Steve Taplin

CEO at Sonatafy, AI/ML led Nearshore Software Development synced with US time zones for maximum Productivity & Collaboration | Forbes & Entrepreneur Author

As CEO of Sonatafy Technology, I help enterprise companies scale smarter by building nearshore engineering teams that deliver AI-powered, custom software solutions at enterprise velocity.

Our teams are composed of senior LATAM engineers who work in your time zone, speak your language, and integrate seamlessly into your existing workflows. We help tech leaders accelerate digital transformation, embed AI into their products, and ship software that actually moves the business forward.

Over the course of my career, I’ve founded and led more than 30 companies. Twenty failed. Ten succeeded. That journey shaped my best-selling book Fail Hard, Win Big, where I reveal the strategic power of custom software and the business lessons only failure can teach.

I also host the podcast Software Leaders UNCENSORED, now with over 80 episodes, featuring candid conversations with top CTOs, founders, and engineering executives who are defining what’s next in software and AI.

As a contributor to Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine, I focus on helping leaders build resilient organizations, make bold decisions, and avoid the costly missteps that stall growth and innovation.

Let’s connect if:
➤ You need a fresh approach to engineering velocity
➤ You’re curious about nearshore but want a trusted partner
➤ Or you just want to trade stories from the startup trenches

➤ Learn more at sonatafy.com or DM me.

Chief Executive Officer & Board Member

Sonatafy Technology is a premier nearshore software development services company that provides its clients with expertise in Cloud Solutions, Web and Mobile Applications, E-Commerce, Big Data, DevOps Practices, QA, IoT, and Machine Learning.   With current and past signature clients such as IBM, FOX, Cisco, TaylorMade, Caterpillar, Alcatel, and more. Sonatafy Technology helps software teams perform at their best.

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Mathias Herzog, CEO of Korn Ferry Digital Business and President of Global Technology Industries, one of the world’s most influential leaders at the intersection of people, technology, and strategy.

From his early days in consulting to executive roles at Deloitte, Infosys, and Salesforce, Mathias has built a career out of scaling complex organizations, and now he’s driving Korn Ferry’s transformation into a digital powerhouse.

In this episode, Mathias shared:
• How a small-town kid from Southern Germany ended up in San Francisco’s tech boom, working with the biggest technology firms of the early 2000s.
• His journey from consulting to execution, leaving advisory work to “get his hands dirty” as an operator, first at Salesforce, then at Automation Anywhere, helping lead their shift from on-prem to the cloud.
• Why he joined Korn Ferry, and how he’s now leading their $400M+ digital business, a SaaS operation inside a $3B global enterprise.
• What makes Korn Ferry Digital unique: a massive repository of proprietary data, IP, and talent science, now being unified into a single enterprise platform.
• How he’s building an engineering organization of 600+ people across the U.S. and India, and the art of managing time zones, collaboration, and productivity at scale.
• Why the biggest opportunity lies in combining software + services, merging product-led innovation with human consulting expertise.
• How Korn Ferry defines an AI-ready leader, blending technical literacy with curiosity, adaptability, and self-awareness.

Mathias’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “Listen first, chances are, someone already had that great idea and couldn’t get it off the ground. Surround yourself with smart, driven people who challenge you. And don’t get distracted by shiny objects. Focus, deliver, and land what you start.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Podcast
#KornFerry
#SteveTaplin
#MathiasHerzog
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

sonatafy

sonatafy-technology-mexico

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Talks about #culture, #entrepreneurship, #softwaredevelopment, #softwareengineerjobs, and #nearshoresoftwaredevelopment

The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast

CEO, Korn Ferry Digital // President, Global Technology Industries at Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry

CEO, Sonatafy-Scaling Engineering Teams w/ Senior LATAM Talent | Host, Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast | Best-Selling Author, Fail Hard, Win Big | Forbes & Entrepreneur Contributor

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Edward Calvesbert, VP of Product Management for IBM watsonx at IBM, the man helping lead IBM’s next generation of AI for business.

With over 20 years of experience driving digital transformation, Edward brings a unique, insider perspective on how one of the world’s biggest tech companies is shaping the enterprise AI revolution, from governance and data strategy to real-world AI deployment at scale.

