TheBridge profile: Bruce Gustafson
Name: Bruce Gustafson
Current city: Alexandria, VA
Current job: CEO, Developers Alliance
Past job: VP Policy, Ericsson NA
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Used to be ... Blüprint Chocolatiers in Old Town
Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. I led NA communications for an international tech company during its trip through creditor protection and eventual acquisition. Throughout, my job was to distill what mattered and translate it for legal, or technical, or business teams at every level. Having an engineering, business and legal background made all the difference - as did years of working with media and analysts.
Many, many problems boil down to translating across specialties & knowing what matters to whom.
Q. Job advice in three words? Learn from Everyone
Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech / innovation and regulation? Well, it's what we do! Our constituency is the software developer community - tech types with little interest (or patience) for "government". They don't know what "policy" is.
Our approach is to translate what's going on in Brussels & DC into how it impacts devs and their work; do the same in reverse; then facilitate the dating process so the two sides can meet directly to learn and exchange.
Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Policymakers have to please many people at the same time; "right" answers don't matter, instead it's what is palatable to everyone involved. Devs don't think that way. They need to understand that policy is driven as much by philosophy and emotion as by rationality and science.
Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Innovators are wizards of "just do it, and move on". Innovators do the least they can do to move a step forward - they know that the future is change, and that reacting quickly takes precedence. Innovators know that today's problems morph, and that agility, simplicity, small tweaks and ongoing refinement is the quickest and surest way forward (and to avoid big mistakes). Like steering a car - they make tiny adjustments and just watch the road to avoid problems ahead once they get close enough.
Q. Favorite book/podcast/long-form article you recommend? For the corporate types: Requisite Organization by Elliott Jaques, alongside Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands by Terry Morrison. Take what you can from the former (their are insights there) vs taking it literally. Take the latter literally.
Beyond that, read everything smart people recommend.
Q. Everyday is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job? News over breakfast, morning calls and updates, a hearty lunch, then blogs and briefs in the afternoon. Stop the clock at dinner. Rinse and repeat.
Q. Best advice you’ve received? It's better to do *something*, than to stand still waiting for more information. Change course while moving. Skate to where the puck will be! :)
Q. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself in the beginning of your career? Figure out what drives the people around you; success? Power? Money? then find one thing that doesn't fit the mold, and you'll understand them.
Q. Living person you admire? Gates, but also William Shatner. People that live by their own rules, and share themselves freely.
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