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 17 million downloads to date, Developer Tea is a short podcast hosted by Jonathan Cutrell, engineering leader with over 15 years of industry experience. We hope you'll take the topics from this podcast and continue the conversation, either online or in person with your peers. Email: [email protected]
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...
In today's episode we discuss how you might build your confidence without being disingenuous. This isn't a lesson in psychology or tricks - it's about building true confidence in what you do (and importantly, don't) know. 🙏 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 the...
In today's episode, we'll discuss an absolutely simple structure for prioritization and information flow in your daily work. The flow relies on a basic text editor - that's it! 🙏 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...
You have seen "bias to action" on job requirements, but what does this really mean? Is it something that can be learned? Make sure you know the difference between this skill and a more automatic cognitive bias. 📮 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 a...
In this episode, we use the Start / Stop / Continue framework in a new way. As leaders, we should always know what outcome indicators a given discussion is based on. In this episode, we discuss the three core outcome indicators for managers to pay close attention to. 📮 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 ...
In today's episode, we talk about inversion and inverted thinking. This is a mental model inspired by considering the "negative space" instead of the space occupied by the thing you are seeking. For example, if you are trying to avoid failure, you might intuitively seek a "successful strategy" instead of looking at the reasons it may fail directly. Inversion will help you avoid these traps. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the...
In today's episode we discuss a preparation step for your next one-on-one. Don't just wing it - do your homework... and talk to yourself a little bit. 📮 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 b...
In today's episode we'll discuss some counterintuitive advice for your interviews. This advice applies in interview settings, but also applies in 1-1 meetings as well. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Unblocked provides helpful and accurate answers developers need to get jobs done. It tailors answers by augmenting your source code with existing team knowledge in GitHub, Slack, Confluence and more. Spend less time digging for context and more time building great software. Check ...
After today's episode, your resumé is going to get better! In this episode I will share the biggest mistake and the best advice I've ever received about building a great resumé. This will take some work from you, but I hope you walk away from this episode feeling like you have the right mindset to improve your resumé drastically, and land more interviews, ultimately leading to better job opportunities for the Developer Tea audience! 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Neo4j Is your code get...
In today's episode, we talk about the counterintuitive process of prioritizing based on critical path. This is not a novel concept that I've invented, but rather a revisiting of the classic discussion started by Eli Goldratt in his book "The Goal", and later in his book "Critical Path", based on the theory of constraints. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: PropelAuth If you're building a B2B product and looking for an auth provider that can support you now and as you grow, give PropelAuth ...
The most common mistake for any manager is to fail to clarify. This often happens because we mistake our average communications for having perfect clarity, when in fact we most often don't communicate at high levels of clarity. This isn't because we are bad at communication, but rather because our social communications carry less consequence when they aren't precise. Clarity is not simply being honest. We'll discuss the importance of clarity in this episode, and your first steps towards achievin...
What does your culture have to do with your values? In this episode we open up the discussion about a model of thinking for culture and values to understand how they link, and more importantly, when they don't. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Unblocked provides helpful and accurate answers developers need to get jobs done. It tailors answers by augmenting your source code with existing team knowledge in GitHub, Slack, Confluence and more. Spend less time digging for context an...
Your feedback loops should be short enough that the cost of making a mistake is low enough that the value of the learning in the feedback loop exceeds the magnitude of the cost of a mistake. In other words: shorten your feedback loops to the point that you're no longer afraid to make a mistake. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Unblocked provides helpful and accurate answers developers need to get jobs done. It tailors answers by augmenting your source code with existing team kn...
In this episode we discuss the importance of being your own advocate, and why this is likely the most rational position to hold. The takeaway: At any point, the person advocating the most for you is almost definitely 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 th...
In this episode we discuss a practical application of information theory. Information theory is similar to the classic theory of communication, but distinct in important ways; these two theories together are a useful combo for creating a strategy for clarification. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked Unblocked provides helpful and accurate answers developers need to get jobs done. It tailors answers by augmenting your source code with existing team knowledge in GitHub, Slack, Conf...