In this episode, Edward shared:
• How IBM evolved from Watson to WatsonX, building a full-stack AI platform for training, governance, and data orchestration across enterprises.
• Why AI for business is fundamentally different from consumer AI, focusing on security, data privacy, and reliability instead of poetry and parlor tricks.
• How WatsonX integrates GenAI, data governance, and AI lifecycle management to help companies build safe, compliant, and scalable solutions.
• The rise of the semantic layer, bridging structured enterprise data with large language models so AI can “speak the language of your business.”
• Edward explained why 95% of AI projects fail, not because of the models, but because of poor data, missing governance, and a lack of enterprise readiness.
• The importance of building data lakehouse architectures that unify analytics and data warehousing using open standards like Iceberg and Delta Lake.
• Why true success comes from connecting stochastic (non-deterministic) models with structured enterprise data in meaningful, contextual ways.
• How GenAI is revolutionizing software development at scale: “A good developer using GenAI can be 100x more productive than one who isn’t.”
• Developers now spend less time writing code and more time understanding massive codebases, refactoring legacy systems, and applying AI-assisted quality assurance.
• Why IBM treats GenAI deployment just like software development, with CI/CD, testing, and quality management baked in from day one.
• His advice for companies starting out:
“Start with internal use cases, sales, HR, customer support, where humans stay in the loop. You’ll learn faster, and you’ll manage risk better.”

Edward’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “Get your hands on it. Don’t just talk about AI, use it. Build something with a GenAI coding tool. Once you do, you’ll see how much it changes your expectations of yourself and your team.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#IBM
#Podcast
#WatsonX
#SteveTaplin
#EdwardKelsbert
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Fullstory isn’t just about session replay; it’s redefining digital experience and analytics.

In my conversation with Claire Fang, CPTO of Fullstory, we explored how Fullstory enables organizations to truly understand their users by transforming behavioral data into actionable insights.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Sonatafy
#Fullstory
#Analytics
#Innovation
#ClaireFang
#SteveTaplin
#DigitalExperience
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Chief Product & Technology Officer, Fullstory | (ex-Facebook, Microsoft, McKinsey, Qualtrics) | Ph.D. in Computer Engineering

Fullstory

AI has the power to transform healthcare, but only if we prioritize the customer.

In my conversation with Chris Sullens, CEO of CentralReach, we discussed how innovation is meaningless unless it improves care, access, and outcomes for patients.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Podcast
#SteveTaplin
#ChrisSullens
#CentralReach
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Michael Campbell, a 35-year tech veteran, serial entrepreneur, and longtime CEO, now leading the charge as CEO of Fusion Risk Management, the global leader in operational resilience.

Michael’s career spans from startups to the C-suite at FICO, and today he helps Fortune 500 companies stay operational through various challenges, including pandemics, cyberattacks, and global crises.

In this episode, Michael shared:
• How Fusion Risk Management created the concept of operational resilience, combining business continuity, risk management, and incident response into one unified platform.
• Why Fusion’s clients, including 21 of the world’s largest banks, rely on the platform to ensure they can keep operating, no matter what hits them.
• How Fusion Risk Management uses AI simulations and Monte Carlo modeling to predict vulnerabilities and rank them by probability, impact, and ease of resolution.
• Why Fusion Risk Management built its platform on Salesforce as a low-code/no-code architecture, and how that choice unlocked scalability, security, and speed.
• How generative AI is automating 80% of complex software configuration by ingesting thousands of business continuity plans and dynamically mapping them into actionable systems.
• Why Michael’s team runs on a “best athlete” model, hiring top talent regardless of geography, and the surprising benefits of going fully remote.
• Why focusing on fewer, high-impact priorities is the secret to innovation and growth.
• The importance of understanding AI as a relationship, not a rule set: “AI doesn’t follow your rules. It interprets your intent. You have to know how to talk to it.”
• The speed of innovation: “Every iteration of AI is exponentially better. You have to build for where the puck’s going, not where it is.”

Michael’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “We’re sitting on the biggest wave of change and wealth creation any of us has seen. Move fast, learn fast, and don’t get comfortable. AI can obsolete your business overnight. Be paranoid, be opportunistic, and always skate to where the puck is going.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Podcast
#SteveTaplin
#MichaelCampbell
#SonatafyTechnology
#FusionRiskManagement
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Chief Executive Officer at Fusion Risk Management

Fusion Risk Management

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Corey Ercanbrack, Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO) at Vasion, a leader who’s mastered the art of bridging the gap between product vision and engineering execution.

From starting at Intel in the 90s during the dot-com boom to scaling global teams and steering a full SaaS transformation, Corey’s journey is a roadmap for anyone building at the intersection of innovation and leadership.

In this episode, Corey shared:
• How his early career at Intel taught him about growth, leadership, and the hard truth behind acquisitions, and how those lessons shaped his management philosophy.
• His time leading 250+ engineers at Avanti, managing global teams across continents and navigating multiple buyouts and integrations.
• Why he left a massive organization to join a three-person engineering team at a small company called PrinterLogic (now Vasion), and how he scaled it to 150+ engineers building a multi-product SaaS platform.
• The evolution of Vasion, from print management to automation and digital workflow transformation, with a clear goal: finally making the paperless office a reality.
• Why combining product and technology under one leader can unlock speed and alignment, but also comes with unique mental gymnastics

Corey’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “There’s too much noise out there. Find what works for your business and your people, and double down on it. Let the outcomes speak for themselves.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Vasion
#Podcast
#SteveTaplin
#CoreyErcanbrack
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Chief Product & Technology Officer at Vasion

Vasion

AI and humans aren’t competitors; they’re complementary tools for innovation.

