Shows / Developer Tea
Developer Tea
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: developertea@gmail.com
Episodes
- Developer Tea
Less Confidence, More Bravery
Confidence is often used as an artificial bluff, to help us feel less dread of failure. But this is problematic; when we put blinders on, we don't prepare…
- Developer Tea
Habits, Languages, Processes, and Other Behavior Engines
What do you want to change? The things you do repeatedly have the most impact on your life. Focus on the systems that produce repeated behaviors. We talk about…
- Developer Tea
Mindful Job Search: Myths and Psychology of Interviewing
We continue talking about conducting a mindful job search in today's episode. The truth is, that next application you put in is probably not going to end in an…
- Developer Tea
Mindful Job Search: Is it really time for me to quit my job?
If you've ever felt bad about looking for a job, or you're wondering if now is the right time because a bunch of coworkers or friends are on the move, this…
- Developer Tea
Can You Really Pick the Right Tool for Every Job?
Pick the right tool for the job. But who is picking? What tools can they choose from? And what is the actual job, anyway? This advice is important because it…
- Developer Tea
A Statistical Case for Iteration Over Perfect Preparation
You are much more likely to succeed with iteration than you are with a perfect first attempt. This is purely a function of probability, and is even more…
- Developer Tea
Avoid Unnecessary Prediction
When you have to predict, you're likely to have error in your prediction. Sometimes that error is easily handled - other times, it can be catastrophic in…
- Developer Tea
Give Random a Chance
Random choice may actually be your best bet. At the very least, starting with random is a good exercise in self control, and will help reveal information more…
- Developer Tea
Two Illusions of Agreement
It's easy to believe that everyone you get along with agrees with you about anything and everything. The truth is harder to confront, but often, this illusion…
- Developer Tea
Limit Your Options By Limiting Your Obligations
The number of things you have to choose to do in a day is constantly being fought over. Your calendar, if it's like most calendars, has very little to do with…
- Developer Tea
Feature Exploitation
When we understand the features and boundaries of any object, we can do more with that object based on those constraints. This doesn't just apply to code - it…
- Developer Tea
How Averages Can Trick You and Obscure the Truth
Averages can trick you into thinking a generalized idea about a complex set of data. This kind of compression happens not only with averages but any other…
- Developer Tea
Dominik Zane, Founder of Around - Part Two
In today's episode, I have a discussion about product development and counter-intuitive decisions Dom had to make along the way in making Around. This is part…
- Developer Tea
Dominik Zane, Founder of Around - Part One
In today's episode, I have a discussion about product development and counter-intuitive decisions Dom had to make along the way in making Around. 🙏 Today's…
- Developer Tea
Inner and Outer Layers of Context
Context is critical, but what does that mean? What are the parts of context you should care about? In this episode, we talk specifically about temporal…
- Developer Tea
Finding the Good in the Negative - Ask, "what do I do about this?"
"What do I do about this?" This question is one that can trigger action, even in a moment of pain. When we make a clear decision about how we are going to…
- Developer Tea
Two Razors for More Efficient Decision-making
If you can make better decisions, every other effort you put forth will benefit. One common error made when making decisions is overtuning on perfection. In…
- Developer Tea
Use Your Expectations As a Tool
Expectations can cause pain, but they can also be useful. An expectation should be a hypothesis. Where we go wrong is when we mix our expectations with our…
- Developer Tea
Flexibility is a Resource to Gather When You Least Need It
Flexibility is not something you conjure in a moment of need. It is something that is developed and gathered like a resource when you least require it. 🙏…
- Developer Tea
Deconstructing Purpose
There is something almost pseudo-religious about talking about purpose that is easy to get hung up on, especially if you don’t consider yourself a particularly…
- Developer Tea
Two Variations of Confirmation Bias
Our brain wants beliefs to stay the same. We don't want to change, and yet progress is dependent on change. That doesn't mean your beliefs are all wrong if you…
- Developer Tea
How You Shape Your World With Macro and Micro Stories
We see the world through stories. We communicate about the world through stories. So, the stories we tell turn out to be incredibly important to the way we…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Always Keep Your Tank Full
If you wait until your tank is empty, you've created an urgent situation you could have avoided. Keep your tank full, early and often. This applies to almost…
- Developer Tea
The Most Critical Career Mistake You Can Make
The most critical career mistake you can make isn't a secret. Are you in control? If you aren't driving your career, who is? What if the best thing you could…
- Developer Tea
Failure is an Opportunity for Responsibility
The romance of endless success is a broken picture of reality. Instead, focus on inviting failure and taking advantage of the opportunity it brings: the…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: What Are Your Ideals?
What are your ideals? For many people, ideals are fragile. The moment we see a hero fall, our own lives are immediately thrown into a state of confusion…
- Developer Tea
4 Questions To Understand Your Long Term Career Trajectory
Great questions trigger thought and further questions. In this episode, I pose 4 questions (and a bit of homework) to help you get a handle on where your…
- Developer Tea
Joel Beasley from Modern CTO, Part Two
Joel Beasley is the host of Modern CTO, a podcast with guests coming from IBM, Microsoft, Nasa, Reddit, and hundreds of others. Joel and I have wanted to have…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Give Tomorrow-You Advice from Today
Happy Friday everyone! Today we talk about fighting the inertia of the daily slide into habits. How many days have seemed to slip through your fingers? One way…
- Developer Tea
Joel Beasley from Modern CTO
Joel Beasley is the host of Modern CTO, a podcast with guests coming from IBM, Microsoft, Nasa, Reddit, and hundreds of others. Joel and I have wanted to have…
- Developer Tea
Uncomfortable Silence: What If You Do Nothing?
