Finance Guys In Tech - Ep10 - Make Progress Everyday With Oisin Hughes, Head Of Portfolio Management, AWS

Ep10 - Make Progress Everyday With Oisin Hughes, Head Of Portfolio Management, AWS

Explicit content warning

01/16/20 • 51 min

Finance Guys In Tech

“Make progress every day...even one small win can be enough.”
Today Sid and I interview Oisin Hughes, Head of Global Data Center Portfolio Management here in AWS Infrastructure.

Oisin has a really unique history. Long story short he once traveled around the world...on his motorcycle. That was his 2nd major overland trip on a bike, the first being the entire length of the Pan American highway. He is the author of 2 books documenting each adventure and made a documentary on Youtube about the last.

This was a ton of fun and we know you’ll enjoy! Here are the links to all of Oisin’s adventures:

Book 1: ‘That I May Die Roaming’ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0991489411/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Book2: ‘Not Dead Yet’ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/099148942X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwLW2IWJq4FES_no7MmpkjA

Episode Timestamps:

1:05 | Studying electronics ‘to get a few quid into me pocket’

1:56 | 15 years at Intel and then...the inspiration for a motorcycle journey around the world

3:00 | 2 adventures, in summary

6:00 | Writing book 1 in Columbia while on trip 2

7:55 | How did that 1st trip change you? .... Getting used to being on your own

9:40 | Why did you go on the 1st trip?

11:00 | The peaks and valleys of solo travel

13:04 | The difference between being alone vs. being lonely

17:15 | The adventure in uncertainty

19:25 | A moment when you felt like you would die?

23:30 | Turning off your phone...because no one was checking in

25:10 | A partnership breaks up

27:30 | Some characters you meet on the road

31:35 | Amazon origin story

35:00 | On the return to the work force - ready to build something big

36:28 | What makes someone successful at Amazon: starting fast, tolerance for ambiguity, self-starter

37:40 | Oisin’s leadership philosophy: honesty (with compassion)...and good hiring!

40:30 | Advice to your younger self: be an expert, get on with people, get results

42:30 | Life philosophy from the road? “Make progress everyday.”

46:45 | Should everybody go on a trip?

47:40 | You don’t have to make a perfect decision...take a baby bite

49:50 | Parting words - on karma

Oisin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oisin-hughes-0971a4198/

CONTACT THE SHOW:

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.charleskunken.com/subscribe

Find us online: https://www.charleskunken.com/podcast or email the show with any questions, comments, requests for guests, etc: [email protected]
Sid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhodi/
Charlie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskunken

The blog | https://www.charleskunken.com/blogsummary (weekly posts exploring creativity & mindset)

Insta | https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/
fb | https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk

—

Theme music by Good Baby: https://www.goodbaby.band/musicvideos

“Make progress every day...even one small win can be enough.”
Today Sid and I interview Oisin Hughes, Head of Global Data Center Portfolio Management here in AWS Infrastructure.

This was a ton of fun and we know you’ll enjoy! Here are the links to all of Oisin’s adventures:

Book 1: ‘That I May Die Roaming’ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0991489411/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Book2: ‘Not Dead Yet’ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/099148942X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwLW2IWJq4FES_no7MmpkjA

Episode Timestamps:

1:05 | Studying electronics ‘to get a few quid into me pocket’

1:56 | 15 years at Intel and then...the inspiration for a motorcycle journey around the world

3:00 | 2 adventures, in summary

6:00 | Writing book 1 in Columbia while on trip 2

7:55 | How did that 1st trip change you? .... Getting used to being on your own

9:40 | Why did you go on the 1st trip?

11:00 | The peaks and valleys of solo travel

13:04 | The difference between being alone vs. being lonely

17:15 | The adventure in uncertainty

19:25 | A moment when you felt like you would die?

23:30 | Turning off your phone...because no one was checking in

25:10 | A partnership breaks up

27:30 | Some characters you meet on the road

31:35 | Amazon origin story

35:00 | On the return to the work force - ready to build something big

36:28 | What makes someone successful at Amazon: starting fast, tolerance for ambiguity, self-starter

37:40 | Oisin’s leadership philosophy: honesty (with compassion)...and good hiring!

40:30 | Advice to your younger self: be an expert, get on with people, get results

42:30 | Life philosophy from the road? “Make progress everyday.”

46:45 | Should everybody go on a trip?

