Best Jonathan Cutrell Podcasts (2024)

1
Bias to Action As A Skill 12:49

12m ago12:49

12:49

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: developert…

1
Managing Using Core Indicators of Team Outcomes 14:09

1M ago14:09

14:09

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 questi…

1
Inverted Thinking As a Strategy To Combat Bias 6:40

2M ago6:40

6:40

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.…

1
Talking To Yourself for Better One-On-Ones 10:58

2M ago10:58

10:58

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 sup…

1
Interview Prep: Two Counterintuitive Tips 21:58

2M ago21:58

21:58

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 …

1
The Top Resumé Mistake I See, Plus the Best Resumé Advice I've Ever Received 18:10

2M ago18:10

18:10

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 inte…

1
Prioritization Using Critical Path Thinking 13:56

3M ago13:56

13:56

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 Broug…

1
Cultural Antidotes - Clarity Isn't Just Honesty 13:57

3M ago13:57

13:57

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 t…

1
Demystifying Culture and Values 21:06

3M ago21:06

21:06

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 tail…

1
Principles of Work - Shorten Your Feedback Loops 18:07

3M ago18:07

18:07

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 Unbl…

1
Principles of Work - Be Your Own Advocate 12:45

3M ago12:45

12:45

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:…

1
Practical Application of Information Theory 17:28

3M ago17:28

17:28

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 acc…

1
Revisiting Core Working Principles - Hyperfixation on Measurements and Communication Degradation 19:00

4M ago19:00

19:00

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 comment…

1
Revisiting Core Working Principles - Clarity as a Precursor to Focus and Strategy for Possibilities 18:41

4M ago18:41

18:41

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…

1
Two Principle Categories To Judge Productivity Advice 23:34

4M ago23:34

23:34

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 cod…

1
Cost of Delay Curves and Classes of Service 24:36

4M ago24:36

24:36

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 instea…

1
Taking Personal Accountability for Systematic Failures 14:38

4M ago14:38

14:38

"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 c…

1
Stat Series: What Statistical Measure Are You Overusing? (And What to Do About It), Part Two 18:50

4M ago18:50

18:50

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 an…

1
Stat Series: What Statistical Measure Are You Overusing? (And What to Do About It), Part One 18:10

4M ago18:10

18:10

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 …

1
Treat Your Time as A Product You Own 11:12

4M ago11:12

11:12

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 t…

1
Von Restorff Isolation Effect and a Backfiring of Process 13:16

4M ago13:16

13:16

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 prio…

1
Perform a Career Premortem 15:22

5M ago15:22

15:22

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 t…

1
Delegation, Ownership, Responsibility, and Agency 16:23

5M ago16:23

16:23

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. 🙏 T…

1
Apply Little's Law To What You Can Control 12:48

5M ago12:48

12:48

Little's Law explains, in a given queuing system, what the relationships of throughput within that system are. We can garner insights both for our work, and for our own lives, by recognizing how these relationships work and what we can do to utilize them. In this episode, we talk about when it is useful to use Little's law to your advantage. 📮 Ask …

1
Finding Leverage by Escaping Functional Fixedness 12:22

5M ago12:22

12:22

Finding leverage is difficult to do, but a lot of the reason for this is that we allow ourselves to fall into well-traveled cognitive pathways. If we reject the solution domain-set that comes to mind immediately, we may be able to consider options for solutions we had never considered. This larger solution set may also include a high-leverage optio…

1
Is it Actually Important to Question Assumptions? 9:52

6M ago9:52

9:52

In today's episode, we discuss turtles, resolutions, and why your beliefs and what you see as fact is probably worth questioning anyway. 📮 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 commun…

1
9 Years - Persistence by Reducing Expectation 18:14

6M ago18:14

18:14

Today Marks 9 Years of Developer Tea. Thank you all for your support, and your friendship. I wish you all well on your journey, and may you find clarity, perspective, and purpose. (Don't worry, we aren't going anywhere!) 📮 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: …

