Build Your Edge

Engineers Who Communicate, Win

Technical people are often brilliant at solving problems, but not always at explaining them. In this episode, Jeremy sits down with Ben Pearce, a former Microsoft leader, founder of Elevated You, and host of the Tech World Human Skills podcast, to explore why communication has become one of the most important skills in modern technical careers. Ben spent more than a decade leading technical teams at Microsoft before realising that many engineers, architects, and technical leaders were being held back by one thing: their ability to communicate ideas clearly to other people. Together, Jeremy and Ben unpack: * Why technical teams struggle to influence stakeholders * The common communication mistakes engineers make * How to explain complex ideas without dumbing them down * Why emotion and storytelling matter in technical conversations * How communication impacts promotions, leadership, and career growth * Ben’s AOREN framework for structuring clearer, more persuasive communication This isn’t about becoming a motivational speaker or “salesperson”. It’s about learning how to communicate technical ideas in a way that people understand, remember, and act on. Whether you are explaining architecture decisions, presenting to leadership, working with customers, or trying to get buy-in from your team, this episode is packed with practical advice you can apply immediately. If you have ever felt frustrated that your ideas are not landing the way they should, this episode is for you.

Hiring Masterclass Part 2: The Debrief

In Part 2 of this Hiring Masterclass, former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O’Neill explains how great hiring teams compare evidence, challenge assumptions, and make confident decisions about who joins the team. The interview only gathers the evidence. The real hiring decision happens in the debrief. Sean shares the debrief practices he learned and refined across thousands of interviews, including blind voting, structured scoring, re-voting, candidate ranking, and how to avoid bias, groupthink, and the loudest voice in the room. You’ll learn how to run a focused debrief, when to challenge the panel, how to handle split decisions, why “on the fence” is a weak vote, and how to decide whether a candidate truly raises the bar. If you hire people, manage teams, or want to understand what happens after the interview, this episode is for you. Find details of Part 1: The Craft of Interviewing, here: https://www.buildyouredge.org/community/podcasts/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-1-the-craft-of-interviewing [https://www.buildyouredge.org/community/podcasts/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-1-the-craft-of-interviewing]

Hiring Masterclass Part 1: The Craft of Interviewing

Hiring is the highest-leverage decision a leader makes. Choose the wrong person and they can drain energy, slow the team down, and create problems for months. Choose well and you strengthen the entire organisation. In this episode, former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O’Neill shares the interviewing techniques he developed after conducting thousands of interviews and hiring hundreds of people across Amazon, Tesco, and global technology organisations. Sean explains how great interviewers uncover real evidence of ability using experiential questions, the STAR method, and what he calls the investigative journalist approach to interviewing. You’ll learn how to probe beyond polished answers, distinguish drivers from passengers, and spot candidates who can talk a great game but lack real depth, skills that matter even more in a world of AI-assisted candidates and increasingly rehearsed interviews. Whether you hire people, manage teams, or want to perform better in interviews yourself, this episode will help you understand what great interviewing actually looks like. This is Part 1 of a two-part Hiring Masterclass. In Part 2, we go inside the hiring debrief, where the real decision gets made. Sean also shares the interview and hiring debrief template he has used for years to help teams run structured hiring discussions and make confident decisions.

The Hidden Costs of AI

AI is moving fast. Faster than most of us can fully process. It promises efficiency, creativity, and progress. But what might we be losing along the way? In this episode, Eloisa Tovee explores the hidden costs of AI, from the impact on jobs, critical thinking, and creativity to deeper concerns around bias, online harm, misinformation, and the erosion of human connection. As a UN Delegate for Women in the UK and a writer working at the centre of this shift, Eloisa brings a clear, grounded perspective on how AI is shaping society, and who is most affected. This conversation goes beyond the hype to ask better questions: what are we trading off, who is being left behind, and how do we stay human in an AI-driven world?

Burnout Happens Gradually... Then Suddenly

Burnout rarely arrives overnight. For many leaders, it builds quietly over time, until one day it suddenly becomes impossible to ignore. In this episode, Jeremy speaks with Andy Skipper, CEO and Founder of CTO Craft, about why burnout is so common among CTOs and senior technology leaders, how it develops gradually, and what happens when leaders finally hit the wall. Andy shares his own experience of burning out early in his CTO career and the PTSD-like symptoms that followed after leaving the role. Together, they explore how the pressure of startup environments, unclear expectations, and the transition from engineer to leader can slowly push people toward exhaustion, self-doubt, and cynicism. They discuss how to recognise the warning signs in yourself and others, why burnout can spread through teams and organisations if left unchecked, and what practical steps leaders and companies can take to prevent it. Andy also introduces a simple four-stage approach to dealing with burnout: * recognising it early * taking immediate action * changing the conditions that caused it * building a healthier long-term environment If you’re a CTO, engineering leader, founder, or ambitious technologist who feels close to the edge — or you simply want to build a sustainable career without sacrificing your health — this episode offers practical insight and reassurance from someone who has been through it and now helps thousands of leaders find their way back.