How much value can your developers actually deliver in an average week, and how much of their time is quietly wasted on meetings, context hunting, and process dragging?
I’m joined by Phil Heijkoop, Global Practice Head of Developer Experience at Valiantys, for a conversation that cuts through the hype around AI and asks a tougher question about why so many engineering teams still struggle to see meaningful returns.
Phil argues that most organizations unlock only a small portion of a developer’s true contribution, not because of a lack of talent, but because process delays slowly squeeze out deep, focused work. AI, he explains, does not solve this by default. Without the right foundation, it simply accelerates the wrong work at scale.
We explore the long shadow cast by the “move fast and break things” mentality and why that philosophy becomes risky in regulated, business environments where resilience and trust are more important than speed alone. Phil shares what he sees as organizations look for new tools while ignoring technical issues, unclear standards and fragile workflows.
From protecting uninterrupted time for deep work to automating manual friction points and establishing shared guardrails, he outlines how teams can realistically unlock three to five times more output before AI even enters the picture. Only then, he says, will AI act as a multiplier rather than a source of chaos.
The conversation also explores the developer experience as a business lever, not a perk, and why leadership clarity, cultural trust, and consistent standards are just as important as tool choices. We discuss the growing risks in the software supply chain, the sustainability of open source dependency, and what recent high-profile retirements signal to business teams that depend on them.
If AI is accelerating your organization in the wrong direction, what fundamental changes should you make today to ensure value is increased instead of friction, and how honest are you willing to be about what is really slowing down your teams?
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