Human Software with Richard Bown (Episode 116)

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We spend a third of our life at work. It needs to be something we enjoy and something with purpose. Our work experience also impacts our family, friends, and our personal lives.

This week I'm joined by tech engineer, leader, and author Richard Bown to explore this and many other topics including...

🌪️ The difficulty in applying the ideas we read in books in real organisations
🤫 When you want to implement a thing you can't talk directly about the thing
🍃 Does change require senior leadership? Can it be grassroots?
🫂 The importance of looking after yourself at work
📗 The experience of publishing a novel

...and much more.

You can find Richard's book "Human Software - A Life in I.T" here: https://humansoftwarebook.com/

...and you can find Richard on...

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bown/

References from the episode (excluding some of the TV shows we mentioned):

Rosegarden Linux music composition editing environment: https://www.rosegardenmusic.com/

Managing Humans by Michael Lopp: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/managing-humans-biting/9781430243144/

Rands leadership Slack: https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/

The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113934.The_Goal

Local Hero (1983): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085859/

Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet: https://davidmarquet.com/books/turn-the-ship-around-book/

Scrivener (book writing tool): https://scrivener.app/

You can buy Slight Reliability merch here (Note: you cannot order the mugs outside of New Zealand):

https://slightreliability.digitees.co.nz/

You can find Stephen on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephentownshend/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/slightreliability.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SlightReliability
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slight_reliability/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kiwi_sre