About Simon:
Simon Munch- Anderson is CTO at Ultimate.AI, A Series A tech company based in Berlin that offers a virtual customer service agent builder bringing multilingual customer service automation to businesses. He has over 20+ years of experience in building innovative products and teams. Mostly focussed on early-stage start-ups.
Simon loves technology and how it can shape our future. In his own words he likes to worry about technology, as he believes if we want to have a great future, we have to start thinking about it in the present because when the future is here you won’t have time. Spoken like a true technology leader.
“ A couple of sentences about what you’re focus is right now as a CTO at ultimate.AI. If you could write down your own job spec in 2 sentences, what would it be basically”
Synopsis:
During this episode, Simon takes us through his experience so far with Ultimate.AI, the importance of cross-functional teams. Remote working and keeping teams motivated. Common mistakes in managers and engineers and how you can become better engineers. We also discuss at length what it takes to an engineering leader.
Key Takeaways:
What are cross-functional team and how to implement them.
Managing remote team, building teams remotely and also motivating staff remotely.
Remote interviews/ onboarding.
How to build social connections in a remote setting.
How to be a good engineering leader and what you can do to become better
How to improve communication between teams.
00:34- Introduction to Simon Munch-Anderson and Ultimate.AI
01:35- Why did you join Ultimate? (Team, product, upwards trajectory)
02:46- What does your first 6 months of a new role as a leader look like?
04:02- What have you introduced in the first 6 months in terms of new tools/processes?
06:40- Cross-functional teams
Cut out 7:46- What is a functional team?
10:50 First steps to introducing cross-functional teams
15:30- What does your team growth look like?
16:20- how do you keep productivity and momentum when you’re hiring so much?
19:35- How are you managing your interview and onboarding process remotely?
21:45- How do you embed staff into your team remotely?
25:29- What skills do you see harder to find in the talent market?
27:30- Stance on remote work
29:40 How do you build social relationship in remote teams?
33:40- How do you motivate your team?
35:50- What do you see as a common weakness in managers and engineers?
39:35- How do you improve communication between team members
41:15- what makes a great engineer?
42:55- What characteristics and traits make an exceptional leader?
44:25- what advice would you give someone moving into a leadership position?
48:05- What would you like to tell yourself at the start of your career to better prepare yourself?
50:30- What do you see to be the biggest challenge for technology companies moving forwards?
