Dennis O'Donnell
Product Manager/MeteorologistThe Confidence Comes From My Failures
I’m Dennis! I’ve built a career understanding the impact weather has on society. I’m now using that knowledge to design and build a successful advertising product
My Story
Every meteorologist has a story around why they got into the field. Two events shaped my curiosity of the weather; the first being Hurricane Andrew and the second was the blizzard of ’96. Not only were both events interesting meteorologically but also from a societal impact viewpoint. These events piqued my interest in the weather and led me to Millersville University and eventually The University of Wyoming.
Following college, I worked for a small weather consulting company where I learned how much weather impacted our economy. What was more eye opening is how much a retailer can do to minimize the negative impacts and capitalize on the opportunities that the environment provides. A few stops working for renewable energy and aviation led me back to business impacts. I now lead an advertising product for IBM, helping clients capitalize on the weather.
My Values & Beliefs
Understand the Why
Doing something just to do it has never been a strong point for me. If I can gather information on the underlying reason behind doing something, I can better figure out how to approach the task.
Learn by Doing
Getting my hands dirty with the task allows me to understand where issue arise. It also allows me to grasp more completely the impact of potential issues.
Work to Live, Not Live to Work
Efficiency in my work is important. I want to get the job done so I can enjoy everything else I’ve been blessed with in my life.
My Approach
Hopeless curiosity of everything and anything is my strongest trait. I love asking questions, especially the most basic…WHY? While I strive to have at least a cursory knowledge of the many facets of running a business/managing a product, working as a team and leaning on experts is the only way to make a product successful and evolving. As a product leader, I’m prepared to take blame when expectations are not met and will enthusiastically pass accolades to my team members when we win.
Featured Publications
Articles
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