Best Work cord

In this conversation, Ben speaks to Kimeshan Naidoo, the CTO at BX, and former co-founder and CTO at UniBuddy. They explore stress, health, meditation, stoic beliefs, and the philosophies that guide Kimeshan’s working life.

In this conversation, Ben speaks to Mike Fisher, the (outgoing) CTO at Etsy.
Mike and Ben discuss why he sees high-performing teams as “accountability communities”. Why grounding our identity firmly in our job title is misguided. How he’s found the courage to ask critical questions of himself and his peers. Why his career has been defined more by running towards things he loves than away from things. And why scrutiny is important to his work.
Mike has built multiple consequential companies - and through his insights - it is clear why he is so well regarded.

In this conversation, Ben speaks to David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails - and Co-owner & CTO of 37signals - the company behind Basecamp and Hey.com.
They explore David’s past and it’s influence on his work. Why he finds meaning by pushing himself harder. Stoicism and its continuing influence on David’s life. How to externalise factors beyond our control. How to work through adversity. The differences between loyalty and obligation. The meaning of legacy, and much more.
It makes for the type of conversation Ben wishes he'd had years ago, and one he won’t forget.

In this conversation Ben speaks to the Founder and Chief CTO Coach at CTO Craft, Andy Skipper. Andy was previously the CTO at MADE.com, Lumitrix and Comic Relief before founding CTO Craft.
After finding himself in a CTO role at a pre-product startup almost by accident, Andy had his first experience of burnout. Experiences like this early on in his career seem to have fuelled Andy to look for opportunities that save people from similar circumstances, highlighting red flags to people early so they don’t have to learn through experience.
They discuss self-awareness, Andy’s early influences and the value of professional coaching, as well as Andy’s own experience with chronic illness and how that’s affected how he uses his energy effectively.
Andy has a deep care for individuals, learning from environments where he wasn’t able to access the support he needed to grow. He now places a lot of focus on helping to improve the individuals within a team, not the entire unit, putting more emphasis on a coaching style of leadership, driven by empathy.
Their conversation is highly personal - and by going so deep - they uncover truths all of us experience - but don’t articulate.
Multiple people recommended Ben speak to Andy - and after listening - he thinks you’ll see why

In this conversation, Ben speaks to Sara Stephens, CTO & Co-founder at Rest Less.
Her own story is a distinctive one, which has seen her uproot herself geographically throughout her life. Sara speaks in detail about the process of self re-invention that accompanies each of these shifts. And she shares how she realised that other needs besides her financial ones could be satisfied through work.
Rest Less is a digital community for people in their 50s and 60s, with support on a range of topics including work and careers. As such, it is unsurprising that the impact, and irrationality, of ageism at work is one area on which Sara shares her insight during their discussion - one that many of us over look.

In this conversation, Ben speaks to Min Ong. Min is the ex CTO at nate and now an Engineering Manager at WeTransfer.
They discuss how Min transitioned from an IC role to a managerial one - a move that was not straight forward. They talk through the challenges associated with changing your place of work, and the importance of creating environments where people can safely reflect.
At every step, Min accepts the challenge of being true to her intrinsic long-term motivators - and their conversation is a deep dive into the mind of someone not willing to sacrifice what matters to them.