In my conversation with Samuel Clemens, CEO of Reprise, we discussed how the future of technology relies on humans and AI collaborating, each complementing the other’s strengths.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Reprise
#Sonatafy
#SteveTaplin
#SamClemens
#TechLeadership
#TheSoftwareLeadersUncensored

CEO and Cofounder @ Reprise

Reprise

Ken Johnson, CTO of DryRun Security brought sharp, practical insight to our podcast conversation. Here are a few highlights that stuck with me.

• Ken digs into how they are modernizing security by amplifying developers, not burying them under a pile of alerts. If you sit in AppSec or engineering leadership, this one is worth your time.

• I also appreciated his push to move away from “security theater” and toward tools that developers can actually work with and interact with. If your security program creates more friction than protection, Ken’s perspective will hit home.

• He shares some blunt lessons on hiring for intellectual curiosity, plus what it really takes to sustain a remote-first engineering culture, shaped by his years at GitHub. There is zero fluff here; just what works and what doesn't.

Highly recommend giving it a listen if you are building secure software teams without slowing delivery.

Our own Ken Johnson sat down with Steve Taplin for an episode of #SoftwareLeadersUncensored 👀 

They dive into Ken’s path into tech, the innovations we’re driving at DryRun Security, and the real-world challenges engineering teams face as the landscape shifts at such a fast pace. 

They also get into AI’s impact on software delivery, how to keep team communication healthy, and winning strategies for engaging non-technical stakeholders.

If you lead engineering or AppSec, you’ll appreciate Ken’s practical takeaways.

 🎧 Watch/listen: link in comments

https://lnkd.in/guatMNPJ

Open video: How AI Will Reinvent Developer Education ft. Ken Johnson on youtube.com

How AI Will Reinvent Developer Education ft. Ken Johnson

AI in e-commerce is moving beyond hype, and finally delivering real, measurable impact.

Mathias Herzog, CEO of Korn Ferry, and I explored how data-driven personalization, smarter automation, and predictive insights are transforming the customer journey from end to end.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#KornFerry
#SteveTaplin
#MathiasHerzog
#TechLeadership
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Peter Horadan, CEO of Vouched, a leader in digital identity verification.

Peter’s career spans some of the biggest names in tech, Microsoft, Concur, Avalara, and Sage, and now he’s tackling one of the most critical problems in the digital world: proving who we are online.

In this episode, Peter shared:
• How his journey began at Microsoft in the early days of online banking, long before most people had ever used the internet.
• How he helped Concur redefine expense reporting, taking the company’s stock price from $0.25 to $25 and leading to an $8 billion acquisition by SAP.
• His time as CTO at Avalara, where he built automation systems to manage complex sales tax compliance, a business that scaled to a $16 billion valuation.
• Founding Lockstep, focused on automating accounting workflows between businesses, which was later acquired by Sage.
• Why he joined Vouched and how he’s leading the company into the next wave of digital transformation through identity automation.
• He predicts that by 2027, over 50% of Americans will have a mobile ID, allowing users to control what data they share and proving their identity with a thumbprint or face scan.
• Vouched is building the platform to connect it all, integrating dozens of state and international digital ID systems into one secure solution.
• On AI in software development: “AI is great for prototypes, but enterprise systems still need humans who understand how things really work.”

Peter’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “If you’ve ever thought about starting a company, do it. You already have the skills. It’ll be the most rewarding experience of your career.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Podcast
#Vouched
#SteveTaplin
#PeterHoradan
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

CEO at Vouched

Vouched

AI in healthcare isn’t here to replace people; it’s here to help them connect better.

In my conversation with Frank LaSota, CTO of Zyter|TruCare, we discussed how AI is being utilized to enhance the patient-care relationship, allowing providers more time to focus on what truly matters: human connection.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#SteveTaplin
#FrankLaSota
#ZyterTrueCare
#TechLeadership
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

CTO | CIO | Global technology & product engineering leader credited with envisioning & implementing technology strategies & solutions that drive product development, enhance operational efficiency, & fuel company growth.

Zyter|TruCare

AI is reshaping the legal industry, turning massive workloads into streamlined, data-driven decisions.

Jim Sullivan, CEO of eDiscovery AI, and I discussed how AI is accelerating discovery, reducing costs, and giving legal teams clarity they’ve never had before.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Sonatafy
#SteveTaplin
#JimSullivan
#eDiscoveryAI
#TechLeadership
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Founder eDiscoveryAI.com

eDiscovery AI

AI in 2026 isn’t just an evolution; it’s the next step in how companies operate, compete, and deliver value.

Corey Ercanbrack, CPTO at Vasion, and I discussed why the organizations that lean into AI now will define the standards that everyone else follows.

