[0:24] Why don’t you tell the audience a little about yourself?

I am the IT Director at Essentium, a 3D manufacturing company. We manufacture 3D printers and plastic filaments, and we also do contract work with the Department of Defense.

[1:57] What book are you reading with your team and why?

The book we’re reading is called “The Phoenix Project.” It’s one of the most important books I’ve read in my IT career. One of my mentors recommended it to me, and it made so much sense.

[5:06] All of the different apps we have are throwing out minor updates, versus major updates less often as it was before.

There’s this concept around development called atomic changes. Atomic being the smallest change you can implement. I really like that mentality—a small change that makes the system better. Small changes are easier to do and improve a system over time.

[9:06] You mentioned business process management is a passion of yours. Let’s talk about that.

Your goal as an IT provider isn’t to provide solutions you’re requested to fulfill. The best thing you can do is understand how the business operates and ask a question based on the solution being requested. Sometimes questions need to be followed up by deeper questions.

[18:04] What challenges have you run into implementing business process management?

Some people love running around putting out fires; they like working that way. But they’re going to hit a ceiling on how much they can intake working that way. Business process management is especially important for new undertakings. We’re opening a new business unit where we charge per product, and we’re working to set that foundation from the beginning.

[25:20] Trying to drive change as the nerds in the back room can be an interesting challenge.

For anyone out there who’s really intelligent and good at their job, know that without helping others understand their problems and solutions, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. You are making it so you’re invaluable and unable to take a vacation.

[29:09] If you don’t have the work spread out among your team, you won’t have time to develop yourself or learn something new. You have to be able to delegate.

That’s true as much for people as it is for organizations. You have to empower others to reach the next level in your career or your organization.

[34:19] Defining process and roles with documentation is so important. Shadow IT among the team can get in the way of this.

If everything feels chaotic and it’s hard to put words to the work you’ve done, you’re not alone. There’s a difference between planned work and unplanned work. Unplanned work is anti-work, and it’s something we need to get away from. It keeps you reacting and firefighting rather than planning.

[45:34] If you don’t have that definition of work planned out and you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve step by step, the work is probably going to take longer than you think.

Humans are terrible at estimating long term periods. No matter how much time you estimate, it’s always going to take longer. There’s touch time and there’s lead time. How long will it take for the person to actually start working on the problem after it’s been submitted? That is really important to know.

[51:01] Tell me a little more about what it’s like working in the 3D printing industry.

I step more into the information security (or cybersecurity) role. I’m not an engineer or deeply involved in the 3D printing side. But we do have a lot of regulations as a contractor for the Department of Defense. One of the craziest things for me was with a contract we didn’t win. It required building an entire new process. I didn’t know about it until a few weeks in advance. Start-ups always want to try new things immediately.

[57:38] What is the 3D project you’ve created for yourself that you’re most proud of?

I don’t print much myself. I prefer software development and seeing what other people are printing. I do have a desire to print a Master Chief or Iron Man suit for myself. My wife wants me to finish my other projects first.

[59:00] What was your introduction to IT?

I went to Baylor University for Biology. My mom wanted me to be a doctor. After a year, I knew I didn’t want to do it. I switched to business school and spent a semester bored out of my mind. When I landed in computer science, I really enjoyed it. I began volunteering at a non-profit doing overseas support efforts during the Syrian refugee crisis, and I was asked to come on board full-time.