pragmatic Programmers) - Andy Hunt

Eric's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Follow your interests and harness your enthusiasm Join a community, find conferences, and engage Learn a functional programming language