Matthew Skinner (Enterprise Data Architect @ Elastic) joins the Nashville Data Engineering Group user group at Nashville Software School on March 23rd for a presentation on The Importance of Soft Skills in Technology: Focusing on Outcomes, Not Outputs. 

Please RSVP through the Nashville Data Engineering Group if you plan on attending: https://www.meetup.com/nashville-data-engineering-group/events/292071180/

Date: 

Thursday, March 23, 2023, from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Location:

Nashville Software School (Third Floor) - 

301 Plus Park Blvd, Suite 300 Nashville, TN 37217

Parking:

Please park on the North side of the building and enter the lobby. From there, take the elevator to the third floor.

Schedule:

• 11:30-12:00 - Networking and lunch
• 12:00-1:00 - Matthew Skinner's presentation: The Importance of Soft Skills in Technology: Focusing on Outcomes, Not Outputs

Talk Abstract:

In today's fast-paced technology industry, constantly enhancing your technical or "hard" skills is almost a requirement, but is not the only thing that is important to building a career that is meaningful to both you and your business. Soft skills, such as communication, presenting, and qualifying your objectives, are becoming increasingly important.

This talk will explore the value of soft skills in the tech industry and provide practical tips for developing and leveraging these skills to enhance your career. We will discuss how soft skills can improve team dynamics, increase productivity, and foster innovation. Additionally, we will address common misconceptions about soft skills and provide strategies for overcoming barriers to their development. Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting in the tech industry, this talk will provide valuable insights into how soft skills can help you achieve your career goals.

Speaker Bio: Matthew Skinner, Enterprise Data Architect @ Elastic

I am a former technology business owner. I spent almost 10 years building web solutions for businesses. Building and selling my first website at 16 to a local business and going on to hire my first full-time developer at 19. After building a business of almost 200 customers and 5 full-time employees (and having the dot com bubble burst!), I decided it was the right time to move into working for larger companies so I could learn business at scale and how to operate within an enterprise environment.

The next 5 years I spent working in various positions in operations, planning, procurement, and contract negotiations, eventually transitioning into a business intelligence role 6 years ago, which led me to where I am today as an Enterprise Data Architect for Elastic, Inc. My days as a web developer, working with apache web servers running on Linux has served me very well in the cloud-centric environment we work in today, but the soft skills I learned while building relationships and solutions for customers have made a bigger impact long term.

My wife Allison and I reside in the Station Camp area near Vol State Community College in Gallatin, TN. We have two young children. Devin, 4yo, and Gabriella, 9 months. We also are guardians to my 15-year-old niece Alexis and have two doggos Remmi and Rusty.