Stian Didriksen: The Developer

Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.

Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner and today I have Stian Didriksen. He is the chief front-end developer for 24eStore. So welcome to the show.

Thanks, it's good to be here.

Of course, man. Thanks for joining us. We'll dive in. The first question I have for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

Well, that has to be the way my career started. Back when I was in high school, I had a side project with making my own website, and over time I made a lot of custom stuff. So one day I got an email from someone asking me where I bought a cool theme that we used for the forum part of the website. And because of that question, it got me thinking, like, well, if someone wants to know where they bought it, then maybe I can sell it. So I looked up the other kinds of vendors on the platform that sold themes, and I asked them if they would like to resell it. First message that the reply I got was, unfortunately, no, we aren't interested in that, but we'd like to offer you a job instead. And that was really profound to me because that was absolutely not what I was expecting, and it actually got me into development of where I am today. So the underlying message there is to explore opportunities even if you don't think something comes out of it, because something great might happen that you didn't even imagine.

Yes. And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

Well, that's the true value of open source software, actually. And by that I mean getting involved in it, both on a personal level and from a company level. Because on the personal level, it really makes a profound impact on your personal brand. So if you have a project that kicks off or you contributed to a well-known one, people in the industry will start to recognize you and you'll build up a good reputation for yourself and your work. And from a company perspective, it really strengthens your brand in ways that you can't really buy using advertisement or hiring really talented PR people because it builds a trust with your clients and customers that you're here to stay. Even if you go in the wrong direction, there could be stuff that is built on your platform that makes it stay relevant. It also gives your employees a way of experiencing the joy of sharing parts of their work with the world, and it makes your workplace really attractive.

And what's your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?

Well, the thing I see repeatedly is that positivity is always a stronger motivator than, you know, threats or shaming or guilt. Because if an obstacle occurs, you often have to move fast, and it's hard to measure the difference between starting with a thought like, "What can we do to overcome this?" instead of starting with, "Who's to blame for this one?" whose responsibility was this? Because that's better to do after you've fixed it.

So, and if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

That would definitely be to spend more time with the people that help, that help me grow as a person, and really just stop wasting time with those who bring me down, as if I owe them something, or as if something I have to do, because It's really not.

And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?

Yeah, that's a tough one. But there's more than one key, right? So, but in relation to like the topic we are talking about here, I would say that it's that you have a job that actually gives you meaning, that your work gives you meaning. So it's not just a good salary or it's not just to make money that you get up in the morning, but you feel that the work you do actually It makes a difference. It gives you a reason to get up in the morning.

And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?

Ah, yeah, there's a ton of books, but the one that I remember really well is one that is called Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug. It's actually about usability, but the principles in it can be applied to almost anything. The number one thing I learned from it is that when you want to make something user-friendly or intuitive, it's not about following a set of rules or a pattern, but following the general guideline that stuff should be self-evident, that you really just follow the title of the book. You shouldn't make your users think. It should be obvious. And then, because then you can just apply the rules and patterns that fit the particular task instead of trying to shoehorn a rule across the board.

And what is your favorite quote and why?

It's definitely Murphy's Law, and I think a lot of developers can relate to that. For those who don't know it, whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And to developers, that's just painfully true. I love it.

Thank you so much for coming on, man. It was a joy. Last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?

Well, I go by the handle @stipsan, and I'm most active on Twitter, so that's the best place to reach out.

Perfect, man. Thank you again. We appreciate it.

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