How to Build a High-Impact Engineering Team with Allstacks CEO

Billion Dollar Tech

“Think about it like you have two train tracks,” explains Hersh Tapadia, co-founder and CEO of Allstacks, “with the engineering train and the business train. Occasionally they stop at the same station, and everyone gets excited, but for the most part they’re running on these parallel tracks.” In other words, within many companies, engineers and high-level managers aren’t communicating properly. The business side doesn’t know what engineering does and therefore engineering doesn’t know what value it’s contributing to the company or the client they’re meant to serve. Allstacks, which calls itself “a platform for the voice of engineering,” provides software organizations a clear view into project status, team performance and trends, making it obvious to all in a company just what value engineers deliver to their company’s end goal.

Understanding their value has far-reaching implications beyond job satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose. It allows engineers to better name their price points and salaries, and have a say in the boardroom. Overall, clear communication in any employment ecosystem is vital, where even wanting to be too helpful has its drawbacks.

It’s more difficult than one might think to hire engineers now, and Hersh discusses the non-negotiables that potential hires are looking for. They extend beyond salary and the individual to benefits for the spouse and family, like parental leave and work culture. Join the discussion to hear more, including what happens when everyone in a company is willing to fall on their sword.

Quotes:

“You can build things all day long, but if it’s not creating value, are you really efficient?” (2:14-2:21 | Hersh)

“What we’re doing wrong as engineering contributors, engineering leaders, engineering teams is we’re allowing ourselves to be disconnected from the value. We’re not fighting for the value we’re creating.” (9:31-9:49 | Hersh)

“From the business side there’s often ignorance and from the engineering side there’s often malaise. So how do we reconcile the two? We have to find ways to connect the activities that engineering is doing to the outcomes that it’s influencing, so you can draw a line to the value that’s being created.” (10:22-10:41 | Hersh)

“Humans are generally not as good at communicating as they think they are.” (18:03-18:06 | Hersh)

“People are so much less productive than they think they are.” (28:59-29:02 | Brendan)

“On the outcome side, and we’ve talked about this a lot, it’s fairly simple. Make it so that people find meaning in what they do, so they understand the impact, they understand the intent. And if they can draw that line between the work that they’re doing and the goals of the organization that they’re a part of, then they’re going to make more holistic, product minded decisions every day they work, and you’re going to get better outcomes as a result of it.” (39:26-39:56 | Hersh)

“Where the extra comp becomes really important is, if I can’t find real meaning in the work that I do, I might as well make as much money as I can. And if I can’t solve for as much money as I can, I’m damn well going to solve for making a really impactful, really positive, really strong culture, together, that everyone has a voice in, so that they can find purpose day to day.” (43:51-44:17 | Hersh)

Connect with Brendan Dell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandell/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendanDell Instagram: @thebrendandellTikTok: @brendandell39 Buy a copy of Brendan’s Book, The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578210926

Connect with Hersh Tapadia and Allstacks:LinkedIn: @hershtapadiaTwitter: @hershtapadiaFacebook: @hershtapadiaInstagram: @hershtapadiaTikTok: @:hershtpadiaWebsite: www.allstacks.com Check out Hersh Tapadia’s recommended read:

Predictably Irrational by Dr. Dan Ariely

https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=Predictably+Irrational+

Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Billion Dollar Tech on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Use code Brendan30 for 30% off your annual membership with RiverSide.fm

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm