Doran Orbach, Director of Product Management for Enterprise Architecture at ServiceNow, shares insights from his 20+ year career in product and engineering, exploring how collaboration and continuous learning drive success in technology leadership.

• Experience in aligning ServiceNow's Common Service Data Model (CSDM) with Archimate standards
• First involvement with The Open Group through the IT4IT™ standard while at HP
• Active participation in The Open Group ArchiMate® Forum to influence and develop Enterprise Architecture standards
• Collaboration requires openness, listening, and finding common ground despite different perspectives
• Enterprise Architects must continuously learn about emerging technologies like AI to guide organizations
• Influence through collaboration rather than mandates is key to effective Enterprise Architecture
• When facing career roadblocks, focus on learning new skills and following your interests
• Personal connections and informal discussions at conferences provide invaluable insights
• Setting goals and taking concrete actions toward them leads to professional fulfillment

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What drives a documentary filmmaker to capture the untold stories of marginalized communities? Award-winning filmmaker Meera Darji takes us behind the scenes of her creative journey, revealing how mentorship transformed her approach to storytelling and empowered her to document India's hidden narratives.

Meera shares the pivotal moment when a university mentor encouraged her to explore documentary filmmaking, leading to her acclaimed work on India's hijra community. This guidance sparked a career dedicated to authentic representation through cinema verité techniques – filming reality as it unfolds without staging or manipulation. Her philosophy centers on transparency with subjects and capturing their genuine experiences through long takes and minimal intervention.

The conversation explores how passion fuels authenticity in documentary work. When genuinely curious about a subject, Meera explains, filmmakers engage more deeply and produce more meaningful outcomes. She views her process as a collaboration with subjects rather than simply documenting them, allowing their voices to guide the narrative alongside her directorial vision.

Currently working on "Majoor 9195," a feature documentary following women construction workers who build luxury apartments in India, Meera is pushing boundaries through ethnocensory filmmaking techniques. By creating immersive soundscapes that transport viewers to construction sites, she aims to provide audiences with visceral experiences that go beyond traditional documentary viewing.

For aspiring creatives, Meera offers liberating advice: "Don't overthink it. Just go there and film." She encourages experimentation without fear of failure, emphasizing that breaking conventions often leads to discovering one's unique voice. Her mantra, borrowed from Albert Maysles – "stay with it" – reminds filmmakers to keep rolling even when they think they've captured enough.

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Collaboration isn't just a buzzword—it's the engine that powers innovation in complex technical environments. Huub Streng, OSDU® Data Platform Advisor at Total Energies, joins us to unpack what makes teams truly successful.

From his remarkable journey starting in mechanical engineering to becoming a data management leader, Streng shares how adaptability and continuous learning shaped his career trajectory. The conversation reveals practical wisdom about creating environments where people genuinely enjoy working together toward common goals. At the foundation? Trust, clear decision-making processes, and well-defined objectives that everyone understands.

Streng offers fascinating insights into the delicate balance between individual accountability and collective responsibility. "Without individual accountability, team members would be looking at each other rather than taking ownership," he explains. We explore how mentorship accelerated his professional development and why he considers achievements as never standing alone—always building upon the contributions of others.

The discussion takes a deep dive into conflict management strategies, with Streng revealing that most workplace tensions stem from miscommunications rather than fundamental incompatibilities. His approach involves acknowledging conflicts directly, understanding individual perspectives, and facilitating productive dialogue. We also tackle the unique challenges of maintaining team cohesion in virtual environments, where deliberate community-building becomes essential.

Perhaps most compelling is Streng's passionate advocacy for diversity in collaborative settings. Through examples from the OSDU Forum's working groups, he demonstrates how diverse perspectives lead to more innovative solutions and more efficient problem-solving. Ready to transform how your teams collaborate? This conversation offers the blueprint you need.

Don't miss The Open Group Summit in Amsterdam (May 19-22, 2025) featuring OSDU Forum sessions, success stories, and collaborative working group meetings where these principles come alive. Learn more here.

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Copyright © The Open Group 2023-2025. All rights reserved.