Engineering Empathy: How Anton Zaides Bridges the Gap Between Developers and Business Needs

In this insightful episode of Product Driven, host Matt Watson connects with Anton Zaides, an engineering manager from Israel, to explore how developers can better understand the business context and big picture behind their work. They dive into the transformative impact of AI coding tools, the critical importance of developer empathy, and how firsthand experience with end users dramatically improves product decisions.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Matt and Anton discuss how AI coding tools are dramatically accelerating development, requiring engineers to understand the business context more deeply to make independent decisions. Matt and Anton agree that the traditional separation between "product decides what, engineering decides how" is breaking down, and successful organizations need to distribute product thinking across the entire team.

🔗 Essential Links (Start Here!):

Full Episodes: https://product-driven.captivate.fm/episodes

Connect with Matt Watson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwatsonkc/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://fullscaleteam.com/newsletter

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Powered by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/

Connect with Anton Zaides: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anton-zaides/

Check out Manager.dev: https://www.manager.dev/

Key Discussion Points:

How AI coding tools like Cursor are creating a 5-6x productivity boost and shifting development bottlenecks

The importance of connecting engineers directly to business outcomes and customer experiences

Anton's journey to becoming a licensed drone pilot to understand his agricultural tech customers truly

Breaking down silos between product management and engineering teams

The future evolution of product and engineering roles in an AI-accelerated development world

Episode Chapters:

00:03 - Introduction and Background

01:01 - The Impact of AI on Development Speed

02:18 - Shifting Bottlenecks in Software Development

04:45 - Product Manager and Engineer Dynamics

07:01 - Creating Customer Feedback Loops

09:10 - Anton's Experience Becoming a Drone Pilot

11:52 - The Value of Firsthand User Experience

14:04 - Empathy and Caring for Users

16:24 - Understanding Customer Problems vs Just Using Software

19:22 - Overcoming Fear of Public Content Creation

22:26 - Encouraging Developers to Share Their Work

25:54 - The Evolution of Product and Engineering Roles

29:37 - The Future of Engineering Management

Whether you're in engineering leadership, product management, or development, this conversation offers practical strategies for breaking down silos and creating more empathetic, business-focused engineering teams.

The Developer as the Product: Cory House on Building a Personal Brand in Tech 🚀

In this engaging episode of Product Driven, host Matt Watson reconnects with long-time colleague Cory House, a renowned React consultant, Pluralsight author, and software development thought leader. They explore the fascinating journey of building a personal brand in technology. Cory shares his evolution from full-time developer to independent consultant and how he leveraged content creation, conference speaking, and specialized expertise to create a sustainable business.

Cory reveals how narrowing his focus to become a React specialist dramatically increased client inquiries, and shares practical advice on risk management for those considering the independent path. He emphasizes the importance of building your reputation and client base before making the leap to independence, noting that true independence requires intentional preparation rather than impulsive decisions.

🔗 Essential Links (Start Here!):

Full Episodes: https://product-driven.captivate.fm/episodes

Connect with Matt Watson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwatsonkc/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://fullscaleteam.com/newsletter

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Powered by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/

GET THE PRODUCT DRIVEN BOOK: https://productdriven.com/book

Connect with Cory House:

Twitter/X: @housecor

Website: https://reactjsconsulting.com

Courses: https://pluralsight.com/authors/cory-house

Key Discussion Points:

The incremental path to independence: building a side business while maintaining full-time employment

Specialized marketing strategies that generated client opportunities without traditional advertising

Balancing work, personal time, and productivity as an independent consultant

The power of consistent content creation and reputation-building in technical fields

Strategic specialization and how to navigate technology trends without getting trapped

Episode Chapters:

00:01 - Introduction and Background

01:16 - The Beginning of Cory's Consulting Journey

03:12 - Balancing Personal Time and Productivity

04:51 - Building a Reputation Through Speaking and Content

07:23 - The Path from Social Anxiety to Public Speaking

09:33 - The Long Game of Building a Personal Brand

11:27 - From Side Business to Full Independence

14:22 - The Transition to Full-Time Independence

16:45 - Finding Clients and Managing Risk

18:47 - Content Marketing as a Business Strategy

21:00 - Finding Focus and Audience on Social Media

23:41 - Technology Specialization and Future Trends

27:54 - The Flexibility of Software Development Skills

29:17 - Single Page Applications and Technology Trends

31:42 - Where to Find Cory Online

Discover the strategies that transformed Cory from a developer with anxiety about public speaking to a globally recognized technology consultant who's worked with 75 companies over the past decade. A must-listen for...

The Silent Crisis of Engineering Success: When Output Overshadows Outcomes

In this intellectually provocative monologue, Matt Watson challenges the conventional metrics of engineering success, exposing the fundamental disconnect between shipping code and creating genuine customer value. Through compelling narrative and pointed questions, Matt illuminates how the traditional focus on velocity and output has created teams that celebrate deployment rather than impact—leading to the hollow silence of features that fail to resonate with users.

As AI accelerates development capabilities, this philosophical misalignment becomes increasingly problematic, demanding a fundamental shift toward product-driven leadership that prioritizes customer outcomes over engineering throughput.

🔗 Essential Links (Start Here!):

Full Episodes: https://product-driven.captivate.fm/episodes

Connect with Matt Watson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwatsonkc/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://fullscaleteam.com/newsletter

Get our FREE Ebook: https://fullscaleteam.com/productfirstteams

Powered by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/

GET THE PRODUCT DRIVEN BOOK: https://productdriven.com/book

Key Discussion Points:

🧠 The existential disconnect between engineering metrics and customer impact

💡 How AI amplifies the consequences of poor product decision-making

🔄 The psychological toll of shipping features that receive no celebration or feedback

⚡ Three transformative strategies for shifting from output-focused to outcome-driven leadership

📊 Redefining "done" as customer impact rather than deployment completion

🌱 Celebrate building rituals around customer value rather than engineering milestones

Three actionable approaches to transition toward product-driven leadership:

Ask Better Questions - Shift from "what are we building?" to "what problem are we solving?"

Redefine Done - Move beyond code deployment to measuring customer impact

Celebrate Differently - Create rituals around customer success stories rather than release dates

Chapters:

0:00 - The silence that follows deployment

0:38 - The motivational crisis of engineering teams

1:17 - How AI is changing engineering fundamentals

2:38 - The philosophical shift from output to outcomes

3:20 - Three strategies for product-driven leadership

5:02 - The challenge: measuring what truly matters

This profound exploration of engineering leadership philosophy serves as both a warning and a roadmap for technical leaders navigating the AI revolution. By questioning the fundamental metrics that drive engineering culture, Matt provides a compelling vision for engineering teams that celebrate impact rather than merely shipping code.