DBCx Speaker: Chris Powers

Chris Powers has been developing Web applications for the last ten years. He strongly believes in the power technology has to bring people together and enjoys developing platforms that empower the user. Currenty Chris is working as a software engineering manager at Groupon and lives in the northern Chicago suburbs with his wife and daughter. In his free time he enjoys drumming, playing tabletop games and homebrewing.

Talk Summary:

What does it mean to "be right"? Why is "being right" so important to us? Can "rightness" be measured? How do we handle differences in opinion? When you know you're right, but your team doesn't agree, what then? When is "being right" the wrong thing for your team?

As an engineering manager at Groupon, I have seen first-hand the way that someone "being right" can hurt working relationships, poison teams and ruin projects. In this talk, we will explore how we think and act about being right, learn about tools that ease the task of finding consensus in a group, and walk away with actionable steps towards improving our teams and organizations.