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Vasion
#SteveTaplin
#TechLeadership 
#CoreyErcanbrack
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Jimi Li, CTO of ALM, who transitioned from an electrical engineer dreaming of robotics to leading global digital transformation across multiple industries, including GE, L’Oréal, Coach, News Corp, and now ALM. Jimi’s story is all about reinvention, adaptability, and leading people through major technological change.

In this episode, Jimi shared:
• How his career evolved from hands-on developer to executive technologist across industries like finance, retail, media, and legal, and how each role shaped his perspective on transformation.
• His work at ALM Global, a digital-first company providing data, insights, and analytics for the legal industry, is known as “the Bloomberg for law.”
• How he’s leading a global engineering team across the U.S., India, Europe, and Latin America, leveraging a “Fusion Team” model that unites product, engineering, and business functions under a shared mission.
• How ALM is building its own “Genie” system, an agentic AI engine that acts like an intelligent router between data and user questions, making enterprise knowledge more searchable and actionable.
• The biggest challenge with Agentic AI in legal tech: “Accuracy and trust. In law, if the AI gets something wrong, that mistake can cost everything.”
• How his team uses AI as a digital second brain, bridging global time zones by automatically documenting meetings, creating summaries, and transferring context between teams.
• The three types of AI value companies should focus on, and why most are getting it wrong: “Employee value, the time saved, doesn’t always translate into real ROI unless you reinvent the workflow and process around it.”

Jimi’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “You don’t have to be from a top school to succeed. What matters is learning every day. Spend one or two hours daily updating yourself, because in this field, if you stop learning, you stop leading.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#JimiLi
#Podcast
#ALMGlobal
#SteveTaplin
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Chief Technology Officer, CIO, Digital Transformation, AI Strategy & Implementation

In the race to develop smarter AI, user privacy is often the first thing sacrificed. This clip features my conversation with Anthony Presley, CTO of CBS NorthStar, as we explore the tough questions every software leader must confront regarding ethics, data collection, and accountability. Privacy isn’t just a feature; it’s a fundamental choice.


Thank you again for the great conversation on the podcast, Anthony!

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Podcast
#SteveTaplin
#AnthonyPresley
#SonatafyTechnology
#CustomBusinessSolutions
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Software Exec | Technology Nerd | HR and Retail Tech | Connector of People | Father of a Few

CBS NorthStar

In stablecoin infrastructure, even the smallest mistake isn’t an option; precision is everything.

Jameel Al-Aziz, CTO at Bastion, and I discussed why zero tolerance for error is the foundation of trust, security, and long-term stability in digital finance.

Make sure to catch the full episode in the comments below.

#FinTech
#Stablecoins
#TechLeadership
#RiskManagement
#BlockchainInfrastructure
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Bastion

It was an honor having Charles Yeomans  from Atombeam Technologies  on the The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast.
 
Here are some key points Charles brought up that stuck with me:

• 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 from Navy intelligence to Stanford to Wall Street to biotech CEO to deep tech founder. Charles treats new arenas like reps in the gym, not a risk.
 
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵.  His filter is simple: if the customer cannot do something meaningfully better, faster, cheaper, or safer, then it is just a clever science fair project.
  
• 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻.  Speed without security is just getting hacked sooner. He designs for both from day one because real buyers demand it.
  
• 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀.  Fintech and defense customers, plus multiple DoD contracts. If your tech works in those environments, it's no longer just a theory.
 
My takeaway, most founders chase novelty. Charles chases impact. That difference shows up fast.

Atombeam CEO Charles Yeomans recently had the opportunity to chat with Steve Taplin, host of the Software Leaders podcast. Watch at the link for a lively discussion on AI, and the 'command center of the future' https://lnkd.in/gFFPaazs

#Atombeam #AI #SoftwareLeaders

Open video: Charles Yeomans, AtomBeam CEO on AI, PCM & the Command Center of the Future on youtube.com

Charles Yeomans, AtomBeam CEO on AI, PCM & the Command Center of the Future

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! This time, I had a great conversation with Ken Johnson, CTO & Co-Founder of DryRun Security, a longtime security expert, multi-time CTO, and one of the sharpest minds in application security today. Before launching DryRun, Ken led security teams at GitHub and helped shape how modern developers think about secure engineering.

