Michael Koch

Michael's knowledge, professionalism, and engagement make him a pleasure to work with. His desire and willingness to put the team first exemplifies exactly what one should do to create and nurture lasting relationships.

As a managing editor responsible for 80-plus books per year, I have to do more managing than editing; as such, I rely on my coterie of freelance editors to bring problems to my attention and to do a bit of project/author management when it is called for. In such situations Michael has proved invaluable as an editor whose skill and ability to identify problems and their solutions have been a significant aspect of my ability to do my job and retain my sanity.

Working with Michael has been an outstanding experience. He clearly communicates detailed project requirements, promptly answers any follow-up questions, and takes the time to create and distribute comprehensive guidelines and templates to ensure that all the contractors working with him are productive and know exactly what to deliver.

Michael excels not only at the management aspects of his role but on the creative side as well. He has a keen eye for illuminating complex concepts in a way that technical audiences appreciate. In a position that requires managing the needs and desires of multiple stakeholders while keeping everything moving and on schedule, Michael's interpersonal skills are a distinct asset. He respects the knowledge and abilities of everyone involved in each project. Put simply, he's fun to work with, he's clear, and he gets things done.

Michael is a great colleague, and one of those people who, on a daily basis, made my job a heck of a lot easier. We worked together collaboratively on the Adobe Developer Connection, where I was often funneling content to Michael for publication. He managed all of my projects with an incredible amount of efficiency and precision, and I always knew that when I sent something off to Michael it was in good hands. You will not meet anyone more organized.

During the couple of years I've worked with Michael contributing tutorials to the Adobe Developer Connection, I've been impressed not only by his focus and organization but also by his interpersonal skills. He knows what he wants from his authors but also listens to what they have to say. This not only builds mutual respect, it also helps Michael generate new ideas for the output he's responsible for.

On the organizational side, Michael clearly thinks ahead, anticipating problems and making sure he has a backup plan — a vital skill when dealing with authors who don't always adhere to deadlines! In short, he is a joy to work with and an asset to anyone wise enough to hire him.

Michael and I worked together to plan and coordinate the content coming from my team of writers in developer docs that was published in the Adobe Developer Connection. Michael worked tirelessly to seek out the best content and create the best destination for information about the Adobe Flash Platform.

Well organized is an understatement. He's all about the details, and I appreciated the care he took in publishing our content and making sure that it was promoted to our developer community.

He's smart and driven and always impressed me with his ability to quickly get to the right solution and then pull it all together for our product releases.

Michael Koch has managed us on several Adobe projects. In all cases, Michael's diligence ensured that we successfully navigated the common challenges associated with beta software and changing release dates. His creative brainstorming under pressure also balanced quality standards with tight project schedules.

Michael has been exceptional in his drive to meet project goals and has gone far and above the call of duty many times to help us meet tough deadlines and technical challenges. I have tremendous respect for his work ethic and feel that we have been lucky to work so closely with him to produce e-learning materials that have helped thousands of developers use Adobe software.

I've worked with Michael on many projects for the Adobe Developer Center and love working with him. He is smart, efficient, organized, adaptable, and a great manager.

He pays attention to details, stays on top of all projects tasks, delivers requested information, and accomplishes requested tasks without repeated requests. His thoughts are well organized and he listens carefully, asks good questions, and quickly understands and appreciates new ideas and view points. I also really value his clarity and conciseness in both verbal and written communications. Meetings and emails have clearly elucidated purposes, and he helps keep them focused and on track so our goals are accomplished sooner rather than later.

As a manager, he is able to judge people's abilities, work styles, strengths, and weaknesses (including his own) and to adapt his management style, communication, and expectations accordingly. This enables him to delegate responsibility effectively and also maximize the use of resources.

Finally, he is adaptable. Many companies have protocols and processes in place that make projects very difficult to change once they are in development or close to critical deployment steps. Too many people are afraid or resistant to make changes, because they don't have confidence in their ideas or they don't want to put in the extra work or overtime to get the changes made. Michael has ideas and the dedication to try and get them implemented once he is convinced they are changes for the better for the end product and the customer. I value this immensely and it makes all the projects we work on that much better.