Episode #48: Kevin Old of DicomGrid

Sep 5, 12 • In Featured, Interviews, Podcast

Kevin Old, of DicomGrid, talks about the concept of “think time,” his theories on people solving problems subconsciously, and the importance of trusting other team members and talking things out as a group.

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Show Notes:

Twitter: @kevinold
kevinold.com

00:44 – Kevin Old Introduction & Background

Software engineer of 16 years
Self-taught in Perl
Graduated to JavaScript & Ruby
Family situations led him to try working remotely
Has worked remotely now for 5 years

02:15 – Benefits of remote work

Freedom
Work/life balance
Ability to walk away from a problem
“Think Time”
Ability to slow down
Ability to work at your own leisure

07:20 – A typical day

Things happen in the morning that you react to in the afternoon
Solving problems subconsciously
Working at times that you are at your best

11:40 – Working remotely for DicomGrid

Familiar faces + new folks
Based in Phoenix, AZ
Health Care industry

14:00 – Communication setup

Trello
Asynchronous culture
Skype
Lessons learned from previous companies

17:30 – Collaboration

Customer-driven requests
Idea board
Bugs
List of features

20:00 – Remote culture

Cutting ties when things aren’t working out
Talking things out as a group
Trusting the team

24:30 – Building trust

Navigation of tough situations
There are no magic team-building activities

27:18 – Bringing someone on board a remote team

Mentorship
Going through “seasons”

33:30 – Advice for distributed teams

If you’re stuck on a problem, revisit it later

distributed teams Interviews podcast remote work

About the Author: Avdi Grimm

Husband, father, software cultivator, and amateur community builder, Avdi has been leading and participating in dispersed software development teams since 2007. He works from home in Southern Pennsylvania, and loves the fact that working remotely enables him to spend more time with his wife and four children.