Build Your Edge

Jeremy Burns
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Build Your Edge is for ambitious people in tech who want to keep growing in how they think, lead, and deliver. Each week, Jeremy Burns talks with people who’ve built their edge: leaders, founders, creators, and coaches who’ve done the work, learned the hard lessons, and come away sharper. Every episode delivers something you can use straight away; a mindset shift, a proven strategy, or a practical tool to help you lead better, move faster, and make an impact. The show runs on three simple principles: • Audience first – every guest brings real value, not self-promotion. • Clarity and focus – one clear topic, explored in depth. • Action over talk – every episode comes with a free digital download so you can put what you’ve learned into practice. If you’re serious about levelling up in your work and career, Build Your Edge will show you how.

  1. Engineers Who Communicate, Win

    9H AGO

    Engineers Who Communicate, Win

    Technical people are often brilliant at solving problems, but not always at explaining them. In this episode, Jeremy sits down with Ben Pearce, a former Microsoft leader, founder of Elevated You, and host of the Tech World Human Skills podcast, to explore why communication has become one of the most important skills in modern technical careers. Ben spent more than a decade leading technical teams at Microsoft before realising that many engineers, architects, and technical leaders were being held back by one thing: their ability to communicate ideas clearly to other people. Together, Jeremy and Ben unpack: Why technical teams struggle to influence stakeholdersThe common communication mistakes engineers makeHow to explain complex ideas without dumbing them downWhy emotion and storytelling matter in technical conversationsHow communication impacts promotions, leadership, and career growthBen’s AOREN framework for structuring clearer, more persuasive communicationThis isn’t about becoming a motivational speaker or “salesperson”. It’s about learning how to communicate technical ideas in a way that people understand, remember, and act on. Whether you are explaining architecture decisions, presenting to leadership, working with customers, or trying to get buy-in from your team, this episode is packed with practical advice you can apply immediately. If you have ever felt frustrated that your ideas are not landing the way they should, this episode is for you.

    58 min
  2. Hiring Masterclass Part 2: The Debrief

    MAY 12

    Hiring Masterclass Part 2: The Debrief

    In Part 2 of this Hiring Masterclass, former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O’Neill explains how great hiring teams compare evidence, challenge assumptions, and make confident decisions about who joins the team. The interview only gathers the evidence. The real hiring decision happens in the debrief. Sean shares the debrief practices he learned and refined across thousands of interviews, including blind voting, structured scoring, re-voting, candidate ranking, and how to avoid bias, groupthink, and the loudest voice in the room. You’ll learn how to run a focused debrief, when to challenge the panel, how to handle split decisions, why “on the fence” is a weak vote, and how to decide whether a candidate truly raises the bar. If you hire people, manage teams, or want to understand what happens after the interview, this episode is for you. Find details of Part 1: The Craft of Interviewing, here: https://www.buildyouredge.org/community/podcasts/episodes/the-hiring-masterclass-part-1-the-craft-of-interviewing

    48 min
  3. Hiring Masterclass Part 1: The Craft of Interviewing

    APR 21

    Hiring Masterclass Part 1: The Craft of Interviewing

    Hiring is the highest-leverage decision a leader makes. Choose the wrong person and they can drain energy, slow the team down, and create problems for months. Choose well and you strengthen the entire organisation. In this episode, former Amazon Bar Raiser Sean O’Neill shares the interviewing techniques he developed after conducting thousands of interviews and hiring hundreds of people across Amazon, Tesco, and global technology organisations. Sean explains how great interviewers uncover real evidence of ability using experiential questions, the STAR method, and what he calls the investigative journalist approach to interviewing. You’ll learn how to probe beyond polished answers, distinguish drivers from passengers, and spot candidates who can talk a great game but lack real depth, skills that matter even more in a world of AI-assisted candidates and increasingly rehearsed interviews. Whether you hire people, manage teams, or want to perform better in interviews yourself, this episode will help you understand what great interviewing actually looks like. This is Part 1 of a two-part Hiring Masterclass. In Part 2, we go inside the hiring debrief, where the real decision gets made. Sean also shares the interview and hiring debrief template he has used for years to help teams run structured hiring discussions and make confident decisions.

    1h 29m
  4. The Hidden Costs of AI

    MAR 24

    The Hidden Costs of AI

    AI is moving fast. Faster than most of us can fully process. It promises efficiency, creativity, and progress. But what might we be losing along the way? In this episode, Eloisa Tovee explores the hidden costs of AI, from the impact on jobs, critical thinking, and creativity to deeper concerns around bias, online harm, misinformation, and the erosion of human connection. As a UN Delegate for Women in the UK and a writer working at the centre of this shift, Eloisa brings a clear, grounded perspective on how AI is shaping society, and who is most affected. This conversation goes beyond the hype to ask better questions: what are we trading off, who is being left behind, and how do we stay human in an AI-driven world?

