(07:37) Brought to you by Lemon.io Lemon.io is your go-to platform for hiring top-tier, pre-vetted software engineers from Europe and Latin America. You'll get matched with your developer in just 48 hours. Tech Lead Journal listeners get 15% off your first 4 weeks of work at lemon.io . Ever wondered what it takes to climb the tech leadership ladder from engineer to executive? In this episode, we follow the journey of Norman Noble, CTO of Mindvalley, as he shares his insights and expe...
Mar 03, 2025•49 min•Ep 208•Transcript available on Metacast (04:44) Brought to you by Lemon.io Lemon.io is your go-to platform for hiring top-tier, pre-vetted software engineers from Europe and Latin America. You'll get matched with your developer in just 48 hours. Tech Lead Journal listeners get 15% off your first 4 weeks of work at lemon.io . Want to communicate more effectively and get your work the attention it deserves? Learn how to harness the power of storytelling in a business setting with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, the bestselling author o...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep 207•Transcript available on Metacast (06:49) Brought to you by Lemon.io Lemon.io is your go-to platform for hiring top-tier, pre-vetted software engineers from Europe and Latin America. You'll get matched with your developer in just 48 hours. Tech Lead Journal listeners get 15% off your first 4 weeks of work at lemon.io . Want to learn the key principles and future of DevOps that can help you ship code faster and more reliably? In this episode, I sit down with Yevgeniy Brikman, co-founder of Gruntwork and author of “Terraform: ...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep 206•Transcript available on Metacast (03:55) Brought to you by Lemon.io Lemon.io is your go-to platform for hiring top-tier, pre-vetted software engineers from Europe and Latin America. You'll get matched with your developer in just 48 hours. Tech Lead Journal listeners get 15% off your first 4 weeks of work at lemon.io . Ever wonder what a credit score for your codebase would look like? In this episode, Matt Van Itallie, founder of Sema, discusses how his company is revolutionizing the way we assess and understand code quality...
Feb 10, 2025•58 min•Ep 205•Transcript available on Metacast Are you tired of cargo cult engineering leadership? In this episode, David Guttman, author of “The Superstruct Manifesto”, shares his intriguing manifesto on building and leading high-performing engineering teams. We explore: - Why daily standups are overrated and what to do instead - How to avoid the trap of the "10x engineer" myth - Why computer science riddles don't belong in your interviews - The importance of estimates (hint: it's not about the accuracy!) - How to treat yo...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep 204•Transcript available on Metacast Is your ML project stuck in POC hell and failing to deliver real value? In this episode, I sit down with David Tan and Dave Colls, co-authors of the book “Effective Machine Learning Teams” to discuss the complexities of building and deploying ML models, building and managing effective ML teams, and ensuring successful ML projects. Key topics discussed: - Learn the key differences between ML engineering and traditional software engineering. - Why so many ML projects fail to reach production or de...
Jan 27, 2025•59 min•Ep 203•Transcript available on Metacast “ Looking at the development pace of this area, it’s just a question of when generative AI will take over larger parts of software engineering. It’s a leadership responsibility to ensure your organization is ready for AI and you are taking the right path. ” AI is changing EVERYTHING – including the way we build software. Are you READY for it? In this episode, we dive deep into the impact of AI on the future of work, particularly in the software development space. Join me and André Neubauer as we...
Jan 20, 2025•53 min•Ep 202•Transcript available on Metacast “ Evolutionary architecture became a necessity, not because anybody wanted it to be, but because you didn’t have a choice. You have to be able to change your systems to keep up with changing business and consumer expectations, let alone regulatory frameworks. ” In this episode, I have an insightful conversation with Rebecca Parsons, coauthor of Building Evolutionary Architectures and ex-CTO of ThoughtWorks, on the topic of evolutionary architecture. Rebecca shares the definition and principles o...
Jan 13, 2025•57 min•Ep 201•Transcript available on Metacast “Leadership is where you have, not necessarily a large organization, but increasing scope and increasing impact, while bringing lots of people along with you.” In this milestone episode of the podcast, James Stanier returns for the third time to discuss his latest book, “Become a Great Engineering Leader.” We explore the role of an engineering leader and delve deep into the nuances of engineering leadership. James explains the difference between an engineering leader and an engineering manager t...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep 200•Transcript available on Metacast “As an engineer, you don’t have to drop your technical skills, but you need to communicate like an executive. The more you communicate this way, you will have more opportunities and more impact on your job.” Pramoda Vyasarao is an engineering leader turned coach with two decades of experience at Oracle and Meta, and the author of “Beyond Your Limits”. In this episode, Pramoda shares his insights on the importance of communication for engineers, as well as his inspiring journey of achieving 52 lo...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 199•Transcript available on Metacast “Now more than ever, engineering leaders are being asked to be more transparent with how their work is getting done. Every single thing that an engineering team works on needs to benefit the business.” Laura Tacho is the CTO of DX and a leading voice in the world of developer experience and productivity. In this episode, we explore the ever important role of aligning developer experience with business goals and discuss the DX Core 4, a new developer productivity framework recently published by D...
