The Chief of Staff Podcast Scaling with Structure: How Ben Darfler Brings Strategy to Life at Honeycomb
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Dec 10, 2025 Ben Darfler, Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy and Operations at Honeycomb, reveals how his engineering background informs his strategic thinking. He discusses the importance of adapting leadership practices as Honeycomb grows beyond 250 employees and the necessity for executives to shift focus from daily tasks. Ben highlights the power of OKRs and lightweight processes to ensure alignment across teams. He also shares insights on iterating strategies through metrics, empowering directors, and mastering execution to build a successful vision.
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From Engineering Director To Chief Of Staff
- Ben transitioned from Director of Engineering after doing chief-of-staff-like planning and running quarterly routines.
- He accepted the formal Chief of Staff role early this year to expand his influence beyond R&D.
Technical Credibility Strengthens Strategy
- Ben's engineering background gives credibility on product and AI conversations and helps bridge GTM and R&D.
- That deep product knowledge makes strategy conversations richer and more specific to customer problems.
Executives Must Move Out Of The Weeds
- As Honeycomb scaled, Ben noticed executive roles shift from collaborative product-level work to running distinct departmental accounts.
- That change requires new practices so directors can run the business without execs staying in the weeds.
