Disneyland for Developers

Thoughts on how I use my Israeli and military background to shape the team I lead at SMG Technologies.

I left our last company-wide Innovation Day feeling truly inspired. It is always wonderful to be surrounded by colleagues that inspire you through raw talent and creativity. At SMG Technologies (SMG) we regularly host such days because we see them as an incredibly valuable tool in ensuring the team has the time and headspace to be truly innovative in creating ideas to work towards our business goals.

Needless to say, the business we are in is constantly changing. To stay true to our company value of being ahead of the pack in the human analytics software world it is fundamental that we create an agile working environment. An environment in which no idea is off the table, no inspiration goes unheard and no new-technique goes unnoticed.

I affectionately call it: Disneyland for Developers.

As part of my role as General Manager for Asia Pacific at SMG Technologies I am tasked with leading our technology team. I am fortunate to be part of a unique and talented group of managers. The management team is constantly challenging everyone at SMG to push the boundaries of what we are trying to achieve and best support our client’s efforts.

Creating such an environment is harder than it might seem. It is with great pride that we can talk about a collective goal, of all our employees being believers in our business objectives and truly understanding what we are working so hard to achieve. In order to achieve what I have set out to I am often calling upon the lessons I learnt growing-up in Israel.

In my opinion Israel is the start-ups nation – from a very early age we are encouraged to work hard, be creative, resourceful and find a way to achieve what is needed or what we set our hearts on. The results are found in the form of start-up businesses. The Israeli people are not scared of trying something new and we hold ourselves accountable for our successes and failures. It is a wonderfully creative, passionate and proud environment to be involved in, and I carry that sense with me throughout my career journey.

Moreover, I was in the Israeli military for seven years, rising to the rank of Major, and throughout that time I operated as signal officer. It was a thrilling time and definitely shaped who I am today in a business sense. It imbued me with the attitude that you make the best of whatever you have to hand and there is always a way to make it work, a great perspective to have in life and in the tech world!

As a team leader in an army that enforces conscription you learn very quickly how to develop and motivate all types of individuals – those that are passionate and those that are not. In the business world those lessons can be very useful, especially in teaching you how to quickly recognise the different working habits or touch-points of your team to understand what gets the best from each individual and the best of the team as a collective.

While I am delighted with the environment we have created for our Technology team at SMG I will never rest on my laurels. We want to be constantly evolving as a business and we will only achieve that if we are constantly evolving as individuals.

There are certainly some very exciting times ahead.

http://smg-technologies.com/