Nov 11, 2024•59 min•Ep 198•Transcript available on Metacast “Input, Output, Outcome, and Impact. It’s an escalating way of where to spend my time as an engineering leader, and more importantly, where my engineering team is spending their time on.” Balki Kodarapu is the VP of Engineering at Lōvu Health and a seasoned engineering leader with a wealth of experience from startups to large organizations. In this episode, Balki shares his valuable insights on how to build and lead high-performing engineering teams that go beyond just churning out code. We go d...
Nov 04, 2024•56 min•Ep 197•Transcript available on Metacast “The OOOps methodology from the science of happy accidents are optionality, opportunism, and optimization.” Stephen Fishman and Matt McLarty are the authors of “Unbundling the Enterprise: APIs, Optionality, and the Science of Happy Accidents”, a book from IT Revolution. In this episode, we discuss the transformative power of APIs, the importance of optionality in technology and business, and the intriguing science of ‘happy accidents’. We delve into the “OOOps” of the science of happy accidents,...
Oct 21, 2024•56 min•Ep 196•Transcript available on Metacast “Legacy code is a code without tests. If you have code, and it has lots of tests, it’s relatively easy to change. But if you don’t have the tests, you’re really in serious trouble.” Do you dread working with legacy code? Michael Feathers, renowned software expert and author of the classic “Working Effectively with Legacy Code,” joins me to discuss the challenges and strategies for working with legacy code, a topic that remains highly relevant even after 20 years! Michael explains why he defines ...
Oct 14, 2024•56 min•Ep 195•Transcript available on Metacast “Product marketing’s purpose is to drive product adoption by shaping market perception through strategic marketing activities that align with business goals.” Are you making the mistake of focusing too much on product and not enough on the market? In this episode, Martina Lauchengo, a partner at Costanoa Ventures and the author of the SVPG book “LOVED: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products”, discusses the often-overlooked importance of marketing in the success of tech products. Martina chal...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr•Ep 194•Transcript available on Metacast “We should always learn intentionally. And the best learning is by doing. Extra time used to practice something is always worth it." Dr. Milan Milanović is a seasoned CTO and the author of the popular “Tech World with Milan” newsletter. In this episode, Milan shares his insights on what it takes to become a great software engineer. Milan emphasizes that technical skills, while crucial, are just one part of the equation. Soft skills, a product-focused mindset, and a commitment to continuous learn...
Sep 30, 2024•55 min•Ep 193•Transcript available on Metacast “The four common obstacles that are stopping engineers in progressing in their journey are the imposter syndrome, burnout, trouble dealing with other people, and self marketing struggles." Dagna Bieda is an engineer turned coach and the author of “Brain Refactor”. In this episode, Dagna discusses the common obstacles that prevent engineers from progressing in their careers. She also introduces her latest book, “Brain Refactor,” which offers strategies for overcoming these obstacles and achi...
Sep 23, 2024•1 hr•Ep 192•Transcript available on Metacast “One key highlight of the report is that there’s a massive disconnect between engineering leaders and engineers about developer experience." Andrew Boyagi is a DevOps Evangelist at Atlassian. In this episode, Andrew shares the key findings of the State of Developer Experience Report 2024, including the disconnect between engineering leaders and engineers, the impact of AI on developer experience, and the importance of measuring and improving developer productivity. Andrew shares practical a...
Sep 16, 2024•55 min•Ep 191•Transcript available on Metacast “The three core expectations of a Staff+ engineer are having a high blast radius impact, able to do multi-scale planning & influence, and having high ownership & autonomy level.” What does it take to become a Staff+ engineer? Thiago Ghisi, an experienced engineering leader and a Director of Engineering at Nubank, reveals the secrets in this episode. We discuss the path to becoming a Staff+ engineer and explore the attributes that set successful Staff+ engineers apart. Thiago emphasizes t...
Sep 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 187•Transcript available on Metacast “A lot of problems that we are facing in code review are due to the interface. We are not actually giving feedback to a person, but we are just filling in text boxes and looking at code." Dr. Michaela Greiler is a code review advocate and runs the “Awesome Code Reviews” workshops. In this episode, we discuss the importance of making code reviews awesome. We discuss the common challenges of code reviews, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that considers both the technical and socia...
