The People Stack Podcast

Episode Archive

Episode Archive

335 episodes of The People Stack Podcast since the first episode, which aired on June 24th, 2016.

  • Episode 335: Generating Momentum as a New Director: Most Powerful Moves to Make

    March 8th, 2024  |  29 mins 48 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    What are the most powerful moves one needs to make as a new director (manager of managers) to generate momentum?

    A client recently asked us this and I answer it on this podcast!

    I share the 5 most important actions to take if you’re new to an organization and want to create a massive, sustainable impact as a leader of leaders.

    I encourage all of you to listen and apply these battle-tested leadership principles.

    Enjoy!

  • Episode 334: Access Your Fortitude Amidst the Tech Chaos

    February 29th, 2024  |  27 mins 44 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    It’s nucking futs right now in the tech world.

    Layoffs, job search mayhem, hiring chaos…it’s all there.

    AND, I want you to tap into your inner fortitude - your inner power - even now.

    In this episode, I give you a practical tool that’s zero-cost and takes less than 5 minutes to implement.

    It’ll help you thrive amidst the chaos so that you can continue on the path towards your dream career.

    Check it out right now!

  • Episode 333: Dan Pickett on Coding Bootcamps, Training Engineers, and the Importance of Being Supportive and Practical

    February 19th, 2024  |  1 hr 20 mins
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    Rob interviewed Dan Pickett, President and Founder of Launch Academy and LaunchWare.

    They talked about:

    • The Launch Academy apprenticeship model and why it works
    • What Dan learned about the best ways to prepare engineers for future jobs
    • Why high-pressure techniques for training engineers fail
    • What’s wrong with Computer Science Education
    • Weaving a positive cultural fabric of trust for developers and leaders

    Enjoy listening to this easy-going, friendly conversation that anyone in tech will find informative. If you’re in tech leadership, you’ll find it particularly eye-opening.

  • Episode 332: There’s Gold in Your Blind Spots

    February 11th, 2024  |  25 mins 57 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    What’s in your blind spots? And how do you even find them?

    I show you how in this episode.

    I show you how to begin to leverage your internal guidance so that you can see what you’ve previously not seen.

    This is going to help you build an even more powerful mindset, make even more mission-aligned decisions, take more inspired actions, and create your dreams!

    Pay very close attention to this one!

    Check it out right now.

  • Episode 331: The Gift of Stress

    February 1st, 2024  |  29 mins 20 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    Yes, I said it. Stress is a gift.

    In this episode, I show you how to embrace whatever stress you’re feeling, see the gift in it, and turn that into powerful career decisions and actions.

    And I promise the process I share is not the usual “just accept it” mumbo jumbo.

    We all feel stressed so I know every one of you is going to get value out of this one.

    Check out this episode right now!

  • Episode 330: Top 10: Terrible Resume Advice

    January 25th, 2024  |  32 mins 4 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    How do you create a powerful resume that significantly increases your chances of landing your Hell Yes job?

    In this episode, we show you by revealing our top 10 pieces of terrible resume advice.

    I also explain why they’re terrible so you can start applying powerful, sustainable, proven strategies for creating your dream career.

    Check this one out right now!

  • Episode 329: Paradox of Action

    January 18th, 2024  |  42 mins 56 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    Ready to take action in an entirely new way?

    In a way that’s sustainable, fun, fulfilling, and full of impact on the other side?

    To do this, you must first understand the paradox of action.

    In this episode, I explain what that is and what your next action should be to create your dream career and dream life.

    Enjoy this very practical episode filled with proven exercises to help you take the best actions possible!

  • Episode 328: Action Beats Motivation

    January 10th, 2024  |  27 mins 35 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    It’s time to soar towards your career goals in 2024!

    How? By applying this principle:
    Action beats motivation

    What does this mean and how do you apply it in YOUR career so that you can finally create the tech career you truly deserve?

    Check out this podcast right now!

  • Episode 327: Hibernate to Prepare for Hyperspace

    December 13th, 2023  |  37 mins 24 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    It’s hibernation season.

    It’s also the season to prepare for massive growth in the new year.

    In this episode, I define exactly what I mean by “hibernate” and “hyperspace.”

    I also give you several practical and tactical tools so you can begin making micro-habit changes starting TODAY!
    MASSIVE transformative changes are coming in 2024. Are you ready for them? ;)

    Listen to this one right now to prepare!

