My view on technology

More than 30 years ago, I started my first formal job, and with it, a ritual that has stayed with me ever since: beginning the day with a cup of coffee. I usually drink coffee mainly on workdays, which is why I can consider it a symbol of my professional life. One cup turned into two, and coffee went from being extremely sweet with cream to plain and black. My taste for coffee has evolved, much like my professional journey, from being an individual contributor to leading several software development teams. Each day and every project has been marked by this ritual. Every cup of coffee has witnessed conversations, decisions, lessons, joys, sorrows, triumphs, and even failures. As the Oracle says in The Matrix : “Everything that has a beginning has an end.” Every finished cup of coffee, or a task, a project, or a work stage, is an invitation to start something new. What matters is treasuring what was learned along the way. In my most recent professional adventure, which began in April 201...

At some point in our lives, we've had to give an order to someone, whether to achieve a work objective, organize an informal meeting, or participate in a sport. While it may seem simple and routine, it's more complex than it appears. Taking a passage from the book I, Robot by Isaac Asimov , we encounter a situation on a distant planet where a needed material is found in a dangerous zone, even for robots, and a person gives an ambiguous order to a robot to go collect the material. Due to the composition of the 3 Laws of Robotics , the ambiguity of the command conflicts with laws # 2 and # 3, reaching a point where law # 3 (self-preservation) takes precedence, and the robot prioritizes its survival over completing the order. Upon reaching a safe area, law #2 (obedience) once again takes precedence, and the cycle begins. As presented in the book with robots, sometimes our leadership style and the way we give orders, combined with the context, can lead to ambiguities and, conseque...

I’ve had the privilege of leading teams across the board, from everyone in the same room to team members across cities and continents. This diversity has turned each project into a unique and rewarding experience. And over time, I’ve realized something: it’s the tough projects, the ones with big challenges, that teach us the most. They push us to adapt, find creative solutions, and avoid past mistakes. Feedback: Fuel for Growth Challenges within teams are actually growth opportunities, and feedback plays a huge role in that. Early in my career, I had monthly evaluations as required by my university during my internship. Sincerely, I never understood what the ratings were based on as they often seemed like subjective scores.  My first job used annual feedback, but really, these were more to assign payment raises than helping us improve in our roles. Around 2006, I heard about 360-degree evaluations as a system where you’re evaluated by your superiors, peers, and the people you lead...