In this episode, Ken shared:
• The unusual story of how he co-founded DryRun, after telling his now co-founder that his original startup idea was a terrible one. Three years later, that honest feedback turned into a thriving company.
• How DryRun Security is rethinking application security for developers, replacing noisy alerts and false positives with actionable, intelligent, and conversational insights.
• Why their new Deep Scan product shocked customers by finding serious vulnerabilities that even top-tier human consultants missed.
• How Ken built a small, elite team of fewer than 8 engineers, each the best in their craft, from ex–MIT recruits to game-performance specialists.
• How his remote-first structure borrows lessons from GitHub, prioritizing written clarity, deep work, and asynchronous trust across time zones.
• How rapid prototyping with AI is changing what “shipping fast” means, and why that speed can be dangerous if unchecked.
• Why senior engineers are still critical: architecture, testing, and design reviews aren’t optional; they’re what make AI-generated software enterprise-ready.
• How DryRun is solving one of the biggest industry pain points, the 4-person AppSec team responsible for 800 developers.
• A hilarious (and painful) real-world story: an AI spellchecked the word process across the entire codebase, breaking key functions. Testing saved the day.
• His takeaways: even with AI, you can’t skip code reviews, context awareness, or a strong testing culture.

Ken’s Advice for Tech Leaders: “If you’re going to use AI, set guardrails. Context matters. The difference between chaos and control is whether your AI knows what ‘good’ looks like.”

Check the full episode in the comments!

#AI
#Podcast
#SteveTaplin
#KenJohnson
#DryRunSecurity
#SonatafyTechnology
#SoftwareLeadersUncensored

Co-Founder & CTO @ DryRun Security

DryRun Security

WARNING: This Isn’t Your Feel-Good Founder Advice

I wanted to recap from one of my Forbes articles featuring 10 BRUTAL Truths from my book, 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙. 𝙒𝙞𝙣 𝘽𝙞𝙜.

These aren’t sugar-coated mantras. These are the cold, uncomfortable realities I’ve learned from building 30+ companies, with more failures than successes.

Most people won’t discuss this topic. I decided it’s time for someone to do so.
Truths like:
• Why passion alone won’t save you
• How being “early” is just a fancy word for wrong
• And why failure is the best investor in the room

Here’s one more brutal truth:
• Off-the-shelf software won’t make you a winner.

If your tools weren’t built for you, they’ll never give you a competitive edge.

That’s why the most innovative companies double down on custom software solutions, and that’s what we deliver at Sonatafy Technology | Nearshore Software Development.

Read the article, and let’s start normalizing the real story behind success.

https://lnkd.in/eRc8-W78

#Startups #FailHardWinBig #EntrepreneurTruths #Forbes #LeadershipUnfiltered #TechCEO #NoBS #sonatafy #SonatafyTechnology #NearshoreDevelopment #SoftwareDevelopment #SoftwareEngineering #CustomSoftware

Open article: 10 Brutal Truths I Wish I Knew Before I Became An Entrepreneur by forbes.com

10 Brutal Truths I Wish I Knew Before I Became An Entrepreneur

The "Tyranny of the Urgent" is Killing Your Innovation 

I had a great conversation with Matt Ryan  Co-Founder & CTO of Kythera Labs , about the most challenging part of managing engineering teams today. He nailed it with one phrase: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁.

It’s the constant battle between the deep, creative thought required to build the future and the "ping" of a customer question that needs an answer 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁:

1. 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗻: Keep teams small to maintain effectiveness and ownership.

2. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄: You have to protect your engineers' "zone." Context switching is a productivity killer.

3. 𝗥𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: If everything is a priority, nothing is. As leaders, if we don't control the priority, the individual engineer will solve the problem that's making the loudest noise.

Great insights from a guy managing petabytes of healthcare data. See full episode in the post below.

#Leadership #SoftwareEngineering #Productivity #CTO #HealthcareTech

View company: The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast

Check out a new episode of The Software Leaders UNCENSORED Podcast! Host Steve Taplin sits down with Matt Ryan, Founder & CTO of Kythera Labs, to talk candidly about healthcare data, engineering leadership, and the realities behind AI adoption.

In this episode, they cover:
- Matt’s move from large enterprises into the startup world, and why he thrives there
- How Kythera Labs evolved from early Spark infrastructure to becoming a long-time Databricks partner
- The challenge of extracting real value from massive healthcare datasets without runaway costs
- Why context switching and the “tyranny of the urgent” quietly erode engineering productivity
- How unclear prioritization shifts strategic control away from leadership
- Why AI initiatives fail when scope and expectations aren’t aligned with real business needs

Matt shares grounded lessons from building data products, leading remote teams, and navigating the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

If you’re building or scaling data-driven software, this conversation delivers practical perspective without the hype.

Full episode in the comments below.
#AI
 #SoftwareLeadersUNCENSORED
 #HealthcareData
 #TechLeadership

🌍 Global Fintech Advisor | Scaling Businesses via Digital Transformation & M&A | $500M+ Deals Executed | Empowering CXOs to Drive 10x Growth | Architect of Hypergrowth Strategies

Transformative fintech executive with 20+ years of impact across global markets, steering digital growth, scaling business models, and enabling market leadership across 3 continents.

📈 $300M+ in revenue growth.
🌍 Product Launch & Expansion into 10+ countries.
🤝 $500M+ in strategic M&A.

I specialize in executive advisory, strategic planning, go-to-market strategy, digital transformation, and international expansion; helping organizations unlock scale, efficiency, and sustained competitive advantage.

From digital banks to embedded finance, I’ve led fintechs, NBFIs, banks, software firms, and telecoms through large-scale transformation and innovation. My approach blends boardroom strategy with hands-on execution, building scalable operating models, navigating regulatory complexity, and launching high-impact digital products.

I advise ambitious institutions and founders on how to:
✔️ Build and scale in high-growth markets
✔️ Design business & operating models that drive profit and resilience
✔️ Align vision with execution for long-term impact

If you're building the next wave of financial innovation or navigating inflection points in growth, I bring the clarity, playbook, and momentum to help you lead from the front and make it a success.

Nadir Ali

Most people chase productivity.

High performers engineer it.

Because productivity isn’t about doing more.

It’s about aligning the only 3 levers that actually move output:
➟ Focus. 
➟ Time. 
➟ Energy.

When these fall out of sync, your performance collapses fast.
But when they converge, you enter what I call the High-Performance Zone.

Here’s the breakdown 👇

1. Time without focus = low impact
↳ You’re busy but ineffective.
↳ Tasks multiply because attention is scattered.
↳ Output rises but outcomes stay flat.

Fix:
➟ Design deep-work blocks.
➟ Use a 3-priority rule to maintain direction.

2. Focus without energy = burnout zone
↳ You can concentrate but you can’t sustain it.
↳ Cognitive performance drops.
↳ Emotional reactivity spikes.

Fix:
➟ Sleep, nutrition, and movement become non-negotiables.
➟ Protect recovery as aggressively as you protect execution.

3. Energy without time discipline = wasted effort
↳ You feel motivated but progress is random.
↳ No structure.
↳ No compounding.
↳ No momentum.

Fix:
➟ Weekly planning over daily improvisation.
➟ Batch similar tasks to reduce switching cost.

4. Only when all three align do you get exponential productivity
↳ Work becomes lighter.
↳ Decisions become faster.
↳ Output becomes predictable.

This is The Productivity System in action.
You’re not working harder, you’re working in alignment.

Peak performance isn’t intensity.
It’s integration.

♻️ Repost if you believe alignment beats effort every single time.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

You can replace a position.

But not passion.

That’s the real currency of performance and the hardest one to manufacture.

Across every transformation I’ve led, one truth stands out:
➟ People don’t quit jobs. 
➟ They quit indifference.

Here’s how leaders keep passion alive inside high-performance teams 👇

1. Connect role to purpose
↳ Don’t let titles define contribution.
↳ Show how every task ladders up to impact that’s where ownership begins.

2. Recognize effort, not just output
↳ Reward the behaviors that drive progress.
↳ When people feel seen, they give more than what’s measured.

3. Build psychological safety
↳ Passion dies in fear-based cultures.
↳ Let ideas breathe, innovation thrives where judgment pauses.

4. Empower, don’t hover
↳ Micromanagement breeds compliance, not creativity.
↳ Trust is the oxygen for initiative.

5. Model the energy you expect
↳ Passion is contagious.
↳ If you’re not inspired, no one else will be.

Leadership isn’t about filling positions.

It’s about fueling purpose.

♻️ Repost if you believe passion outperforms process every time.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

Success isn’t the goal. Integrity is.

Most people chase outcomes at any cost.

High performers do the opposite.
They protect the one thing that compounds forever: their values.

Here’s the real equation behind principled leadership 👇

1. A compromised win is a hidden loss
↳ If you sacrifice values to hit a target, you’re not winning.
↳ You’re trading long-term credibility for short-term approval.

2. A principled miss is strategic integrity
↳ Falling short while staying true isn’t failure.
↳ It’s proof your standards survive pressure.

3. Values matter most when they cost you
↳ The right choice is rarely the easy choice.
↳ Character is revealed when the stakes rise.

4. Principles compound like reputation capital
↳ Consistency builds trust faster than performance alone.
↳ People follow leaders whose values don’t fluctuate with outcomes.

Because at the end of every goal, one question always remains:
Did you win the right way or just win?

Choose the version of you you’ll respect in ten years.

♻️ Repost if you believe winning without integrity isn’t winning at all.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

Mastery is multi-disciplinary.

The best leaders borrow from every profession.

Because peak performance isn’t about knowing more, it’s about thinking better.

