Developer Tea exists to help driven developers connect to their ultimate purpose and excel at their work so that they can positively impact the people they influence.
With over 13 million downloads to date, Developer Tea is a short podcast hosted by Jonathan Cutrell (@jcutrell), co-founder of Spec and Director of Engineering at PBS. We hope you'll take the topics from this podcast and continue the conversation, either online or in person with your peers. Twitter: @developertea :: Email: developertea@gmail.com
This episode introduces a simple yet highly effective communication habit that can be adopted by anyone to significantly reduce the risk of misunderstandings and enhance connection . It explores how this practice, which requires thoughtful communication but no special skills, can benefit individuals at all career levels. Discover why misunderstandings pose a significant risk to your career and how our natural inclination towards low-effort communication contributes to this risk. Learn the core o...
This episode introduces a valuable meta-tool for understanding the generic shapes of models, focusing specifically on the concept of logarithmic relationships and how they manifest as diminishing returns in various aspects of our lives and work. Understanding these patterns can help us make more informed decisions about where to invest our time and resources. Uncover a meta-tool for understanding generic model shapes, specifically focusing on the concept of logarithmic relationships , which oper...
This episode introduces the concept of dimensional reframing as a tool to gain new perspectives on problems and facilitate decision-making by considering a new dimension. • Learn how adding a new dimension to a problem can overcome limited perception and lead to new insights. • Discover how applying the dimension of time to bug management can help prioritise and address a manageable number of bugs within a specific period. • Explore how considering your energy levels can inform your approach to ...
This episode explores the concept of Chesterton's fence , a principle that advises against removing or altering something without first understanding its original purpose. • Understand the core message of Chesterton's fence: before getting rid of an existing system, process, or code, take the time to understand why it was put there in the first place . • Learn about the common thought process that leads to wanting to remove things without understanding them ("Why on earth would anyone ever do it...
This episode discusses how to reframe areas of growth identified in performance reviews with your manager, turning potential weaknesses into strategic strengths. It emphasizes focusing on excelling in your existing strengths rather than spreading efforts thinly across all areas of improvement. Understand why it's misguided to immediately convert a list of growth areas into a to-do list and the importance of collaborating with your manager on this. Learn to identify the growth areas you are inter...
This episode provides a tactical question to elicit useful feedback by taking responsibility for seeking it out and framing the request in a way that encourages advice rather than judgment. Understand that your manager giving you feedback is your responsibility , which means you should actively seek it out rather than waiting. Discover how a simple question can shift the dynamic with your manager to get better feedback, focusing on advice for the future rather than dwelling on past behaviours. L...
This episode introduces a simple quadrant tool to visualise different working modes that a team or individual task might be in, based on levels of autonomy and definition. Understand how the quadrant is built using the X-axis of dependency (high to low) and the Y-axis of definition (high to low) to visualise different work modes. Explore how the bottom left quadrant represents work that is highly exploratory and highly dependent , often requiring collaboration across multiple departments. Learn ...
This episode introduces product lifecycle governance , offering practical techniques for engineering managers to tackle challenges like backlog prioritisation and leadership misunderstandings, helping turn potential problems into strategic advantages. Uncover how to use product lifecycle governance to expose vulnerabilities in your product development process, by understanding where decisions are made and who makes them. Learn how to move beyond simply managing a product to governing its lifecyc...
This episode explores philosophical frameworks—ontology, teleology, and dynamism—to inform decision-making in uncertain situations, providing practical advice for applying these concepts in your professional and personal life. Understand how ontology, teleology, and dynamism can help you navigate conversations about future actions for teams, companies, families, or yourself. Ontology focuses on a thing's intrinsic characteristics, teleology on its purpose or outcome, and dynamism on the changing...
This episode includes practical techniques to prepare for the unexpected by identifying vulnerabilities and building resilience, using the "curse question" and the "assumption audit" to help you turn potential problems into strategic advantages. • Uncover how to use a "curse question" to expose vulnerabilities you didn't know you had, by imagining realistic negative scenarios and what could go wrong. • Learn how to move beyond resilience to antifragility, turning unexpected events into opportuni...
In this episode, we discuss how invisible inertia can cause us to misinterpret our reality in work scenarios. • Discover why common misconceptions about behaviour are so difficult to spot. • Explore why your "unique" situation might be a common trap, a "uniqueness bias". • Learn how exceptional states can become the norm and impact your life. • Uncover how people's values shape company culture, and how to evaluate this. • Why might expecting a culture to change in the direction you want be unrea...