1
Good Plans, Bad Plans, and Road Trips 19:27

7M ago19:27

19:27

What characterizes good plans from bad ones? And how can you make your plans better on average? In this episode we discuss how to better organize your intentions and processes to yield better plans. 🎙 Sponsor Today's episode is sponsored by Miro! Miro provides the creative freedom, collaboration, and integration you need to get your team moving in …

1
Negative and Positive Lollapalooza Effects 22:20

7M ago22:20

22:20

The "lollapalooza" effect (coined by Charlie Munger) occurs when multiple other effects have a compounded outcome that tends to create an extreme situation. In this episode, we discuss lollapalooza effects and how you might fall victim to them, and more importantly, how you can use them to your advantage. 🎙 Sponsor Today's episode is sponsored by M…

1
Fresh Eyes - How Anchoring Bias, Bandwagon Effect, Status Quo Bias, and Uniqueness Bias Interact When Joining New Groups 16:34

7M ago16:34

16:34

When you are newly joining a team, you have a huge opportunity to do something that no one on the team has: to find your "weathervane." The pressure pushing against you to adopt the beliefs of the team you are joining. What you do with it is one huge way a team can improve, or otherwise, stay the same. 🎙 Sponsor Today's episode is sponsored by Miro…

1
The Dark Side of Optimism Bias 14:48

7M ago14:48

14:48

Most people believe good things will happen by default. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but there's a downside to this endless optimism. You cannot will good things to happen, and when you don't prepare for adverse events, you won't be ready when they inevitably occur. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a qu…

1
Backlog Psychology - Breaking Out of the Habit Trap 12:18

8M ago12:18

12:18

Your team's process for managing a backlog is probably growing stale because you are running on habit rather than procedure. Break out of procedure and remind yourself why you have a process to begin with: orient yourself to the outcomes! 🎙 Sponsor Today's episode is sponsored by Miro! Miro provides the creative freedom, collaboration, and integrat…

1
Availability Heuristic and Substituting Hard Questions 17:08

8M ago17:08

17:08

What is it about our present situation that changes our perspective? In today's episode we talk about the availability bias and why our present reality looms so large in our decisionmaking. 🎙 Sponsor Today's episode is sponsored by Miro! Miro provides the creative freedom, collaboration, and integration you need to get your team moving in the same …

1
Spend Your Time Intentionally Through Expectation Mapping 14:38

9M ago14:38

14:38

What do you expect of yourself? Are you spending your time in ways that align with those expectations? In this episode, I provide you a simple framework as a starting lens for getting a better idea of how you are spending your time in relation to who cares the most about those investments. You'll walk away with a new lens on how to evaluate your mo…

1
What is the Real Question? How To Be An Exceptional Listener 9:11

9M ago9:11

9:11

Almost every conversation you have will start with a question. Have you stopped to listen closely? Questions are extremely meaningful and deeply human. Paying close attention to questions is a skill that will put you head and shoulders above the average engineer or manager. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a…

1
Backlog Psychology - Fix Your Broken Expectations 8:19

9M ago8:19

8:19

How often does reality match your expectations exactly? Sure, you may guess in the ball park, but usually there are errors in our expectations. In today's episode, I talk about a simple shift in thinking that will help improve your expectations for your work. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that …

1
Backlog Psychology - Practice Requires Rhythmic Predictability 8:03

9M ago8:03

8:03

In this episode we continue a little mini-series called "Backlog psychology." How do you get better at anything? (Hopefully you said "practice" almost instinctively.) What does good practice look like? Your team has an opportunity to practice every meeting and every day. But if your days look different from one to the next, how will you ever have t…

1
Backlog Psychology - Hyperbolic Discounting, Tech Debt, and Hacking Your Habits 16:18

10M ago16:18

16:18

In this episode we continue the mini-series "Backlog psychology." Would you rather have $5 now or $50 next week? The answer to this question, though it seems logically obvious which is better, does not always produce the same response. The required incentive to convince someone to wait tends to follow an exponential curve upward. This is not just t…