  • Episode 326: Jason Silver on bringing joy to work, the importance of agency, and why decisions make you stressed

    December 5th, 2023  |  1 hr 46 mins
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Jason Silver. He’s a startup advisor and his new book, “Quietly Crushing It” is coming out in Summer 2024. We talked about:

    • Finding joy in doing the hard things - while you deliver MORE (not less) value
    • Why your dream job is not something you “win,” it’s a practice
    • How to add agency to everything you do as a leader
    • Assumptions about sales - what it is and what’s it’s not
    • Feedback: the good, the bad, and the ugly
    • A simple strategy that’ll drastically reduce your decision-making stress
    • How to persuade people to change their mindset
    • Why “what do you think?” can be a terrible question
    • The importance of gratitude

    This was an assumption-challenging conversation - even for us! Enjoy applying its valuable lessons

  • Episode 325: Holy $hit I Can’t Even

    November 28th, 2023  |  35 mins 1 sec
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    How many more “drop everything!” crises can you handle right now?

    It’s probably your current load minus 1 (or minus 10).

    We live in an era of surrounded by overwhelm.

    And it’s overwhelming!

    How do you handle it like a badass leader so that you can intentionally create your dream career and dream life?

    Check out this episode for a simple, zero-cost, 3-step process that you can do TODAY to start optimizing your response to stress.

  • Episode 324: Shobana Radhakrishnan on overcoming fear, giving women crutches, and why she’s not a medical doctor

    November 21st, 2023  |  1 hr 35 mins
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Shobana Radhakrishnan, Senior Director of Engineering at Google TV.

    We talked about:

    • Overcoming feeling “stupid” and asking “dumb” questions at large group meetings
    • Why women employees don’t need crutches
    • Building a culture of psychological safety (no, it doesn’t happen by accident)
    • Why taking ownership is the key to career and leadership growth
    • Why training job interviewers is of paramount importance
    • Dealing with fear and playing outside your comfort zone
    • Dealing with naysayers from a place of neutrality and confidence
    • The “Friday Night” problem and the problem with having way too many subscriptions
    • Why she chose a career in engineering instead of medicine

    This was a delightfully rich conversation that will inspire you to grow as a leader and as a human!

  • Episode 323: Free Learnin’ is Worth Every Penny

    November 14th, 2023  |  32 mins 24 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    Online courses - even with the best intentions - are self-improvement theater.

    And there’s nothing wrong with theater! What’s important is to understand what it can and cannot do for you.

    In this episode, I take a deep dive into online learning - what its value REALLY is, what it’s not, how to set yourself up for success when you take courses, and most importantly what to do AFTER.

    Grab your favorite note-taking tools and cuddle up with this podcast so that you can leverage the wealth of information that’s out there and turn it into your Hell Yes tech job, with your Hell Yes team, and your Hell Yes Salary.

    Enjoy!

  • Episode 322: Kathy Sebuck talks about growth mindset, connected balance, core values & what adulting really means

    November 7th, 2023  |  1 hr 32 mins
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Kathy Sebuck, Founder/CEO of Marchitecture and author of Waves of Change: Growth Mindset Tools for Connected Balance.

    We talked about:
    -What is a growth mindset and how do we know we’ve achieved it?
    -Why discovering our core values is so important
    -How to avoid weaponizing mindfulness and positivity
    -Why being color blind to red flags might be ruining your life
    -What adulting REALLY means (no, it’s not about paying bills or taking out the garbage)
    -How to give yourself permission to be your best self & conduct your own woo-woo choo-choo

    This episode was a blast to create and we hope it’s a blast for you to listen to! Check it out right now!

  • Episode 321: You're Color Blind to Red Flags

    October 31st, 2023  |  30 mins 25 secs
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    Some red flags are truly useless - like that colleague who always sends emails with “asap” in them and it’s never truly an emergency.

    But others are helpful. And if you ignore these red flags, your career will suffer.

    How do you know what red flags you’re ignoring that you shouldn’t be?

    And why bother, anyway? Why is it so important to be aware of what we’re tolerating?

    I explain all of this in this episode so that you can have a level of career & life clarity that you never had before…
    …and create your dreams from the most powerful place possible.

  • Episode 320: Dave Sobel discusses managed service providers, the business & tech intersection, & the value of IT

    October 24th, 2023  |  1 hr 20 mins
    careers, coaching, layoffs, leadership, product management, project management, promotion, raises, software development, tech management, technology

    For this episode, Rob and I interviewed Dave Sobel, the host of the Business of Tech podcast (https://www.businessof.tech/).

    We talked about:

    • The ins and outs of managed service providers (MSPs) and why they’re relevant to a growing number of people (yes, even you)
    • Why the intersection of business and tech is the key to success for so many tech folks
    • How to move from being a cost center to being a revenue generator
    • The importance of being comfortable talking about money, money, money
    • Risk management, IT security, and the mafia behind current tech threats
    • Why education is the core offering for many tech companies
    • How he became a full-time podcaster

    Enjoy this multi-layered, informative, and fun episode!