

Developer Tea
Jonathan Cutrell
Developer Tea exists to help driven developers connect to their ultimate purpose and excel at their work so that they can positively impact the people they influence.
With over 17 million downloads to date, Developer Tea is a short podcast hosted by Jonathan Cutrell, engineering leader with over 15 years of industry experience. We hope you'll take the topics from this podcast and continue the conversation, either online or in person with your peers. Email: developertea@gmail.com
With over 17 million downloads to date, Developer Tea is a short podcast hosted by Jonathan Cutrell, engineering leader with over 15 years of industry experience. We hope you'll take the topics from this podcast and continue the conversation, either online or in person with your peers. Email: developertea@gmail.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

13 snips
Jul 29, 2025 • 26min
Goal of the Goal - Using Goals As A Prioritization Clarifying Tool
Discover how well-positioned goals can clarify your career direction. The discussion highlights the importance of relevance in setting goals, challenging the notion that specificity alone guarantees effectiveness. Learn to prioritize what truly matters to you and embrace small, actionable steps towards your objectives. Engage in proactive conversations with management to pave clearer paths for growth. The podcast also emphasizes using milestone goals as stepping stones to larger achievements, ensuring a sustainable approach to career success.

14 snips
Jul 23, 2025 • 24min
Your Capacity for Growth Is Dependent on This Factor - Cognitive Load Theory
Delve into the fascinating world of Cognitive Load Theory and its impact on productivity. Learn how structuring your workday and team dynamics can enhance your learning capacity. Discover the balance between overloading and underloading cognitive capacity for optimal performance. External factors, from personal life to workspace organization, can drain your cognitive resources. Gain insights into skill development as a way to reduce cognitive load, enabling greater efficiency. Finally, embrace self-awareness and empathy to support better team dynamics.

29 snips
Jul 17, 2025 • 16min
Investigating Your Invisible Systems
Explore how the systems you've created, whether by design or by accident, shape your life outcomes. Discover the surprising role of invisible factors that influence behavior, such as environmental cues and unexamined rules. Understand that your intent does not solely dictate results, prompting a reevaluation of how you assess systems in your daily life. This deep dive into the concept of accidental design reveals compelling insights into human behavior and offers opportunities for meaningful change.

6 snips
Jul 9, 2025 • 20min
Perfection Is Fragile, and You Should Avoid It
The pursuit of perfection can be perilous, leading to stress and unrealistic expectations. Striving for absolute 100% may cause plans to crumble under pressure, exemplified by the 'Wheaties effect' in sports. Embracing flexibility and building redundancy into your systems can foster resilience. This approach allows for better adaptation to unexpected changes, making goals more achievable. Ultimately, avoiding the trap of perfectionism paves the way for healthier progress and sustainable outcomes.

6 snips
Jul 3, 2025 • 18min
Your System is Perfectly Designed for Your Current Outcomes
Explore the intriguing idea that your system is perfectly designed for the outcomes it produces, provoking thoughts on accountability for systemic issues. Dive into how redefined boundaries can include critical elements like talent, leading to more effective solutions. Understand the difference between evaluating outcomes and designing systems that proactively enhance success. Discover how system thinking encapsulates not just architecture, but culture and relationships, all playing a vital role in achieving desirable results.

11 snips
Jun 25, 2025 • 13min
Using LLMs To Expand Your Working Vocabulary
Explore how building a strong vocabulary can propel your career forward, especially in tech. Discover the importance of embracing conceptual understanding over mere word definitions. Learn how Large Language Models can refine your vocabulary and help navigate career disruptions. Dive into mental models, diagrams, and programming paradigms that expand your thinking. By mastering the 'why' and 'when' of concepts, you equip yourself with powerful skills for any transition.

12 snips
Jun 18, 2025 • 23min
Great Reviews and Terrible Tacos - Sharpening Substitute Questions with Counterfactuals
Dive into the fascinating world of substitute questions and how they can simplify complex inquiries, but often lead to biases. Explore the power of counterfactual thinking to challenge your assumptions and enhance decision-making. Learn two key techniques: asking 'what else could be true?' to uncover alternative explanations and using thought experiments to refine your personal and career goals. Discover how this approach can improve hiring processes and minimize confirmation bias in problem-solving.

10 snips
Jun 13, 2025 • 23min
Why Maintenance Matters Now - Construal Level Theory, Marshmallows, and Hyperbolic Discounting
Explore the fascinating psychological bias of hyperbolic discounting, where instant rewards overshadow long-term gains. Discover the 'maintenance paradox' that reveals how unnoticed upkeep can detract from our sense of achievement. Listen as the importance of adopting a maintenance mindset is emphasized, showcasing how consistent attention to tasks like clearing emails or changing guitar strings can significantly enhance life quality. The discussion ties in relatable examples of procrastination and the impact of neglecting essential maintenance in both personal and professional settings.

23 snips
Jun 5, 2025 • 8min
Follow This Principle - Establish Your Baselines
Discover the importance of knowing your personal baselines to recognize changes in your life and career. Learn how measuring daily habits, like work hours and eating patterns, can empower you to make conscious decisions. Explore key metrics such as health indicators and energy levels that help identify positive shifts or signs of burnout. By establishing these operating norms, you can enhance your awareness and improve your overall well-being.

7 snips
May 22, 2025 • 14min
Advice on Advice - Taking Everything with a Grain of Salt
Navigating the twists and turns of career advice can be challenging. The discussion emphasizes the need to critically evaluate feedback and contextualize advice, even from trusted sources. Interesting insights reveal that positive feedback doesn't guarantee success, as unexpected events can disrupt plans. Resilience is key—preparing for luck and potential failures is essential. Ultimately, the conversation encourages listeners to view advice as a fluid exchange of experiences rather than concrete rules, fostering a community dialogue.