Time-crunched and data-scarce? Learn how the RPD model can leverage expertise and intuition to speed up decision-making, and how the 'Rubicon' moment can make your team more action-oriented. Stop endless planning and start doing: Learn how understanding action phases can help your team move faster from discussion to delivery. • Is your team stuck in debate? Discover the "Rubicon" moment and how crossing it can boost productivity. • Learn to recognise when deliberation is costing you more than it...
Use "What" to get more specific. Align actions with intentions for better time management. • Stop wasting time on autopilot. Discover the power of the Five Whats and start being intentional with your time. • Tired of vague labels? Ask yourself, "What am I actually doing?" to gain clarity over your activities. • Learn how to move beyond "focus time" and define the specific actions you're taking. • See how your actions align with your goals (or don't!). Use this to refine your schedule and achieve...
In today's episode, we're focusing on taking your resolutions and making them matter. I will give you two challenges in this episode to improve the quality and potential of success for your resolutions. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop online in a VS Code-based IDE...
Today, we celebrate 10 years of Developer Tea. I wouldn't be doing this podcast without you listening. Especially if you have been listening for many years, thank you! 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and careers, join us on the Developer Tea Di...
How can you create better scientific wild a** guesses when the work is not well defined? We discuss a few strategies in this episode. We also talk a bit about what an estimate is in the first place, and how it differs from a commitment / deadline. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters ...
Are you operating in the world, or are you working on a problem? This shift in agency can make all the difference in your career. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop online in a VS Code-based IDE or locally via GitHub. ● Extend and replace a suite of powerful business...
Can you use ChatGPT to become a better engineer? I'm not just talking about learning a language or fixing a bug with ChatGPT providing advice... I'm talking about career simulations. In this episode we discuss how the airline industry has fixed the problem of experience, and how we can learn from their insights to create low-stakes learning environments that boost our career and confidence through the roof. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders m...
In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss the third persona, "Shoulder Socrates." 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop online in a VS Code-based IDE or locally via GitHub. ● Extend and replace a suite of powerful business...
In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss the second persona, the over-optimizer. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop online in a VS Code-based IDE or locally via GitHub. ● Extend and replace a suite of powerful business...
In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss a critical first persona to start with. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Wix Studio Devs, if you think website builders mean limited control—think again. With Wix Studio’s developer-first ecosystem you can spend less time on tedious tasks and more on the functionalities that matters most: ● Develop online in a VS Code-based IDE or locally via GitHub. ● Extend and replace a suite of powerful business...
High-leverage work often comes in the simplest form of helping another person with their efforts. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and careers, join us on the Developer Tea Discord community by visiting https://developertea.com/discord today! 🧡...
Learn to prioritize, and everything else falls into place. This is clarity through perspective and purpose. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and careers, join us on the Developer Tea Discord community by visiting https://developertea.com/discord...
Your career growth will be directly correlated to your ability to solve critical unsolved problems in the gaps of your organization's problems. Focus on finding the problems that have a high chance of success for you specifically - the low hanging fruit. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com. 📮 Join the Discord If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineer...
In this episode we discuss the delineation between culture and values. What you allow is just as important as what you value. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com . 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this e...
The blunt reality: Merit cycles are not how you build your earning power or career. They are a function of company culture and HR, and generally speaking are disconnected from your biggest opportunities for growth. So, where should you focus? That's what we talk about in today's episode. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need ...
This episode of Developer Tea explores the concept of limiting factors and how they impact focus and productivity. It introduces the LIMFAC model and parallels it with audio compression techniques to highlight how hidden constraints can hinder progress. The discussion emphasizes identifying and validating these limiting factors to ensure efforts are directed effectively, using Unblocked as an example.
I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader. Values Exercise Live: Jonathan and Brian perform a live exercise, transforming company core values into interview questions. Discussing the importance of aligning your experiences with the values that a company holds. "I'm going to do this live ri...
I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader. Introduction to Career Coaching: What is a career coach and how they differ from a manager or mentor. Brian Pulliam shares his journey from tech to becoming an athletics coach. "I was in tech for about 26 years...being an athletics coach with my w...
In this episode we talk about the concept of "resetting your base" - moving in a direction you don't necessarily want to go in order to achieve better outcomes in the long run. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunbl...
