The Essential Role of Soft Skills in Engineering Success

Matt is joined by Karell Ste-Marie, founder of The Serious CTO YouTube channel. Together, they tackle one of the biggest hidden challenges in software companies: the language and cultural barrier between engineers and executives.

Karell and Matt break down why innovation is so rare in large organizations, why engineers and business leaders often talk past each other, and how the CTO role often becomes the critical bridge between the two worlds.

Key Discussion Points

The cultural resistance to change inside enterprises

How introversion and communication style shape engineering culture

Why the best CTOs speak “both languages”

Lessons from mistakes made on the path to leadership

Resources & Links

The Serious CTO on YouTube

 – Karell’s channel where he shares insights on engineering leadership

Product Driven - Get the Book

Subscribe to the Product Driven Newsletter

What Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025

Subscribe to the Global Talent Sprint

Full Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordably