Kelsey Hightower

Questioner
DISC Type : c

Distinguished Engineer at Google

Washougal, Washington, United States

Overview

Kelsey is a globally recognized technologist and open-source advocate, best known for his influential work with Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies as a Distinguished Engineer at Google Cloud, from which he retired in 2023. A prolific keynote speaker, he is renowned for demystifying complex topics and his significant contributions to the developer community.

Outside of his corporate roles, Kelsey is a minimalist and a father who has built his career on helping people succeed. He values a pragmatic approach to coding, treating it as a liability and shipping only what is necessary. He is a frequent podcast guest, sharing his insights on technology and career development.

Unique fact: Despite being one of the most respected figures in the tech industry, Kelsey is largely self-taught, having left college to pursue an IT certification before starting his own business.

Personality Overview

Not Easily Convinced

Price-Sensitive

Cautious & Analytical

It is quite likely of them to ask for pricing or other concessions.  They generally do not appreciate an overfriendly approach and prefer to stay to-the-point. While they don't hesitate to ask questions, they are generally risk-averse and tend to be late adopters.

Topics They Care About

Cloud-Native Advocacy
A prominent figure in the adoption of cloud-native technologies, he was instrumental in popularizing Kubernetes during his time at Google and as co-chair of KubeCon.
Open-Source Community
A strong advocate and prolific contributor to open-source software, he focuses on building not just great software but also great communities around various projects.
Pragmatic Coding
Believes in writing code "the hard way" by thinking critically about every line and treating code as a liability, shipping only what is absolutely necessary.

Media Appearances

From No Degree to Distinguished Engineer @ Google — Retired at 42. Featured in YouTube

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Meet Kelsey Hightower, Google Cloud's Principal Developer .... Featured in Google Cloud Blog

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Welcome + Opening Remarks - Kelsey Hightower, Google. Featured in YouTube

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Work History

10-2015 - 7-2023
Distinguished Engineer at Google
2-2014 - 10-2015
Product Manager at CoreOS
5-2012 - 9-2014
Software Engineer at Puppet
10-2009 - 5-2012
System Engineer at TSYS

Education

Kelsey has no verified education history

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 13 Location : Washougal, Washington, United States Job Level : N/A Designation : Distinguished Engineer at Google
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Insights For Selling To Kelsey

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • If you have a lower priced product compared to the competition, call out the same
  • Keep some extra margin in hand as they will likely negotiate the pricing
  • Tell them that you will come back if you don’t have a good answer for a question

DONT's

  • Avoid phrases like ‘do not worry about’, ‘no one compares to’ etc.
  • Don’t try to be too friendly or informal with them
  • Don’t overhype the product/pitch, keep it measured

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Kelsey is

  • Ensuring that the product delivers ROI, cost-effective pricing and process compliance are very important for them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Kelsey

  • It doesn’t come naturally to them but they can say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Kelsey move?

  • If they have the information that they need, they can move fast at making their decisions.
  • Can Kelsey take some risk or not?

  • They can take risk if they are convinced that they have analyzed the circumstances well.


You And Kelsey

Personality Compatibility


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