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

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

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.

Product Strategies for Lasting Success: Stephen Pollack on Building Big Picture Plans 🚀

In this enlightening episode of Product Driven, host Matt Watson welcomes veteran tech leader Stephen Pollack of InsightSpin to explore why software developers and organizations struggle with understanding the big picture. Drawing from decades of industry experience, Stephen shares invaluable insights on creating sustainable product strategies, balancing customer-driven development with innovation, and leveraging AI as a strategic team member.

Stephen Pollack shares how successful companies avoid the trap of short-term thinking and maintain focus on their North Star vision. He emphasizes that AI represents a transformational technology that can serve as a valuable team member when properly leveraged, particularly for documentation and knowledge synthesis.

🔗 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/

Connect with Stephen Pollack:

Website: https://insightspin.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenpollack/

Key Discussion Points:

Why businesses often fail to create and maintain big-picture product plans

How to balance stakeholder input without falling into consensus paralysis

The critical importance of focus in product development

Strategies for preserving innovation while serving existing customers

Practical applications of AI in product management and documentation

Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction and Welcome

00:34 - Why Developers Struggle with the Big Picture

02:22 - Stakeholder Alignment Challenges

04:05 - Leadership Decision-Making Dynamics

07:21 - Focus as a Critical Success Factor

09:44 - AI's Impact on Product Development

14:40 - Balancing Customer-Driven vs. Innovation-Driven Approaches

21:15 - The "Shitification" Challenge of Established Products

24:43 - Risk Aversion and Market Disruption

28:37 - Stephen's Background and Services

Don't miss this insightful conversation that will challenge you to think beyond tactical implementation and embrace strategic product planning for lasting success.