    1h 34m
  5. Burnout Happens Gradually... Then Suddenly

    MAR 10

    Burnout Happens Gradually... Then Suddenly

    Burnout rarely arrives overnight. For many leaders, it builds quietly over time, until one day it suddenly becomes impossible to ignore. In this episode, Jeremy speaks with Andy Skipper, CEO and Founder of CTO Craft, about why burnout is so common among CTOs and senior technology leaders, how it develops gradually, and what happens when leaders finally hit the wall. Andy shares his own experience of burning out early in his CTO career and the PTSD-like symptoms that followed after leaving the role. Together, they explore how the pressure of startup environments, unclear expectations, and the transition from engineer to leader can slowly push people toward exhaustion, self-doubt, and cynicism. They discuss how to recognise the warning signs in yourself and others, why burnout can spread through teams and organisations if left unchecked, and what practical steps leaders and companies can take to prevent it. Andy also introduces a simple four-stage approach to dealing with burnout: recognising it earlytaking immediate actionchanging the conditions that caused itbuilding a healthier long-term environmentIf you’re a CTO, engineering leader, founder, or ambitious technologist who feels close to the edge — or you simply want to build a sustainable career without sacrificing your health — this episode offers practical insight and reassurance from someone who has been through it and now helps thousands of leaders find their way back.

    59 min
  6. The Career Advice That's Ruining Your Future

    FEB 17

    The Career Advice That's Ruining Your Future

    We were all given the same advice. Pick a lane. Specialise. Stick to the plan. Work hard. Climb steadily. For decades, that approach made sense. In a stable world, depth and certainty were safe bets. But the world of work isn’t stable anymore. In this episode, Jeremy sits down with Kieran Cornwall to challenge the very foundation of modern career advice. Together, they explore why rigid career paths can quietly limit your potential, and why a fundamental shift in mindset may be the difference between stagnating and thriving. This isn’t an argument against specialisation. It’s an argument against rigidity. Kieran shares the perspective he’s built across banking, media, software engineering and consulting and explains why careers built on direction rather than fixed plans are better equipped for uncertainty. You’ll hear: Why following a predefined “career map” can box you inThe difference between certainty and directionWhy adaptability is becoming a defining advantageHow to think beyond the lane you were trained to stay inWhat it really means to build range without driftingIf you’ve ever felt stuck, boxed in, or unsure whether the path you’re on still fits this conversation will challenge how you think about progress, growth and long-term success. Because the safest career strategy may no longer be playing it safe.

    57 min
  7. Build A Business You Can Rely On

    JAN 27

    Build A Business You Can Rely On

    Leaving corporate to work independently sounds simple. Take your experience, pick your clients, set your own terms. In reality, many consultants, fractional leaders, and NEDs discover something else instead: unpredictable income, one “client that feels like a job”, and a constant low-level anxiety about what happens next. In this episode, I sit down with Dan Gwalter to unpack why this happens and how to avoid it. Dan has lived this journey end to end. After leaving a FTSE 100 technology leadership role, he built a profitable consulting business the hard way, learned where most independents go wrong, and turned those lessons into a clear operating model that helps others build businesses they can actually rely on. This conversation is not about hacks, personal branding tricks, or “just post more on LinkedIn”. It’s about structure. Together, we explore: Why most independent professionals aren’t failing — they’re just operating without a systemThe difference between being a “fractional employee” and running a real businessHow to define the right clients, the right offers, and the right problems to solveWhy visibility alone doesn’t create clients — and what actually doesHow to design an operating rhythm that works alongside delivery, not against itThe psychological side of independence: confidence, self-doubt, and identity shiftsDan also walks through the core elements of The Fractional Formula: an operating model designed to help consultants, fractional leaders, and NEDs build predictable deal flow, reduce fragility, and create momentum they can sustain. If you’re thinking about going independent, already working as a consultant or fractional leader, or building a portfolio career and want it to feel stable rather than stressful, this episode will give you clarity, reassurance, and a practical path forward. This is about building a business you can rely on, not winging it and hoping for the best.

    1h 19m
  8. From Side Hustle to Full-Time Business

    JAN 6

    From Side Hustle to Full-Time Business

    If you’ve got the seed of an idea you keep pushing aside, you owe it to yourself to explore it. Not to quit your job. Not to take a reckless leap. But to see whether it could become something real. This episode is for senior leaders who feel successful on paper but quietly stuck; people who sense there’s more they could be building, yet don’t know where to start or how to do it safely. We are joined by Ken Valledy, who talks through a practical, low-risk way to turn a side hustle into a real business; one that gives you options and a way out of the corporate rat race, without blowing up your life. You’ll hear: Why leaving your job isn’t the goal; starting isHow small steps create momentum long before money shows upWhat happens when you say your idea out loud for the first timeHow to test, shape, and validate an idea while keeping your jobThe five simple moves that take you from “what if?” to real progressKen shares his R.E.A.C.T. model, a framework designed to help you go from zero to one: getting your idea out of your head, into the world, and onto a path that could eventually support you full time. If you feel the itch to do something of your own and don’t want to look back in five years wishing you’d tried, this conversation will help you take the first step.

    1h 7m
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About

Build Your Edge is for ambitious people in tech who want to keep growing in how they think, lead, and deliver. Each week, Jeremy Burns talks with people who’ve built their edge: leaders, founders, creators, and coaches who’ve done the work, learned the hard lessons, and come away sharper. Every episode delivers something you can use straight away; a mindset shift, a proven strategy, or a practical tool to help you lead better, move faster, and make an impact. The show runs on three simple principles: • Audience first – every guest brings real value, not self-promotion. • Clarity and focus – one clear topic, explored in depth. • Action over talk – every episode comes with a free digital download so you can put what you’ve learned into practice. If you’re serious about levelling up in your work and career, Build Your Edge will show you how.

Information

  • Creator
    Jeremy Burns
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Jeremy Burns
  • Show Website
    Build Your Edge