Imagine a world where your engineering team ships features at lightning speed, and they're genuinely happy doing it. Sounds like a fantasy? It doesn't have to be. This week, we're diving into the secrets of building high-performing, happy engineering teams with Thanos Diacakis, a fractional CTO and engineering coach with over 25 years of experience spanning companies like Uber, where he optimizes software engineering teams and drives technical innovation. Thanos reveals the common mental models that hold teams back, why 'technical debt' is a myth, and how to break free from the 'feature factory' mindset. Together, he and Andrew explore practical strategies for achieving engineering excellence, from mastering iterations to managing complexity, and discover how to build a culture where velocity and happiness go hand in hand. Check out: Translating DevEx to the Board Beyond the DORA Frameworks Introducing AI-Powered Code Review with gitStream Follow the hosts: Follow Ben Follow Andrew Follow today's guest(s): Thanos Diacakis www.cosmicteacups.com Referenced in today's show: FOSS infrastructure is under attack by AI companies Programming is dying. Software development is booming. 1 in 3 Americans say they have layoff anxiety OFFERS Start Free Trial: Get started with LinearB's AI productivity platform for free. Book a Demo: Learn how you can ship faster, improve DevEx, and lead with confidence in the AI era. LEARN ABOUT LINEARB AI Code Reviews: Automate reviews to catch bugs, security risks, and performance issues before they hit production. AI & Productivity Insights: Go beyond DORA with AI-powered recommendations and dashboards to measure and improve performance. AI-Powered Workflow Automations: Use AI-generated PR descriptions, smart routing, and other automations to reduce developer toil. MCP Server: Interact with your engineering data using natural language to build custom reports and get answers on the fly.