What if the best thing you could do was nothing? Not indefinitely, of course - but often, we intervene in the world when the right choice is to do nothing…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Imaginary Comparisons
Comparison is an incredibly important tool. But most of the time, the comparisons we are making are imaginary - even the ones that seem real. In this episode…
- Developer Tea
Implicit Hypotheses
Are you acting on impulse? How would you know? One door to understanding this "acting without thinking" is to investigate our hypotheses. Implicit hypotheses…
- Developer Tea
Model Manager - What We Don't Manage
Model Manager episodes of Developer Tea are dedicated to helping engineering managers find models of thinking that improve their approach to management. Great…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Waiting and Replaying
What are you waiting on? What are you replaying? It doesn't have to only be anxiety that takes you out of this moment. You may be looking forward to something…
- Developer Tea
Reframing Discipline and Elastic Habits
Discipline is not about punishment or punctuality. It's about perseverance in the face of changing circumstances. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode…
- Developer Tea
Model Manager: Human Behavior is the Primary Output of Engineering Processes
Model Manager episodes of Developer Tea are dedicated to helping engineering managers find models of thinking that improve their approach to management…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Focusing On Mastery Will Not Limit Your Options
You don't have to choose to be a generalist to have career security. If you pursue mastery, you will be building skill-acquisition at the deepest levels, and…
- Developer Tea
Compounding Time In Your Favor
We all have 24 hours in a day. How can you compound your time? In many ways, this is what "spend it wisely" means. In this episode we classify different types…
- Developer Tea
The Bowl of Mediocrity
If you are progressing slowly in your career, it might be because you are working in the bowl of mediocrity. This is where you are taking very little risk, but…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill - Stay Mindful During Phases of Execution
The execution phase of any work you do is where you find the most satisfaction. But it's possible that you aren't finding flow because you have a broken…
- Developer Tea
Step One Always Goes On Your Calendar
Everyone has the tendency to procrastinate. Is there something you're putting off? It seems simple, but finding the first step and putting it on your calendar…
- Developer Tea
The Tension Between Purpose and Mindfulness
Should you live every day like it's your last? What about preparing for the future? Chasing your goals and dreams? How can you both be mindful of the present…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Intuition Over Memorization
There's too much to remember. Instead, integrate that information. You don't need to memorize everything. Develop your intuition.
- Developer Tea
Local and Global Rationality
When two smart people or groups disagree, what is happening? Sometimes one is plainly wrong about the facts. But more often than not, these two people are…
- Developer Tea
Skill-Building Is Not One Dimensional
We intuitively imagine our skills and capabilities to be one-dimensional and permanent. However, what goes into whether we can actually execute on our skills…
- Developer Tea
Balancing Entropy and Focus
Call it luck, serendipity, or chance - all of these unexpected moments of life require entropy to occur. On the other hand, if we don't control our lives to…
- Developer Tea
Decision-making Skills: Two Types of Probabilistic Thinking
When you think about probabilities, you likely think in one of two ways. We'll talk about both of these models for probabilistic analysis, their drawbacks, and…
- Developer Tea
Using Cognitive Dissonance as a Tool
Humans are driven to resolve cognitive dissonance as efficiently as possible. We pay little regard to whether our solutions are accurate or correct, but rather…
- Developer Tea
Non-Linear Learning and Progress
How does learning happen? In one fell swoop - linear? Or is there another path that learning takes? We pass judgment on ourselves and others, designing our…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill - Clarified Intentions and Flexible Goals
If you don't understand the motivations underlying your goals, you will always deal with brittle, high-stakes situations. If you understand your goals through…
- Developer Tea
Too Serious to Succeed
We grow up believing there is a continuum from serious to fun, and that as you get older, you traverse towards the serious side. The truth is, the more serious…
- Developer Tea
Make Your Obstacles Irrelevant
Your obstacles are not a test of pride or an opportunity to prove yourself. They are in your way. There's more than one way to deal with this - so why do we so…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Growth, Uncomfortability, and the Unknown
Growth and comfort rarely mix. But there's more to growth than getting uncomfortable. Different kinds of growth produce different kinds of uncomfortability…
- Developer Tea
Finding Resonance
What specific components of your situation have an outsized effect on you? What resonates in a given scenario? This mental model will help us understand and…
- Developer Tea
Reframe Your Plateaus
You've hit a plateau - now what? Today we'll discuss two models for reframing your plateaus; perhaps you haven't hit the wall you think you've hit. ✨ Sponsor…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Your Baseline Determines Your Leverage
In today's episode, we talk about how your baseline perceptions and assumptions are the building blocks of your leverage. ✨ Sponsor: Remote Works (Podcast) The…
- Developer Tea
Ethan Kross, Author of Chatter - Part Two
Ethan Kross joins me today to talk about the importance of our inner voices. In his new book, Chatter, Ethan outlines how our inner voices affect us and how we…
- Developer Tea
Ethan Kross, Author of Chatter - Part One
Ethan Kross joins me today to talk about the importance of our inner voices. In his new book, Chatter, Ethan outlines how our inner voices affect us and how we…
- Developer Tea
Friday Refill: Inviting Growth Into Your Regular Schedule
Humans have the unique ability to intentionally practice and better ourselves. What makes you grow? Are you inviting those triggers and contexts into your…