How do you feel as a Hicron Bear?
What I do still fascinates me, but above all: this is my job. I always strive to do my job with dedication. That is why I can’t really say that I feel like a Bear – for me it is obvious that you always try to do your best, as much as the situation allows.
The Bear is a Solid Expert. What are your practices that allow you to identify with this Power Animal?
I like to streamline things, improve them, break them down to individual components – knowing how something works in detail makes it easier to find bugs later. Besides, in IT it is worthwhile to focus on quality from start to finish. You have to remember that, in the context of the entire product life cycle, it is more cost-effective to invest time in preparing the product well from the start than to struggle with errors later. Therefore, even when faced by time constraints, we continue to set the bar as high as possible.
Which of your Hicron accomplishments do you value most?
In this industry we face challenges quite often. So I don’t have one such project – I can think of at least a few that we have managed to complete despite fears that it would be difficult. For me, the way I work with junior employees is an achievement. I already have quite a bit of experience, so I often oversee internships and training. I see that I am able to reach the people I teach – explaining complex issues, engaging them in collaborative problem solving, and showing them how to approach tasks with an open mind. I always try to create a situation in which the trainee arrives at a solution on their own. I can see that I am quite successful in this – and I like it quite a bit.
What are your strengths?
Many traits can be an advantage on the one hand and a disadvantage on the other. It all depends on the context. I am a task-oriented person focusing on results; all my life I have enjoyed competition, and on top of that – I do not like to lose. I also try to avoid routine by approaching similar tasks in new ways, utilizing my experience to do them better. I believe I could also list the ability to impart knowledge and explain things under my strengths.
What about weaknesses? What traits of your character do you need to watch out for?
As I have mentioned, many strengths can become flaws in another context, e.g., ambition, being result-orientated, or meticulousness. I also don’t always know how to set boundaries for myself: I used to get involved in many projects at once, taking on too many tasks – which then took a toll on my health and my personal time.
If you had to name other Bears in our Hicron pack – who would you name and for what?
At Hicron it does not matter whether we are talking about consultants, project managers, or developers: everyone cares about the quality of the projects they are working on. This allows us to avoid mistakes, so that we do not have to worry about later problems and nervous situations when we are already involved in something else but have to go back and fix things that went wrong. Responding to crises always consumes more energy than continuously ensuring the quality of your work. If I were to start naming Hicron Bears, the list would be long. I have many such people in my immediate circle – and I’m still learning from them myself.