In today's episode we talk about working principles again. Specifically, we're looking at a problem with measurement fixation, as well as the natural curve of degradation that most communication follows. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Jam.dev If you’re an engineer and you would rather spend your time writing code than responding to comments in your issue tracker, send your team Jam.dev. Go to jam.dev to get started, it’s free. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would lik...
In this episode we are revisiting some of my own personal core principles of working. I'm sharing these with you for you to do whatever you want with them, so please share however you can! The principles we discuss today are around the relationship between clarity and focus, and about how most negotiations aren't about feasibility but instead about strategy. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Neo4j Is your code getting dragged down by endless JOINs and long query times? Try simplifying the...
In today's episode we talk about principles of productivity. Most of the advice you receive will fit in the two categories we discuss in this episode. Once you connect with these ideas, you'll be able to use them for your own gain. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Jam.dev If you’re an engineer and you would rather spend your time writing code than responding to comments in your issue tracker, send your team Jam.dev. Go to jam.dev to get started, it’s free. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoye...
In today's episode we discuss the concept of "cost of delay", and explore the fact that cost of delay does not necessarily follow a linear path. When cost of delay has a cliff, or an exponential curve, how do you weigh one opportunity versus another? 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked If you would rather spend your time coding instead of digging for answers or dealing with questions from colleagues, give Unblocked a try. Unblocked provides helpful and accurate answers to question...
"What actions can I take to get better from here?" This seems like a simple concept, but in practice we often are more interested in protecting our ego. In this episode we try to practice this self-accountability through an exercise. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Jam.dev If you’re an engineer and you would rather spend your time writing code than responding to comments in your issue tracker, send your team Jam.dev. Go to jam.dev to get started, it’s free. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjo...
In this episode we continue our discussion about the most overused statistical measurement. We'll talk about a few more counterintuitive properties of the average, and how you might be underserving your colleagues as a result of thinking in averages. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Neo4j Is your code getting dragged down by endless JOINs and long query times? Try simplifying the complexity with graphs! With Neo4j, you can code in your favorite programming language and against any driver...
On average, you're probably overusing this specific type of statistic. In today's episode, we discuss the king of all misleading numbers: averages! There's so much to talk about with averages that we're splitting this into two parts. Disclaimer: I am not a mathematician. But we will talk about some of the interesting properties of averages and why they are so addictive to use for humans, but more practically what counterintuitive ways we might be using them incorrectly. If you're using your spri...
Today we explore the idea of treating your time as a product. Start with a wishlist: what do you wish was true about your week? What are your "if-only" statements? Next, put on your product owner hat. How would you improve the situation, if you knew the "consumer"'s requests? This exercise should provide unique insight and a new lens to view your time and agency through. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked If you would rather spend your time coding instead of digging for answers o...
The Von Restorff effect says we remember things that stand out. This is probably mostly intuitive - "that stood out to me" is a common colloquialism. But what isn't intuitive is the implied downside of uniformity, which is often the product of process. In other words, if your process creates perfect uniformity, elevating any one thing, say, in priority, is going to be exceedingly difficult. Additionally, if your "escalation" process is overused, it will once again violate the point of the escala...
In today's episode, we do a journaling exercise to provide a new lens on developing your own career roadmap. We're going to practice the power of hindsight, finding our wiser selves, and ultimately looking forward and backward...at the same time. It sounds a little odd, but it's all based in solid cognitive science. If you have a notoriously hard time figuring out your career path, I'd invite you to participate! 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Neo4j Is your code getting dragged down by ...
As you grow your career, you will continuously lean on delegation to scale your efforts and focus on the most important things. True delegation requires ownership, and ownership can be thought of in two critical parts: agency and responsibility. In today's episode, we discuss the fool's errand of delegating only one or the other of these parts. 🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Jam.dev If you’re an engineer and you would rather spend your time writing code than responding to comments in y...
