//Ris Adams;
README

Meet Ris

A Profile picture of Ris Adams..

Ris Adams is an experienced, driven, and passionate software developer and coach.

About ME

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Ris

I have been developing software since 1996 and have been developing for the web professionally since 2004.

You can reach me on Mastodon: at @ris@risadams.com.

I am a software developer at General Dynamics and a consulting developer for ArchiTECH™ by Barkley.

I am also a maintainer and contributor to many open-source projects, like Selectize!

For the past 17 years, I have been building expertise in web tech, data modeling, and advanced research into human-computer interaction. In addition, I have recently begun to coach and mentor beginning and mid-career developers.

  • I solve problems.
  • I am a highly experienced, driven, and passionate developer with skills in software engineering, agile project/product management, and team management.
  • I believe in lifelong learning, the value of embracing challenges, and taking ownership.
  • I am interested in Agile practices, DevOps, and continuous improvement.

In January 2020, two major life events happened that made me begin to re-evaluate my life choices.

  1. I became a father to a beautiful son who happens to have multiple medical issues.
  2. Covid-19 struck the world senseless. I began to see things differently and realized real growth needs to happen from within.

I searched for answers in books, blogs, speakers, and other places and realized that the best way to improve my career was to share my experience with others. So I revived my blog and began coaching and mentoring.

Then the best thing started happening: I became more focused, more productive, and more involved. I was becoming a fundamental controller of my life for the first time.

Everyone is asking if this will also work for them; Yes! It is never too late to start helping others grow. My goal is to help others take control of their careers and learn how to shape the direction of their lives in a way that makes them happy.

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How you can help me

I learn best via doing. I prefer written materials for reference, but I also enjoy watchhing high-quality videos.

I get exicted about new ideas, projects, and challenges. I iterate fast, but may need your help to iterate deliberatly and stay on target.

Personality

I am an INFP-T personality type and an Artist creative type.

I prefer the how over the why.

My greatest strengths are curiosity and endurance.

There is a subtlety and art to madness.

What I assume about others

I assume positive intent in all interactions.

I assume that you will ask for my help when needed.

I tend to assume we share similar ideals and priorities. You can help remind me what is important to you so that I can do the same.

Your work is not the most important thing in your life.

  • I assume that relationships and personal interests are more important to your happiness and self-worth.
  • It isn’t easy to be successful at your job when work distracts and detracts from those things.

Everyone is fighting battles that I know nothing about.

What I want to earn

  • I want your trust and respect.
  • I want your psychological safety. I want you to be comfortable with me, to be able to be vulnerable with me and to be able to share when I could be doing something better.
  • I want to be able to share my life journey with you and to know yours. I want to establish communities and relationships that will flourish and evolve.

My Working style

I have strong opinions, that are weakly held. This means that I prefer to adapt and grow. My working style will change over time

I prefer to embrace asynchronous workflows, and prefer a semi-flexible daily routine.

  • I believe that the best ideas happen when you have the flexibility to change your routine and are not tethered to a specific schedule.

I am a team player

I believe in expressing gratitude and respect.

I am a good listener, and think before I speak

  • This may lead to pauses in my speaking
  • If anything I say is unclear, please feel free to interject, and I will do my best to clarify
  • If I have strong arguments, I will try to make them clear, but I am typically flexible and accept team consensus when reasonable.

I respect others time and wish to have my time respected as well

  • Please do not take offense to periods of silence; I prefer long uninterrupted periods of focused work–this allows me to focus on one specific task at a time. I promise that when I can focus on your needs, they will also receive 100% of my attention.

Communicating with me

I am typically a morning person and my best work is completed before noon. My favorite coffee is a vanilla or hazelnut latte.

I take pride in being present and punctual so that I won’t miss things on afternoons, but action items may need to wait until the following day.

I follow my calendar to a fault, so if something doesn’t exist on my calendar, I am likely to miss it. I promise to be diligent in documenting appointments and calendar worthy information

My Prefered method of communication is email or Slack, but I am also open to other methods.