313: Look Everywhere For Problems That Need Solving and Build Great Teams with Neil Day

In this week's show, Phil talks to Neil Day, who has more than 30 years of experience in the industry having started his career as a coder with Apple. He went on to manage online systems for Walmart and Sears before creating the successful start-up MediaMaster. He is now the Chief Technical Officer for R-Zero. Neil talks about why the search for new initiatives may not always like in your immediate vicinity. He also discusses the value that can be found in building a great team.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Don't always look for problems to solve within the world of IT only. Broaden your search and the solutions you will find may surprise you.   WORST CAREER MOMENT While working for Walmart, Neil's team had been rushed to finish a web solution, but when the product was released, it was found to be lacking in many areas. Subsequently, Neil and the team were hurried back into action to enact a fix, which proved very challenging.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Neil is extraordinarily proud of the achievements he attained with several large companies, including Walmart's ecommerce site, a reimagined storage solution, and many more.   THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Although technology is all-pervasive in today's society, there are still so many things yet to be explored. There are always countless possibilities.   THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Neil began by working on Radio Shack kits with his father before moving on to programming. What's the best career advice you received? – Be solutions focused and results oriented. What's the worst career advice you received? – What would you do if you started your career now? – Neil thinks that joining a large team and understanding the importance of working to scale is vital at a career's outset. What are your current career objectives? – Building great solutions to interesting problems with people whose company he enjoys. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Research and the organization of information. How do you keep your own career energized? – Trying different things and working with interesting new people. What do you do away from technology? – Neil enjoys skiing, windsurfing, playing guitar and mandolin, and applying himself to new pursuits regularly.   FINAL CAREER TIP Find great people to work with and help them to develop their own skills. There is no greater feeling that successfully developing a great team.   BEST MOMENTS  (7:50) – Neil- "It's been a very important theme for me – having a very broad view and trying to match things that work in other areas" (13:06) – Neil- "In many domains there are good patterns and processes for managing problems" (15:50) – Neil– "I've really tried to find jobs where we could make a big difference to the company by developing a new capability" (16:26) – Neil – "The most important thing is finding something that has real impact"   ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop, and implement software solutions.  Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers.  And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.   CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/_PhilBurgess LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Instagram: https://instagram.com/_philburgess Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer   ABOUT THE GUEST – NEIL DAY Neil Day has more than 30 years of experience in the industry having started his career as a coder with Apple. He went on to manage online systems for Walmart and Sears before creating the successful start-up MediaMaster. He is now the Chief Technical Officer for R-Zero.   CONTACT THE GUEST – NEIL DAY Neil Day can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-day-121444/ Website: https://rzero.com/