Day 2 at the Topcoder Open 2019: The Passion Effect

If one were to have walked into the Live Oak Ballroom Foyer of
the InterContinental Houston – Medical Center Hotel on Thursday Morning
November 14 for the 2019 Topcoder Innovation Summit, not knowing anything about
the event beforehand, it would take a while to figure out what was up. Sometimes
when people convene around a common cause or interest, the group as a whole skews
toward a cohesive “look” (outdoor industry event -- think people wearing tech gear;
yoga conferences -- think people glowing from within; Dead and Company concerts
-- think tie dye all the way).

Not so on this day at the TCO 2019. From immaculate suits to
goth attire; elders to teens; Asia to the Bayou and every place in-between;
this group was uncategorizable. Except for two significant common denominators:
All present were of brilliant mind and passionate heart, gathered to take part
in these history changing times. All present were there to convene around the
common cause and interest in how work is changing, due to unprecedented digital
access to talent.

Allow Passion to be the Fuel for Change

Keynote speakers, panel moderators and panelists, Topcoder
C-suite emcees, community members and competitors—all shared their passion for
the work they do, the problems they solve, the work models they’re transforming
and the communities they are creating in the future of work and on-demand IT
talent space.

The program was robust and valuable: John Winsor, Founder
and CEO of Open Assembly, kicked off the conversation with the concept that
passion drives innovation and that all of us, as we move into the future of
work, will be disrupted. The key is to reframe what disruption is. To jump
across the passion gap and define your purpose, grab the right tools, and turn
the avalanche of disruption into the experience of surfing a wave. It’s
imperative, said Winsor, that every company have a strategy in place for
integrating open systems and tools into their overall business plan.

Winsor’s passion talk was matched by three additional
keynotes. Keith Groom, Global Head of Partners for Microsoft Workloads on AWS
shared key insider insights behind the success of Amazon (hint: it’s all about
the customer). Dave Messinger, Chief Technologist at Topcoder, delighted with
his humor by sharing “the depressing stuff” first, tied to the “rule of 20,” then
landed with the beautiful thought that “you are only constrained by your
imagination and your desire to get things done.”

The final keynote, from Shinobu Saito Distinguished Researcher in the Software Innovation Center at the NTT Corporation, Tokyo, Japan talked about how Japan is projecting a mass scarcity of IT engineering talent by the year 2025, and views hybrid sourcing —pairing talent from the crowd with talent inside companies—as the solution forward. (Hey, we know a great place to find more than 1.5 million talented IT folks who can support!)

The program was rounded out with several panel discussions.  Audience members heard from real-deal coders from
the Topcoder community who shared their passion for coding and competing; a
discussion with leaders at government organizations who shared how on-demand
talent models are shaping and changing how they work; an insider look at how to
nurture and create robust and effective business partnerships; and examples of
how the gig economy offers access to the best talent out there to help solve
your business problems.

Business partnership awards were given. Breakout education
sessions schooled the audience on what is possible through on-demand IT talent.
And here’s something cool: The actual talent itself, the best of the best,
there from around the globe, competed in live design and coding competitions. Non-competitors—both
coders and business executives—clustered around the computer screens to take in
the results.

https://youtu.be/y8qP_DNxYPs

A History-Changing Announcement

And then there was more. Michael Morris, CEO of Topcoder
capped the day’s program by announcing Topcoder’s new on-demand talent offering,
the Talent as a Service (TaaS) workforce model, that can quickly provide access
and scale a company with the exact mix of highly skilled technology talent it
needs for whatever time period makes sense.

Could this get any better? It was clear, from an audience
perspective, that what we call the future of work is no longer in the future.
It’s now, it’s here. It’s ready for those who feel the passion—of course backed
up with the necessary due diligence, safety measures, and thought-through
strategy. But it’s here, for those who want to work more effectively, with
better results.