Growth and Management in Distributed Teams with Steve Akers

In this episode I am joined by Mari Anne Snow where we talk about the rise of distributed teams in the early 2000’s, some of the major changes that have happened since that time, and the recent impacts of distributed work in the health and education sectors. Show notes Pandemic Work-From-Home Survey Mari Anne Snow LinkedIn Sophaya Remote Nation Remote Nation Institute Thomas Lattimore Personal site @tlattimore

In this episode I am joined by Steve Akers, the Vice President of Engineering & Data Services at Appriss. We discuss Steve's early career starting as a software developer, touch on his growth into management, and hear about his experience growing with a large distributed team at LivingSocial. We go deep on tips for success with distributed teams, the pros and cons of hybrid office scenarios, and hear about Steve’s personal workflow for time and task management. Show notes Superbase The Passionate Programmer The Pragmatic Programmer GTD with Things 3 Things 3 Bear app Kent Beck's books Decision matrix for what is important Steve Akers Steve on LinkedIn Thomas Lattimore Personal site @tlattimore (Some links above may contain Amazon affiliate links)

Working from home comes with many types of distractions. One of the primary distractions can, in many cases, be our own families. In this episode Matt and I delve into what it is like to work from home with kids who have are also homeschooled. Whether you have a family like us, live with a roommate or partner, or are single, I hope there is something to glean from our conversation. Show links Children bursting into room during live call with BBC broadcast I've had a few embarrassing moments with my kids while working from home... but nothing like this. Possible health benefits of walking barefoot Homeschooling — Good News and Bad News Matt Robison mattrob.com @jazzdrive Matt's Children’s book, Princess Hiccup Thomas Lattimore thomaslattimore.com @tlattimore

Every wonder what it is like to leave your home behind and hit the open road in an RV—all while working full-time? To help answer that question in this episode Tony and I talk about his family's journey of living as digital nomads both domestically and abroad. Show Notes An article on Tony's proven setup for full time RV internet options A video rundown of internet options Budget Costs of Full Time RVing Family Adventure Summit Tony Greising-Murschel letstravelfamily.com YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Thomas Lattimore @tlattimore Personal website

Due to efforts to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, many conferences and gatherings planned for the first half of 2020 gone virtual. One of these conferences was MidCamp, a yearly conference for designers, developers, users, and evaluators of the open source Drupal content management software. Show notes Netflix Party Discord Board Game Arena DrupalEasy episode on MidCamp Talking Drupal episode on Virtual Camps Avi Schwab Personal site @ajschwab @froboy Thomas Lattimore Personal site @tlattimore

In this episode I am joined on the show by Augustin Delaporte. Augustin is the Directer of Product Scalability at Platform.sh. In this episode we dive into what it was like growing with Platform.sh as a hybrid team between a central office and distributed team members. Through this discussion we touch on lots aspects of remote work life including working in cross continental teams, changing toolsets as companies grow and change, product management in distributed environments, and what it is like to be a remote employee based out of China. Augustin Delaporte Twitter Platform.sh Deploy Friday: E01 The challenges and opportunities facing tech companies in the time of Coronavirus A Survival Guide for managers who need to drive a company that became remote overnight by Fred Plais, Platform's CEO Tools for Remote Teams (that let you keep control of your data and privacy) by Robert Douglass, Platform's Chief DevRel Officer Thomas Lattimore Personal site Twitter

Hosts Thomas Lattimore @tlattimore personal site Mark Shropshire @shrop Mediacurrent goServeOthers SHROPCAST Links Remote Work Survival Kit How Working Parents Can Prepare for Coronavirus Closures How the Toilet Paper Supply Chain is Dealing with the Demand Pomodoro Technique BreakTime app Study from Cornell University on sitting vs. standing at work Baseline Work Setup's Mark MacBook Pro Cable and adapter bag External battery for both USB devices and MacBook Bose Noise Cancelling 700 headphones AirPod's Backup wired headphones Thomas Macbook Pro Cable and adapter bag Blue-light blocking glasses Bose QC35 II headphones

When you work in distributed environment it is not uncommon to have the vast majority of the communication with your team in chat (ex: Slack). But just because we use these so often, do we use them effectively? In this episode I cover some good practices I've learned over the years working in these systems.

Show notes: Yammer Know Your Team Discourse

Working from home can allow you to stay focused and get work done. It does not come without its distractions though. In this episode I get into a few ways you can stay productive while working from home. Show links: marinaratimer.com The Pomodoro Technique Self Control App