Collaborating teams with Douglas Ferguson

Collaborating teams with Douglas Ferguson

Author: PM Power Consulting September 9, 2024 Duration: 28:33

I continue my conversation with Douglas Ferguson, an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist. He is the president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through various programs.

In this part of the conversation, Douglas shares his story related to:

  • Voltage Control: A facilitation academy focused on developing collaborative leaders.
  • Facilitation skills: Valuable for individuals in various roles, not just facilitators.
  • Community building: Emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and shared values.
  • Entrepreneurial journey: Douglas's experiences in starting and growing Voltage Control.
  • Leadership development: The importance of facilitation skills for effective leadership.

And finally, he shares career tips for those aspiring to be facilitators.

Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist with over 26 years of experience. He is president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through certifications, workshops, and organizational coaching focused on facilitation mastery, innovation, and play. He has helped transform leaders, innovators, and creatives from Nike, U.S. SOCOM, Google, the Air Force, Gap, Tesla, MSU, Church & Dwight, Apple, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC.

Prior to Voltage Control, Douglas held CTO positions at numerous Austin startups, where he led product and engineering teams using agile, lean, and human-centered design principles. While CTO at Twyla, Douglas worked directly with Google Ventures running Design Sprints, and now brings this experience and process to companies everywhere.

Douglas is currently active in the Austin startup community, where he serves on the board of several non-profits, mentors startups, and advises early-stage ventures.

Douglas is a thought leader and often writes and talks about facilitation, leadership, collaboration, innovation, culture, meetings, and Design Sprints. He is also the author of four books: Magical Meetings, Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within, He has been published in Forbes, Fast Company, Innovation Leader, and is a regular contributor to The Future Shapers. He publishes a weekly podcast called Facilitation Lab.

When not facilitating or coaching facilitators, you might find Douglas patching up his Modular Synth, boxing, doing pilates, and taking photographs. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Douglas may be contacted at::

https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasferguson/



Behind every line of code, there's a person with a story. Software People Stories, from PM Power Consulting, moves beyond abstract theory and polished case studies to explore the real, human experience of building technology. This isn't about hypotheticals; it's a collection of candid conversations with the practitioners themselves-developers, designers, product managers, and architects-who share firsthand accounts from the trenches. They talk about the paths that led to success and, just as importantly, the unexpected detours and failures that provided the most valuable lessons. Each episode delves into the nuanced journey of discovering what users need, designing elegant systems, navigating complex development, and ultimately delivering solutions that matter. By focusing on these personal narratives, the podcast reveals the core of software creation: a blend of technical skill, creative problem-solving, and team dynamics. Listeners gain practical wisdom and relatable perspectives on the challenges and triumphs inherent in the tech industry. Tune in for an honest look at the craft, where the stories of people are just as crucial as the software they build. You'll find this podcast a refreshing source of insight for anyone involved in or curious about the technology and business landscapes, offering career lessons learned the hard way.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Software People Stories
Podcast Episodes
S-curves with Paramu Kurumathur [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:11
In this thematic conversation on S-curves, I am in conversation with my colleague, Coach and serial author, Paramu Kurumathur.In this conversation, Paramu shares some specific S-Curve in his life:School Change: Moving fr…
Maintaining Composure, being productive with Ben Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:21
I continue my conversation with Ben Johnson, the CEO of Particle 41, a company that provides fractional CTO services, software development, data science, data engineering, and AI solutionsIn this part, Ben talks about:Th…
Building a strong team culture with Ben Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:07
I am in conversation with Ben Johnson, the CEO of Particle 41, a company that provides fractional CTO services, software development, data science, data engineering, and AI solutionsSome of the highlights from the conver…
Leadership lessons with Douglas Ferguson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:06
I am in conversation with Douglas Ferguson. Douglas is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist. He is the president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through various programs.In thi…
Working with the Government with Karthik Viswanathan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:31
I continue my conversation with Karthik Viswanathan, the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm that specializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business pro…
IT solutions in the Government with Karthik Viswanathan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:46
I am in conversation with Karthik Viswanathan, the President of Ochyo Inc, a consulting firm that specializes in serving State & Local governments around strategy development, technology enablement and business process o…
Entrepreneurship with Ravi Krishnappa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:56
Sivaguru continues the conversation with Ravi Krishnappa, managing partner at July Ventures.In this part, he shares his thoughts as belowEmphasizes that his curiosity drives him to understand new concepts deeply, particu…
Being insanely curious with Ravi Krishnappa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:01
Sivaguru is in conversation with Ravi Krishnappa, managing partner at July Ventures. He talks aboutHow he Started as a mechanical engineer and ERP consultant, then co-founded Accel Venture Partners and Inatech. Transitio…
One Company careers with Gunaseelan Narayanan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:07
This marks 300 episodes of the Software People Stories. The journey has been very enriching. But more of that, in a few weeks, when we complete six years of the podcast.In addition, the guest today is a person who has be…
Growing as a leader with Gunaseelan Narayanan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:48
This is a special episode for me, personally.This marks 300 episodes of the Software People Stories. The journey has been very enriching. But more of that, in a few weeks, when we complete six years of the podcast.In add…