Here’s the multi-disciplinary playbook behind better judgment and execution 👇

1. Speak like a Lawyer
↳ Articulate with precision.
↳ Win arguments through clarity, not volume.

2. Express like a Philosopher
↳ Simplify the complex.
↳ Ask better questions, not longer ones.

3. Analyze like a Psychologist
↳ Understand motives before making moves.
↳ Influence begins with empathy.

4. Observe like a Detective
↳ See patterns others overlook.
↳ The smallest clue often hides the biggest truth.

5. Decide like a Judge
↳ Separate fact from feeling.
↳ Wisdom is balanced reasoning under pressure.

6. Create like an Artist
↳ Connect dots, don’t copy them.
↳ Innovation is discipline in disguise.

7. Work like an Engineer
↳ Build systems that scale.
↳ Reliability beats brilliance every day.

8. Lead with the balance of them all
↳ Leadership is integration, not imitation.
↳ Mastering perspective is the ultimate leverage.

Great leaders don’t stay in one lane.
They borrow the best mindset from every lane.

♻️ Repost to remind your team: versatility is the new intelligence.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

Only 1 in 3 fintechs ever achieve real scale from their transformation initiatives.
The rest keep rebuilding the same engine every year.

I saw this up close.

A few years ago, I walked into a fintech that had every advantage on paper
➟ Funding, talent, big ambitions. 
➟ But inside, everything was fragmented. 
➟ Teams were building in silos. 
➟ Tech was modern, but the operating model was ancient. 
➟ Strategy sounded good, but execution had no pulse.

Everyone was busy.
No one was aligned.

That’s when it hit me:
Digital transformation doesn’t fail because of technology.
It fails because the foundations are missing.

And after leading multiple transformations across markets, I’ve learned one truth:

Every successful fintech transformation gets the same 8 components right.
Miss even one, and the entire system drags.

Here’s the breakdown 👇

1. Strategic Vision
↳ Define the future state with clarity and measurable ambition.
↳ Direction beats speed.

2. Governance & Leadership
↳ Ownership, decision rights, escalation paths.
↳ Transformations collapse without accountability.

3. Customer Focus
↳ Build around journeys, not assumptions.
↳ Solve friction before adding features.

4. Operational Excellence
↳ Redesign for speed, automation, and flow.
↳ A broken process can’t be digitized.

5. Technology Enablement
↳ Modern stack, clean data, scalable platforms.
↳ Tech must accelerate, not complicate.

6. Culture & Talent
↳ Shift mindsets, upskill teams, reward adaptability.
↳ Transformation is 80 percent people.

7. Ecosystem Partnerships
↳ Leverage fintechs, vendors, and alliances to scale faster.
↳ No fintech wins alone anymore.

8. Continuous Improvement
↳ Experiment, measure, refine.
↳ Momentum comes from iteration, not perfection.

Fintech transformation isn’t a project.

It’s an operating system.

And when these 8 components lock together, execution accelerates, teams align, and customers feel the difference immediately.

Which of these 8 components is your organization underinvesting in?

♻️ Repost if your fintech is building for speed, scale, and real impact.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

Most leaders don’t fail because of bad strategy.

They fail because they confuse strategy with planning.

Here’s the cleanest way to separate the two 👇

1. Strategy defines direction. Plans define execution.
↳ Strategy decides where to play and how to win.
↳ Plans translate that into tasks, timelines, owners.
↳ Strategy is the “why”; plans are the “how.”

2. Strategy forces choices. Plans manage coordination.
↳ Strategy is about trade-offs, what you stop doing.
↳ Plans are about sequencing, what happens first.
↳ No choices = no strategy.

3. Strategy is long-term advantage. Plans are short term.
↳ Strategy spans 3–5 years.
↳ Plans run in weeks and quarters.
↳ One sets direction; the other drives momentum.

4. Strengthen Strategy
↳ Make choices explicit and eliminate distractions.
↳ Align resources where the impact is highest.
↳ Review assumptions quarterly and refine direction.

5. Strengthen Planning
↳ Assign one owner per outcome.
↳ Build short feedback loops (weekly or bi-weekly).
↳ Keep tasks simple, focused, and impact-driven.

6. What to Avoid
↳ Calling a plan “strategy” because it looks organized.
↳ Changing direction without data or signals.
↳ Trying to win everywhere at once.

If your team can’t explain your strategy in a page, you don’t have one.

What’s one area where your organization is mixing strategy with planning today?

♻️ Repost if you believe direction matters more than motion.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

Your team loses 2.5 hours per day to distraction.

Over a year, that’s 5+ weeks of lost execution.

On your watch.

And the fix isn’t more hours.

It’s better systems.

In my career on several executives positions, these 9 time frameworks have helped me and my teams.
➟ Unlock focus.
➟ Reduce friction.
➟ Scale results.

The Time Management Cheat Sheet for Leaders

1. Timeboxing
↳ Block focused work like meetings. Treat it as non-negotiable.

2. Eat That Frog
↳ Start with the task you’re most likely to avoid.

3. Eisenhower Matrix
↳ Prioritize by urgency and importance then act accordingly.

4. 80/20 Rule
↳ Double down on the 20% of tasks that drive 80% of results.

5. 3–3–3 Method
↳ Design your day: 3 deep work, 3 urgent, 3 maintenance tasks.