Sep 02, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 189•Transcript available on Metacast “Coupling is an inherent part of system design, not something that is necessarily good or evil. How we design coupling can take our system either towards complexity or towards modularity." Vladik Khononov returns to the podcast to discuss his latest book “Balancing Coupling in Software Design”. In this episode, Vlad revisits the essence of coupling, a term often not fully understood, and explores its implications on software complexity and modularity. Vlad introduces the concept of shared l...
Aug 26, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep 188•Transcript available on Metacast “Just because the network is unreliable doesn’t mean a monolith is reliable either. It’s a fallacy to assume that you can build an error free system. You deal with it by accepting that the system overall has a baseline error rate, and that’s a business requirements issue." Richard Rodger is the author of “The Tao of Microservices”. In this episode, Richard shares a unique philosophical and practical approach to microservices, focusing on core concepts such as messages first, component-based...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr•Ep 187•Transcript available on Metacast “Where the CTOs usually struggle is holding people accountable. The other things are leadership, strategy, vision, and being an executive. Most of the CTOs are swamped with work from their day-to-day job." Stephan Schmidt is a CTO coach and the author of “Amazing CTO”. In this episode, we delve into the multifaceted world of the CTO role and discuss what it takes to become a great CTO. Stephan highlights the common struggles CTOs face and offers practical advice from his book on the differe...
Aug 05, 2024•52 min•Ep 186•Transcript available on Metacast “The three change dimensions of the product operating model are changing how you build, changing how you solve problems, and changing how you decide which problems to solve." Chris Jones, Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) and co-author of “TRANSFORMED: Moving to the Product Operating Model,” joins me to discuss how organizations can transform and innovate like top tech companies. Chris introduces the Product Operating Model (POM), a set of principles for building products that ...
Jul 29, 2024•59 min•Ep 185•Transcript available on Metacast “Contract testing is a form of testing where you are verifying two systems have the same shared understanding about the expectations." Lewis Prescott is the coauthor of “Contract Testing in Action”. In this episode, join us to demystify contract testing and its critical role in modern software development. Discover how contract testing ensures reliable software integration, particularly in complex microservice architectures. Lewis explains the core concepts, the difference between consumer-...
Jul 22, 2024•53 min•Ep 184•Transcript available on Metacast “Strong teams embrace conflict. They use it as a tool, and they have their great way of handling disagreements." Hari Haralambiev is co-founder of SoftSkillsPills.com and author of the leadership newsletter “A Leader’s Tale”. In this episode, we discuss essential elements of team leadership and dynamics. Hari begins by sharing his insights on what makes a great software development team, emphasizing the importance of creating the right environment for collaboration and sustainable results. ...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 183•Transcript available on Metacast “We have 10 different aspects of quality, and testing is just a subset of activities in the overall quality culture. You need to have a good testing practice, but it’s just a tiny part of quality culture." Janet Gregory and Selena Delesie are the co-authors of “Assessing Agile Quality Practices Using QPAM”. In this episode, we discuss how to elevate and improve our organization’s quality culture and practices. Janet and Selena begin by explaining what quality culture truly entails, distingu...
Jul 08, 2024•54 min•Ep 182•Transcript available on Metacast “Engineers make this mistake of thinking that if they just do the work, they’re going to be rewarded. But it’s just not how it happens. Be heads down, add the value, do great work, but don’t forget to make the noise." Louie Bacaj is a software engineer and engineering leader who turned entrepreneur. In this episode, Louie shares his unique career journey and valuable insights for aspiring tech professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs. Louie reveals the secrets behind his rapid career progre...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 181•Transcript available on Metacast “Learn the difference between activities and impact. Sometimes we spend our career trying to get really great at activities. Always ask yourself, what is the impact of the work I’m doing?” From Google Distinguished Engineer to early retirement, Kelsey Hightower has a career journey filled with lessons for tech professionals at every stage. In this episode, Kelsey reflects on his journey, revealing why he decided to retire early, and offering valuable insights and lessons learned. Discover the im...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 180•Transcript available on Metacast “As a startup, as a scaleup, you often get one chance. If the first impression is something that’s slow, doesn’t work, is down entirely, people will move on and go find some other way to solve that problem." Tim Cochran and Kennedy Collins are the co-authors of the “Bottlenecks of Scaleups” series published on Martin Fowler’s website. In this episode, we explore several key challenges faced by scaleups, such as product-engineering friction, service disruptions, accumulation of tech debt, an...
Jun 17, 2024•51 min•Ep 179•Transcript available on Metacast 
