On popular demand, this is yesterday’s post in English. Exciting times. Society in change, and technologically we live in a fascinating time. Me too, am in change. After a wonderful decade at MathWorks it is time to move on. I am looking for a new professional challenge.
You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – You stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
Morpheus in The Matrix
If you want everything to stay the same in your organization, we won’t get together. If you need change, new perspectives, thoughts and ideas, then we should talk. Choose the blue or the red pill.
Since over ten years I accelerate the pace of engineering and science for MathWorks. I inspire algorithmic thinking in companies and universities, and together with my team I am leading organizations to topics like model-based design even to automatic code generation. I facilitate education around data analytics, big data, internet of things. Now the time has come to till another field.
What is – What was – What can – What not – What will – What now?
This post is available in German, too.
What is?
The obvious question on the one hand: Why change? The other: Why go public about, does one do that?
Second first: Yes, one does that. I like to play open cards. There is no compelling reason for clandestine operation, and makes the whole thing easier for everybody and more transparent. It removes stress for everybody no longer having to watch out whom they tell what. And to be clear: This is something I discussed with my VP as well, who supports my efforts.
So why? I have built two teams, a German one of pre-sales engineers and a European team with education experts in marketing. The teams are doing amazing work, and evolve nicely. In my current position there is not much to excel, my part of the company and I have grown into different directions in the last couple of years. Everything more would be more of the same.
What was?
I currently hold the third position at MathWorks. I started as Application Engineer, someone who helps customers and prospects to choose the right tool set and implement in the organization.
Before long I got promoted to manager of a growing team in the group of application engineers. Six years we grew, it was a great time in leadership and management as well as technologically. In industries like automotive, industry and machinery automation, medical devices, aerospace and robotics I got to learn and value a lot of customers. All kinds of companies, from startups to multi-national corporations were among those.
Almost four years ago I got called into the marketing division to build a new European team of predominantly engineers with PhDs, to help professors and teachers to use MATLAB & Simulink in academic education. We call this Technical Evangelist.
I am endlessly grateful for many great insights, conversations and collaboration with very bright people I could learn so much from. From developer to division head and CxO, from researcher over professor to dean and university rector, all kinds met.
An exciting time in which we helped lots of teams to use simulation, machine learning, computer vision, controls, signal processing, algebra, differential equations, state machines, all platforms from Arduino and Raspberry Pi over the big embedded platforms to the cloud.
After the experience in managing the team in Germany at two locations, the task was now to find the best talent for all of our European offices for the role, bringing them together and form a coherent team of distributed Technical Evangelists.
It’s done. We are present in almost all European offices. After ten years I know the company inside out, know the advantages as well as system anomalies of which every real company has a few. Growing further would mean to go to USA, and I won’t do that. I am a Bavarian, and this is where I belong to.
Therefore it is time for me to look for new themes and organizations.
What can?
So what does he do, this Joachim Schlosser?
- He leads. Engineers, Computer Scientists, Physicists. In Germany, in Europe.
- Part of my job is to represent MathWorks as Corporate Spokesperson in interviews, video interviews, panels, I write articles and commentary for professional journals. I am one of the few that are allowed to speak on any topic, unlike colleagues that can only speak on certain areas.
- I am called internally to coach for important presentations in outline, design and delivery and support or guide the team to develop a highly targeted message, be it for a conference or an important sales opportunity.
- Recognizing and analyzing processes and meetings, and deriving conclusions as well as pointing to improvement areas is my specialty.
- Conveying the why is what I like most in leadership. I am a cooperative manager, I like to work with grown-ups that behave as such.
- I often bring new approaches to the table. Agile methods like Scrum on the one hand, structured approaches in meetings or project development on the other hand – I find ways to solutions and am happy to learn new ways.
Further strengths you can read in the blog – most likely you found me for the very articles in this blog:
- I love writing about productivity, I like simplifying processes and document.
- I think about impact of technology and digitalization.
- I explain so people understand.
- Some of my hobbies tend to grow a bit an bring some revenue. So happened with typesetting system LaTeX (Book, Video training), productivity (this blog), photography.
What not?
Some things I just don’t like, others I am not excellent in. Some things I don’t like but master quite well. A small overview:
Dumb meetings I don’t like. This is, meetings that have not goal or outcome. Long winded presentations that just read what’s on the wall, I don’t like. I can have great conversations with people at conferences, but have to get across the initial hurdle of approaching them. Political tactics I circumvent if it does not have a clear goal but only serves personal animosities. Likewise I perceive non-direct communication as not helpful.
What will?
If you want everything to stay the same in your organization, we won’t get together. If you need change, new perspectives, thoughts and ideas, then we should talk. Choose the blue or the red pill.
- Leadership and management is a good field. After ten years in management positions this is obvious, although I like to get my hands dirty once in a while.
- Strategic management is an area that I always enjoyed in my job. Influencing things at large, I’m always happy to be called in.
- Development organizations are exciting. After working with so many development organizations I might become part of such. From Robotics over Autonomous Driving, Electro Mobility to Cloud, Energy and Infrastructure I got some fields of knowledge that I like especially.
- Marketing, especially Content Marketing and Digital Marketing as well as PR, I enjoy and master. Today’s possibilities for doing marketing that actually benefits people are exceptional.
- Education is a central aspect of my current job. Universities as well as corporate training centres though are interesting, too.
- Interim management is a new field for me that I can well imagine.
In my current role I fully stand behind the product. In future, it should be alike.
You can find my CV in LinkedIn and Xing. If you send me an invite to connect, please indicate how we met or why we should connect.
Logistics: I am not under notice, so have no time pressure. On the other hand this means that conversations and interviews are not always possible ad hoc.
Write me.
What now?
Now it’s your turn. The world is too large for me to assume an overview of what is out there. So I am thankful for your relevant clues.
I can only learn from you.
Maybe through you I hear about a kind of job that I do not yet even know yet.
Photo: Joachim Schlosser, License Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike
Photo: Alan Levine on Flickr, modified by Joachim Schlosser, License Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike
Leave a Reply