This page provides more information about Tin Mayer, from Gnome to Goliath, the goals of the blog, and the promise to the readers.
Every day the majority of people around the world wake up feeling stuck. They are hitting a wall, unable to progress, or blocked. They don’t see a path forward, a glimmer of hope, or a light in the tunnel. It they keep feeling stuck for a while they get to a state of learned helplessness, where they give up even trying to escape their difficult situations.
On the other hand, there are some people out there who feel in control. They are working toward a goal, a dream, or a vision and they know the path to get there. They have the skills and the tools to make it true.
from Gnome to Goliath is a self-help platform. It is for the hustlers who are stuck, for the seekers who are lost, for the grinders who are not making progress, for the optimists who are shaken, for creators with mental blocks, and for athletes who are paralyzed. I give my readers the roadmap and the tools to get from “I am stuck!” to “I got this! It is hard, but I got this!” I summarize the tools that they need in their everyday lives so that they can fulfil their need to improve, to achieve, to matter.
Who am I?
My creative name is Tin Mayer and I am a hustler, a seeker, a grinder, and an optimist. I have been stuck, I have been lost, and I have been shaken. I started my professional life in Europe as a software engineer. After I got some experience, I decided that this will not be enough, and I switched to project management. Then I got an MBA degree with emphasis on project and process management, founded a start-up, and failed. A Big Tech company discovered me and relocated me to North America as a Technical Program Manager (TPM). I hustled and ground my way to a Principal level and then to a Sr. Principal level.
Over my long career I seem to attract people who feel stuck. I have helped so many engineers, product managers, program managers, people managers, quality assurance engineers, and others to progress in their careers. I even scaled my influence internally in my company with a Mentoring Circle (modelled after Lean In Circles). What I keep discovering is that the answer is usually within reach. All it takes is a small push, an idea, or even a word.
What is my platform?
from Gnome to Goliath is my attempt to scale beyond my immediate circle of acquaintances. To help all of you! Hustlers, seekers, grinders, optimists, creators, and athletes. Here, I post weekly about the tools, books, podcasts, articles, shortcuts, and ideas that I uncover for myself in my own quest for achievement. They are usually based on my own experience or on the experience of my mentees and followers. I hope that you will be able to take one idea from it, apply it to your own unique situation, and get the “I’ve got this!” vibe.
My topics usually fall into four categories, which I call pillars of success:
- Personal Growth – this is all about knowing who you are, where you are going, how you are getting there, and about acquiring the skills needed to get you there.
- Personal Optimization – how to do the things you do the right way, reducing the required resources and increasing the observed results and the quality.
- Professional Growth – how you can build yourself as a product that will be recognized and appreciated by your colleagues, supervisors, and/or customers, and how to better understand the game you are playing (called business).
- Professional Productivity – how to be effective, how to be efficient, how to manage your resources while working in order to have enough of them for your personal life.
What books have I published so far?
In 2021, I published my first book “A Gnome’s Quest” which follows my journey up to that point in time and which will teach out how to hustle better by setting goals, tracking them, and achieving them (more details about the book here: Books). I am currently working on my second book with a working title “Tools for Goliaths”, where I will summarize all the tools which I have uncovered while climbing the corporate ladder. Stay tuned for more information.
Mailing list
If you find any of this remotely interesting, please subscribe to my mailing list. I am only sending emails about my posts and, very rarely, about other important events from my life (e.g., when I publish a book).
You can also follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tinmmayer.
Full bio
If you’ve made it so far, I want to use the chance to answer your question about credibility – “How can I trust this guy when I am stuck?” Here is my more detailed biography so far. Hopefully, you will recognize your own situation in one of the multiple steps and career hops I have done so far. And, please, forgive me for the Star Wars reference. Without some humour, this is not me.
Episode I: A Phantom Engineer
My career started just after college as a software engineer. During my first two years my direct managers promoted me two times and I swapped teams in between. Then I realized that the life of the developer is great, but it would never be enough for me. At the age of 25, I started exploring the opportunities out there and disregarded the advice of everybody to “study hard and find a secure job“.
After another stunt at another company, I finally ended up in a start-up in a lower management role. I had the time of my life, but there was still something missing. The company I was working for got acquired by one of the major players in the industry and I saw where the big money are generated. Those years at the “big-fish” company gave me the best experience in my life. The next step in my career and education was clear.
Episode II: Attack of the Knowledge
Around the age of 26-27 I started reading the so called “self-help” books. Those books helped me put the pieces together in my head and made me realize that the community is moving past the 9-to-5 routine. An increased number of people were generating decent fortunes while working on a non-traditional ways.
This was when I started my journey of self-growth, optimization, professional-growth, and productivity. I must admit that I was lucky enough to have the correct seed inside me that has always helped me achieve the best possible results in almost any situation. I was usually evaluated positively in all my positions but I always felt undervalued for my potential.
Another two companies later at the age of 30, I was accepted as an MBA student in a middle-class, decent-reputation, full-time executive program. I filled all the blanks in my education and I was once again ready for the next step.
Another two years later I also finalized my project management education with a project management certification (PMP) from the Project Management Institute. I aced the exam in all categories.
Episode III: Revenge of the Start-up
At the age of 30 I felt ready to venture into the next professional challenge – founding a start-up company. I had my niche and I knew my capabilities and resources. My education was still going on and at the same time I also started my family.
For about 3 years I lived and breathed with my start-up. There were ups and downs, successes and failures. Once again for a short period of time I learned more than in my whole previous life.
Episode IV: A New Corp Life
This was when a recruiter from a Big Tech company found me and offered me a chance to interview for a Technical Program Manager role in Canada. After some soul searching and heated discussions with my family, I said yes. And about eight months later, I was already in the beautiful city of Toronto going back to the corp world.
I started writing my first book even before I moved to Canada, but I finished it and published it there.
TBD
As you hopefully know, there are more episodes from Star Wars, but I will keep this open ended.