You told us you want to know more about the people behind your projects. You got it. This is the latest profile in that series.
Name
Nick Elliott
Title
Director of Business Development
How do you help clients?
We have an organization full of super talented developers, so I stick to what I know I can provide: Building trust to foster long-term relationships, understanding what clients’ true needs are, and working with engineering to offer tailored solutions.
Tell us about your background or training.
I grew up in a small town in south central Iowa and then went to UNI basically because my cousin was already there. He advised me on where to live and helped with the transition to the “big city” of Cedar Falls (it seemed big at the time). I got my start in engineering after college as a technical recruiter, which led me to an opportunity to work with a custom software development company. I learned so much from that position on how to work with clients to help them solve challenges they have. The reward for good work is more work!
What is your work mantra?
I always remind the team “everyone is in sales”!
What are you reading?
I tend to read nonfiction, but I’m not in the middle of any books currently. A couple of my favorites are: “Getting Naked” by Patrick Lencioni and “Never Split the Difference” by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz.
Whom do you follow?
Simon Sinek is chock-full of great practical advice, and I enjoy his perspective. Brené Brown is also a solid leader with a little more spice to her game—she’s fun.
Where do you see the field going in 1-3 years?
In technology, I don’t think we are allowed to talk about where the future is going without mentioning AI—it’s in a manual somewhere I’m sure of it. I do see AI helping advance automation of tasks and making teams more productive. Having access to more data to observe trends previously hidden in the noise will help to continue to drive continuous improvement efforts and quality. Understanding what data trends are important is where the AI and CI worlds will meet to help solve challenges. The need for custom software to pull this together is going to continue to grow.