The masks are off. After five years and 200 episodes, we share our real names, real faces, and the real playbooks behind our careers—what worked, what didn’t, and why we’re changing how this community grows. We start with the origin story: two friends who turned lunch rants into a living archive of corporate survival. Anthony traces a winding path from QA to automation, into sales engineering and national architecture, before vaulting into marketing with a technical edge. Michael recounts a non-linear climb through Apple business sales and support into software engineering, then product management, where he learned to earn trust by knowing both the customer and the code. From there we get honest about the messy middle—blocked promotions due to rigid bands, the danger of cutting core expertise, and the decision points that demand courage. We break down why great sales engineers talk value, not features, and why the most effective PMs can test a beta, read a stack trace, and still explain decisions in plain English. We contrast startup scope with big-company prestige, exploring how wearing every hat accelerates learning, and how leading global product teams at a theme park changes how you think about friction, scale, and burnout. This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a guide for navigating pivots, negotiating pay ceilings, moving from support to SE, or stepping from engineering into product without losing the plot. We share the CAC framework—culture, autonomy, challenge, compensation—to evaluate whether to stay, reshape, or go. And we open the door wider: more guests, more live streams, and more practical help shaped by your questions. If you’ve ever wondered how to choose the next move, get unstuck under a manager who blocks growth, or translate technical depth into career leverage, you’ll find clear steps and real stories here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what career puzzle should we tackle next? Support the show Click/Tap HERE for everything Corporate Strategy Elevator Music by Julian Avila Promoted by MrSnooze Don't forget ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ it helps!
