Michael Diamant: On creative solutions, team spirit and international cooperation

In our latest interview, we showcase the multifaceted workday of Mike Diamant, Senior Atlassian Consultant at catworkx. With over 30 years of IT experience and a penchant for good jokes, he shares how working at catworkx feels for him as an American, what he appreciates about German work culture, and why working with customers and colleagues is so special for him.

Hi Mike - please introduce yourself briefly:

Michael Diamant, Senior Atlassian Consultant, catworkx US

Mike: My name is Michael Diamant. I usually call myself “Mike” or many who come to know me, call me “Godfather”. Yes, there are many stories behind this.  Just like in the movie I'll make you offers you can't refuse... (quote from The Godfather movie). 

I work at catworkx as a Senior Atlassian Consultant and together with our great team I look after numerous customers and exciting projects. In total, I have been working in the IT industry for over 30 years and have filled many different roles during that time: from webmaster, developer, project manager to program manager and head of application development.

 In addition to my enthusiasm for IT, I also have a penchant for good and some really bad jokes. I can find the right punch line for almost any topic – so feel free to put me to the test!

What is it like for you as an American to work for a German company?

Bill: Working for a German company is like traveling to another universe, but in a good way! As someone who tries to be open-minded, I appreciate the opportunity to get to know other cultures, and at catworkx I get to directly experience the European perspective. It's the first time I've worked for a company outside of America, and the way they work and interact with each other is definitely different.

What is different about the German work culture? 

Mike: Considering that my wife’s family are all native-born Germans.  Working for catworkx is like an extension of my marriage, relatives and in-laws.  Oh god!!!  That bad?  No, not at all.  LOL.  What this means is that I’m quite accustomed to being told that I’m wrong even when I'm right. 

What is different about the German work culture?

Mike: Having lived in Europe as a child and worked with international companies, I am well versed in the demands of intercultural cooperation. In most teams and companies, I have found a common denominator: “work hard, play hard”. Our anniversary cruise was a perfect example of how we celebrate success as a team while having a lot of fun. And for those of you who have accompanied Johnny on a walk – you know exactly what I mean.

How do you like the international collaboration?

Mike: This certainly can be challenging. However, the catworkx team(s) all seem to know and share in this challenge and are most accommodating for scheduling meetings or providing timely assistance.

What do you like most about your work with customers?

Mike: Every client brings unique challenges, goals and ways of working. There are always different ways to develop a solution, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. I love taking on this constant challenge and figuring out which approach works best.

What do you particularly like about your work at catworkx?

Mike: I really appreciate being able to help our customers solve their business challenges and work more efficiently with new and creative approaches. At the same time, I am constantly learning – especially about how we can make better use of the Atlassian ecosystem. I also find the exchange with colleagues, partners and Atlassian itself at team or community events particularly exciting. This diversity ensures that the work is never boring – that's what makes it so special.

And what is your conclusion?

The switch from STAGIL to catworkx was uncomplicated for me and felt very natural. I was able to continue working with a platform that is close to my heart while helping people achieve their goals. What could be better? 😊

Michael Diamant Senior Atlassian Consultant catworkx US
Blog

Working across the Atlantic: an interview with Bill

What is it like to work for a German company as an American? We asked our American teammate Bill. The change from American to German work culture can be an exciting challenge. In our latest interview, Bill shares how he experiences these cultural differences, what has surprised him, and how he has integrated into the German way of working. Dive into the exciting dynamics of intercultural work!

Webinar on demand

Scaling agility - success factors from practice

Agile working and agile methods have become an integral part of the modern working world. But what does it mean and, above all, what does a company actually expect when it embarks on this journey?

Unternehmen 8/16/23

Insights

Openness and respect characterize the corporate culture at target. We stand for open doors, open ears and honest communication.

Leistung

Digital Consulting International

For us, consulting means working with you to achieve your goals, show you new options and get the most out of your resources and requirements..

Atlassian Cloud Roadmap
Wissen 9/2/22

Atlassian Cloud Roadmap

All about the end of support for Atlassian servers and what opportunities and licensing options this means for you.

Blog 11/3/22

Inbox helps to clear the mind

I hate distractions. They can easily ruin my day when I'm in the middle of working on a cool project. They do that by overloading my mind, buzzing around inside me, and just making me tired. Even though we can think about several things at once, we can only do one thing at a time.

Webcast 2/4/25

First Tuesday 04.02.2025

Pilot Mike is back from his winter break and has prepared all the relevant updates about Google Workspace for you!

Event

catworkx at the Atlassian Team ‘25

Visit catworkx at Atlassian Team ‘25 and learn more about our expertise in Atlassian.

Partner

Partner International

Event

Service Space 2025 - The Conference for Service Management

Discover the future of Service Management at Service Space 2025 in Vienna! Meet catworkx and learn about innovative solutions with Atlassian.

News 1/17/25

Welcome: Jimmy Areias joins our US team

We’re excited to welcome J. Areias as our new Strategic Account Manager for the US! With 17 years of experience, he brings deep expertise in optimizing workflows and implementing Atlassian solutions.

Die Videokonferenzlösung von Google Workspace Meet
Service

Workspace Security Assessment

Two of the most common topics for questions about Cloud services in general, and Google Workspace in particular, are security and data protection.

On-Premises in die Atlassian Cloud bei Oetiker nahtlos integriert
Referenz

Seamless migration from on-premises to the Atlassian cloud

Oetiker, a leading supplier of connecting solutions for the automotive industry, migrated to the cloud with catworkx Jira and Confluence in 2021.

Blog 5/16/24

Common Mistakes in the Development of AI Assistants

We share how failures when implementing AI occurr and what can be learned from them for future projects: So that AI assistants can be implemented more successfully in the future!

Blog 4/17/23

Running Hybrid Workshops

When modernizing or building systems, one major challenge is finding out what to build. In Pre-Covid times on-site workshops were a main source to get an idea about ‘the right thing’. But during Covid everybody got used to working remotely, so now the question can be raised: Is it still worth having on-site, physical workshops?

Blog 8/10/23

Machine Learning Pipelines

In this first part, we explain the basics of machine learning pipelines and showcase what they could look like in simple form. Learn about the differences between software development and machine learning as well as which common problems you can tackle with them.

Blog 11/15/22

5 lessons from running a (remote) design systems book club

Last year I gifted a design systems book I had been reading to a friend and she suggested starting a mini book club so that she’d have some accountability to finish reading the book. I took her up on the offer and so in late spring, our design systems book club was born. But how can you make the meetings fun and engaging even though you're physically separated? Here are a couple of things I learned from running my very first remote book club with my friend!

Headerbild Data Insights
Service

Data Insights

With Data Insights, we help you step by step with the appropriate architecture to use new technologies and develop a data-driven corporate culture

Kompetenz 10/19/22

Digital Transformation with Atlassian Tools

At catworkx, we digitalize business processes for our customers on the basis of Atlassian tools such as Jira and CoAnd you can also benefit from the flexibility, performance and transparency of Altlas

Blog

Google Threat Intelligence

Threat intelligence at Google scale for you and your business!

Bleiben Sie mit dem TIMETOACT GROUP Newsletter auf dem Laufenden!