Microsoft ArcReady

I attended Microsoft ArcReady today in Cincinnati OH.  Although typically technical, the presentation today was focused on soft skills for software architects.  I was a fantastic presentation and reinforced a lot of career development concepts that I have learned over the years.  Highlights from the event are below:

The first presenter was Brian H. Prince, Architect Evangelist for Microsoft Blog

• Mentors -- pick something you want to grow in and assemble mentors
  • Write down a mentor list and keep track of strategy
  • Mentors don't have to know they are your mentor
  • Discard mentorships as needed
• "You are in charge of your career, your company is in charge of your job" -- @dmarsh
• Be introspective
  • Review your job annually and mentally sign-up for another year
  • Check to see if you job is still aligned with your career objectives
  • Clearly define your career objectives
  • Pick something you want to be known as
• Invest in your career: school, playing, reading, blogging, code camps
• Book Recommendation: Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? by Lou Gerstner
• Three steps to higher a Power Team -- not rock stars, but power team members
  • Passion
  • Learning
  • Problem Solving
• Everything else you know today will be worthless in two years
• Book Recommendation: Rules for Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki
• Just like body building, work out different muscles (skills) each day.
• Creativity
  • You need to practice it to strengthen it.
  • Design a system, throw out the design, do it again differently two more times to boost creativity
  • Mix it up; read a book you normally wouldn't
  • Read a book a week
• Book Recommendation: The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means to All of Us by Robyn Meredith
• Book Recommendation: Guns, Gems and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared M. Diamond
• Tips for client interaction
  • Say "I don't know"
  • Be an active listener
  • Don't have distractions
  • Ask smart questions
  • Don't multitask in your head
  • Ask open-minded questions, not yes/no questions
  • Take notes even if to just map the conversation
  • Use metaphors or analogies to communicate
  • Don't use bad language
  • Follow through (review action items and send a follow-up email)
  • Over communicate until they bleed
  • No agenda, no attenda
  • Be prepared
  • Preception is reality
• Objections: Feel.  Felt.  Found.
  • "I understand how you feel.  Others have felt the same way.  Others have found..."
  • Make finding a solution to the problem something we are going to work on together.
• Don't be a plumber.  Write code that only you can write to add value to the business.
• Do more of what works and less of what doesn't
• Focus on helping the end-user kick a$$.
• Architecture/Career/Life is about balance.
• The effort is the effort and is not negotiable.  Don't merely reduce a quote, but de-scope or get more money.
• Project manager's job is about communication. 
• Project fail because of failed expectations or communications not because of technology.
• Teams should play together.
• Always hold the door.
• Never burn a bridge behind you.  "You can't burn your way to excellence."

The second speaker was Michael Wood, SDS.  Blog.  He spoke onOrganizational Dynamics.

• Four areas: Responsbility, Authority, Power, Influence.
• Economics in one line:  Profit = Revenue - Cost
• "I need to add value to the business"
• Director: "I need to get the right people on the right projects"
• Manager: "I need to make sure everyone is happy."  Authority but no power.
• Architects: Influence and responsbility, but little Power and Authority.
• Co-worker: "I want to work on cool technology with people that carry their weight."
• Yor agenda: "I need to choose technologies with a future."
• Focus on adding business value and project success not necessarily efficiency.
• Agile: plotted backlog of items that can add business value fast.
• Survival Tips:
  • Dress + 1, one level better than the audience.  First impressions matter.
  • Plug into companies information pipeline
  • Learn the art of small talk
  • Be prepared to have the hard conversations.
  • Learn to read the room.
  • Seek out a mentor.
  • Don't be a lemming -- think critically.
  • Evangelize
  • Learn the art of public speaking -- Toastmasters
  • Build a network of like minded people
  • Build coalitions -- move on individuals agendas and company agenda
  • Decisions should not be made but announcedat meetings.
  • Keep an eye on the sharks
  • Learn the right way to gripe. Not 30 minutes of griping, but 5 minutes of griping and 25 minutes of suggesting solutions.
• Political tools
  1. Compromise (win-win)
  2. Arbitration (independent third part)
  3. Escalation
  • Arguing hurts the business value
  • Accept decisions and move on
  • There is always a different point of view
  • Always maintain your composure.  It ruins you credibility if you don't.
  • Know your boundaries and limitations (constraints)
• Be a leader.  Get things done.  Be a Mentor.  Add business value.
• Architects are the bridge between business and technology.
• Book Recommendation: Systems Thinking, Second Edition: Managing Chaos and Complexity: A Platform for Designing Business Architecture by Jamshid Gharajedaghi
• Book Recommendation: What the CEO Wants You to Know : How Your Company Really Works by Ram Charan
• Book Recommendation: CIO Wisdom: Best Practices from Silicon Valley by Dean Lane