47:40 | You don’t have to make a perfect decision...take a baby bite

49:50 | Parting words - on karma

Oisin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oisin-hughes-0971a4198/

CONTACT THE SHOW:

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.charleskunken.com/subscribe

The blog | https://www.charleskunken.com/blogsummary (weekly posts exploring creativity & mindset)

Insta | https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/
fb | https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk

—

Theme music by Good Baby: https://www.goodbaby.band/musicvideos

Previous Episode

Ep9 - The Importance Of Lifelong Learning with Andrew Wilson, Senior Finance Manager, AWS

“Lifelong learning is important...go find something (with a plan!)...follow your passions.”

Today Sid and I interview Sr. Finance Manager, Andrew Wilson here at AWS Infrastructure. Andrew also happens to be....our manager. Best behavior! (not really)

Today Andrew talks about his lifelong pursuit of curiosity and explains how riding to work on a unicycle is a perfectly good way to read the newspaper.

Please enjoy!

1:45 | On riding a unicycle to work (while reading the paper)

4:05 | Choosing a path in undergrad, learning & being curious from the beginning, looking for answers to WHY

5:50 | An accidental path to finance

9:55 | Starting a solar startup from the halls of Intel

15:00 | Startup life & Solar IP

19:25 | 3 career lightning strikes: Intel, startup life , AWS

20:10 | Amazon origin story: perseverance + networking

22:20 | Advice for someone looking for a job at Amazon (or anywhere) – find a human to talk to

23:20 | Biggest surprise starting at Amazon – where’s the data!

25:50 | Andrew’s take on the Leadership Principles – Amazon walks the walk

30:30 | What LP could we add? Fun, balance

34:15 | Situational Leadership- a model for managing

38:55 | 3 historical figures for lunch: Einstein, Richard Feynman, da Vinci

40:40 | Sid negotiates for the conference room

42:20 | Consuming content: podcasts

44:10 | For fun outside of work – on 2 wheels & exploring the Pac NW

45:50 | Andrew’s philosophy for life – lifelong learning is key

Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abwilson1/

CONTACT THE SHOW:

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.charleskunken.com/subscribe

The blog | https://www.charleskunken.com/blogsummary (weekly posts exploring creativity & mindset)

Insta | https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/ for #ThePlazaOfTruth, a daily 1 minute TV show
fb | https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk

—

Theme music by Good Baby. ‘Rose Colored’ (instrumental version). You can peep the full music video here: https://www.goodbaby.band/musicvideos

Next Episode

Ep11 – Bringing Your Whole Self with Bunmi Omotowa, Finance Manager; Insights, Planning, Analytics, And Technology, AWS

“ALWAYS BRING YOUR WHOLE SELF TO WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE DOING.”

Today Sid and I sit down with our old friend, Bunmi Omotowa, Finance Manager on the Insights, Planning, Analytics, & Technology finance team for AWS. Simply put, they tell the C-suite what’s going on in AWS daily. I told you we’ve got important friends.

We get to dig in today to see how Bunmi learned to embrace fear and she shares with us an operating philosophy that would serves us all to heed.

Very fun and very wise! Please enjoy.

4:04 | Some things that made for a great team

6:20 | Bunmi’s role giving insights to executives, strengths you need to have

9:00 | If you’re taking on a job that feels like a stretch you’re on the right track

12:25 | Why fear is not a bad thing

16:50 | Amazon origin story

22:30 | Advice on work – work should be fun, right for you, and don’t settle for less than your best self

26:30 | The extra Leadership Principle – How we treat each other

28:50 | Bunmi’s leadership philosophy – know what your team members are passionate about

30:40 | Learning new things from some recent biographies – Michelle Obama, Tiffany Haddish, seeing the world through different lenses

35:10 | Bunmi’s movie breakdown: some great stories for families - Malificent 2, Kingsman

37:45 | Bunmi in 5 years

39:22 | Bunmi’s philosophy on life – Always bring your whole self to whatever it is you’re doing

Bunmi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bunmi-omotowa-4b13b617/

CONTACT THE SHOW:

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.charleskunken.com/subscribe

The blog | https://www.charleskunken.com/blogsummary (weekly posts exploring creativity & mindset)

Insta | https://www.instagram.com/cbkunk/ for #WritinAndRidin, a weekly 1 minute TV show
fb | https://www.facebook.com/cbkunk

—

Theme music by Good Baby. ‘Rose Colored’ (instrumental version). You can peep the full music video here: https://www.goodbaby.band/musicvideos

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