Athletics, Athletics, Athletics … Tech?
This is my first blog. I am not really sure how to introduce myself to this world, maybe it’s best if I start with how I got here — Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Checkfront. I won’t start too far back, I promise.
Looking back, I see there are points of emphasis in my life that have influenced my journey to today; how about I start with those.
- I grew up in Tourism. My parents owned a small fishing resort in Campbell River, BC.
- I played every sport imaginable and moved on to play University Basketball (UBC and Uvic).
- I had a brief stint playing professional basketball overseas in Düsseldorf, Germany.
- I was hit by a bus in 2003 (Yes, a bus) and it was the ankle injury I sustained in this accident which ultimately led to the discovery that my continued dreams of playing basketball for a living were no more.
- I graduated Uvic with a Major in Economics and after retiring from basketball I went back to school for Computer Science. A hidden passion.
I played basketball, who cares. It’s the drive and experience in leadership I received along the way that are most important. I learned how to persevere against adversity and built a strong desire to ‘win’ and when I entered the tech community in a leadership role I was under the impression that every person would respond to the same motivation.
Of course everyone doesn’t respond the same way, was that ever short sighted.
When I took the position of CTO @ Checkfront I was a different person. After a failed attempt at thinking my team would respond the same as my basketball teammates (LOL!) — I quickly realized that being a leader in the Tech Industry was going to take me on an eye opening journey.
In 2014, one year after being hired with Checkfront as the Lead Developer for the company, I was promoted to CTO. Thank you, Jason. I had a team of 3 people, the same team I had with my previous title as Lead Developer. Except, I responded oddly — I thought I had to make all of the right decisions without consultation from my team. WRONG!
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do” — Steve Jobs
At the brink of almost losing the trust of my entire team, an odd meeting was orchestrated. I had to sit there and listen without talking. It’s now 2018, I still vividly remember this experience. It was devastating and yet paramount for a course correction in my career as the CTO at Checkfront. Our Engineering team is now currently sitting at 15 employees — each of which I am very proud of. They have all shown tremendous potential and growth as they help move Checkfront forward.
The introduction of myself is finished; My focus on success hasn’t wavered but my goals have become grander. Hopefully this is the start of some great content through my journey in the tech world.