6. MoSCoW Method
↳ Classify tasks into: Must, Should, Could, and Won’t.

7. Buffett’s 25/5 Rule
↳ Identify your top 5 goals. Ruthlessly ignore the other 20.

8. $10,000/hr Work
↳ Focus on strategic tasks that create leverage. Delegate the rest.

9. Goldratt's Theory of Constraints
↳ Find and fix the one bottleneck limiting your output.

You don’t need to master all 9.

Pick 2. Apply relentlessly.

You don’t scale by doing more. You scale by choosing better.

Which system do you need to start?

♻️ Repost if you believe time isn’t managed, it’s engineered.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for strategy, leadership & productivity insights.

They said he was too young. 

Too early. Not ready.

That’s what people say when they can’t see your pace.

Because most people confuse timing with readiness.

Here’s the truth 👇

1. Readiness is built in motion.
↳ Waiting to feel ready is disguised fear.
↳ You don’t earn confidence first, you earn it through doing.

2. Speed is useless without direction.
↳ Progress isn’t about moving fast; it’s about moving right.
↳ Discipline sets your lane, not emotion.

3. Belief compounds faster than talent.
↳ The mind crosses the finish line before the body does.
↳ Doubt slows execution long before fatigue does.

4. Critics measure by comfort. Winners measure by effort.
↳ Most people project their limits, not your potential.
↳ You don’t need approval; you need consistency.

Cole didn’t wait to be ready.
He became ready by running anyway.

Because performance isn’t about age, timing, or permission.
It’s about pace, purpose, and proof.

Execution reveals what validation never will.

♻️ Repost to remind your network that readiness is a decision, not a milestone.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

When a Fintech crosses $30M–$50M ARR, the problem shifts:
Execution isn’t the constraint, leadership systems are.

Every stalled scale-up I’ve advised in GCC or SEA showed the same five blind spots months before numbers flattened:

1. Fragmented Focus
↳ Multi-market bets too early.
↳ Diluted execution kills momentum.

2. Regulatory Neglect
↳ Compliance gaps destroy investor trust.
↳ Rebuilding confidence costs 3x more.

3. Leadership Lag
↳ The org scales faster than its leaders.
↳ Alignment cracks before execution does.

4. GTM Copy-Paste
↳ One-size-fits-all launches flop.
↳ Local nuance drives true adoption.

5. Cultural Blindness
↳ Ignoring local norms slows velocity.
↳ Behavior beats translation every time.

Before your next funding round or market expansion:
✅ Stress-test leadership capacity before capital capacity.
✅ Map compliance readiness like you map customer journeys.
✅ Localize GTM not just in language, but in decision behavior.

Structure creates speed.

Speed compounds into valuation.

♻️ Repost to raise the bar on how Fintech CEOs scale without stalling.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

You’re not tired because your goals are heavy.

You’re tired because you’re carrying people who don’t lift.

Watch kids for five seconds and they’ll teach you what adults forget:
Progress is easier when someone boosts you instead of blocking you.

In productivity, this is the hidden variable no one tracks: 
The people who either multiply your effort or drain it.

Here’s the system behind it 👇

1. You’re surrounded by emotional passengers
↳ They enjoy your results but don’t share your effort.
↳ You become the engine, the fuel, and the driver, alone.
↳ Your environment demands output without giving you momentum.

2. This kills your performance more than workload
↳ Energy drains faster than time.
↳ One unsupportive person can cancel out ten good habits.
↳ High performers don’t burn out from pulling dead weight.

3. Build an environment that actively lifts you
↳ Use a simple rule: If they don’t add momentum, they add friction.
↳ Audit your circle quarterly: Who challenges you? Who anchors you?
↳ Protect people who elevate your standards. Remove those who dilute them.

Success becomes simpler the moment your circle learns to lift, not lean.

♻️ Repost as a challenge: upgrade your circle, upgrade your output.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

Champions aren’t fearless.

They’re resilient under fire.

Roger Federer said it best:
“You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments.”

That’s the real game not avoiding pressure, but performing through it.

Here’s how to build that skill 👇

1. Expect the hit
Turbulence means you’re stretching capacity, not failing.
↳ Pressure is proof you’re growing.

2. Control the noise
Self-doubt screams louder under stress.
↳ Breathe. Reset. Re-enter.

3. Detach from the outcome
You lost a point, not your potential.
↳ Analyze, don’t agonize.

4. Ritualize resilience
Small resets build big composure.
↳ Reflection, rest, rhythm. Every day.

5. Learn in motion
Pain teaches faster than comfort.
↳ Study the miss. Adjust the move.

Resilience isn’t a trait.
It’s a trained response under chaos.

♻️ Repost to remind your team: skill starts the game & resilience finishes it.
🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for Strategy, Leadership & Productivity insights.

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