Beyond Tech Skills Liron Amitzi, Jim Czuprynski

In our final podcast episode, we'll be talking with Dr. Douglas Scherer, author of F.O.R.G.E.D.: Six Practices of Great Leaders in Volatile Times, about what makes a great leader ... great? Turns out it’s not any one thing – instead, it’s at least half a dozen things. . Douglas talks about his philosophy of how leaders are forged, not born, and he explains what he's personally experienced and observed how leaders act during unexpected crises, unmitigated disasters, and even landing on the Moon.

Think your early career was successful? Peter Schroeder explains how he started his own communications-as-a-service venture in his late 20s, but that was only after introducing electronic dance music to Las Vegas mega-clubs as an internationally known DJ, all the while you producing his own music since his teens. And consider that was after he became a nationally-known reporter in Denmark covering stories of interest to teens and tweens at the age of ten. Peter explains his unique brand of entrepreneurship and what motivates him to constantly explore new opportunities.

After 20+ years as a high school math teacher, you're looking for a new career path. What should you do? Tiffany Teasley has the answer: Data science! She joins Liron and Jim to chat about how she plotted that new course, took action to shift her career goals, and transformed herself into a full-fledged data scientist at Lexis/Nexis.

Doctors start as residents; master builders start as apprentices; executive chefs start as sous chefs. Why not IT professionals? Our guest, Amy Simpson-Grange, talks with Jim + Liron about her IT career path in the UK that featured just that – a five-year IT apprenticeship with CapGemini – and let her deploy her twin passions, biology and psychology, to position herself for successful professional growth.

Finding the right mentor is crucial to having a full life, Jerry Thomas – IT professional, physicist, and educator – tells Jim + Liron. Jerry explains how the legendary scientist Richard Feynman mentored him at CalTech early in his life and how that set the stage for his successful career. Jerry also chats about his friendships with two Nobel Prize winners, his experience working in telecom around the world, why active listening is key to being a great mentor, and even how lock-picking skills are a metaphor for understanding difficult scientific problems.

Finding the perfect person for a key position is a noble goal, but many organizations struggle with what achieving that target actually involves. Jim + Liron talk with Dr. Ameetha Garbharran, an organizational and industrial psychologist,on how organizations often lack a deep understanding of what an unfilled position’s demands really are. Ameetha also explains how she uses scientific processes, careful observations, and accurate metrics to help organizations limit the impact of often-invisible human cognitive biases that both interviewers and interviewees encounter during the hiring process.