1
Backlog Psychology - The Ziegarnik Effect - Why Limiting Work In Progress Protects Your Cognitive Load 5:23

10M ago5:23

5:23

In this episode we kick off a little mini-series called "Backlog psychology." You've heard you should "limit your work in progress" - why? What makes more work in progress more difficult to handle? Cognitive load isn't just about multi-tasking in the moment - it's also about limiting your open tasks. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and…

1
Two Tips for Better Retros - Add Specificity, Respect Uncertainty 9:27

10M ago9:27

9:27

Your retros may feel like deadends where complaints go to die. If you're running retros and treating it only as an avenue for emotional support rather than continuous improvement, today's episode is for you. Retros are for improving iteratively over time. That can only happen if your outcomes are aligned to that iterative mindset. Two simple adjust…

1
One Big Step Versus A Small Random Step 13:24

11M ago13:24

13:24

Count the cost of learning. When you choose a path towards a goal, it's absolutely critical to optimize for the cost of learning. Often, with software, it is easier to learn by a series of smaller steps, even if they start out as random, rather than take on the major risk of a large step possibly going the wrong direction. This isn't always true; s…

1
Interrogate Your Decision Making Rules 6:43

11M ago6:43

6:43

Decisions are made in many ways, but one important type of decisionmaking tool is the "rule." This is something you follow without any cognitive processing. But, we eventually develop rules as a part of habit-building. These are "implicit" rules - they aren't necessarily something you have set as a rule, but they are followed as if they were. These…

1
Schedule Carving 12:10

11M ago12:10

12:10

Are you stuck trying to prioritize your long list of things you need to do? Maybe you're trying to establish a habitual routine or areas of investment in your schedule, budget, or decisionmaking. Figure out what you need to avoid first. This creates the opportunities you need to say yes. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and would like m…

1
Long Term Scoreboard for Short Term Games 15:52

11M ago15:52

15:52

Are you measuring the wrong thing for your short term game? If so, you probably continuously change directions and are never sure if anything you do is working. It's time to rethink your scoreboard. 📮 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. 📮 Jo…

1
Slow Down and Start With One Goal 13:50

12M ago13:50

13:50

Your career doesn't have to take off without your approval. Slow down, and make sure you actually have goals you are setting. Control your own destiny by aligning your plan to your actual goal, or vice versa. 📮 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…

1
Using the Accountability Triangle When Diagnosing A Failure 12:04

12M ago12:04

12:04

Accountability can be complex. When something goes wrong, fingers start flying: *someone* needs to be held responsible. But true accountability starts before anything goes wrong. In this episode, we discuss the Accountability Triangle, a mental model for ensuring that your accountability structures are valid and actually usable. 📮 Ask a Question If…

1
Career Growth Starts With Improving Your Clarity 15:18

1y ago15:18

15:18

Improving your clarity is the beginning of your journey in engineering leadership. This takes courage and patience, but the investment will benefit everyone you influence, including yourself. 📮 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 …

1
Tech Lag Over Tech Debt 18:25

1y ago18:25

18:25

If you've used the term Tech Debt, you probably know that the metaphor is loose at best. Taking on tech debt sometimes becomes a permanent choice, and the repayment isn't always a clear-cut investment. Most importantly, the concept of "debt" doesn't as easily take into account the human factors involved. Tech lag (taking inspiration from jet lag) i…

1
Good Negotiation is About Collaborative Problem Solving 10:33

1y ago10:33

10:33

Negotiation is not about getting more of what you want out of another person. Real artful negotiation is about finding alignment, and solving the problems presented at a level of divergence. 📮 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 D…

1
Tools To Deal With Layoff Anxiety 17:16

1y ago17:16

17:16

Layoffs happen whether we want them to or not. Being prepared with a principled approach can help relieve anxiety and produce better outcomes for when layoffs occur. In this episode, I give you two principled mental tools to help you deal with layoff anxieties no matter where you are in the picture. 📮 Ask a Question If you enjoyed this episode and …

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