When a big programme goes off the rails, panic spreads faster than the problem. Deadlines slip, teams freeze, leaders stop sleeping.

David Crawford, CTO and NED, has built a reputation for running towards the fire. He shares the five-step approach he uses to stabilise chaos and deliver under pressure, from small critical projects to multi-million-pound programmes.

What you’ll learn:

• The early signs a project is in trouble, before anyone admits it

• Five steps to bring back focus, control and momentum

• What to say to customers when you're behind, and what not to

• Why calm matters more than control in a crisis

• Rebuilding stakeholder trust once it's gone

• Tracking recovery week by week so progress is visible

If your project is wobbling, or you just want to lead well when the pressure arrives.

Free downloads

The Turnaround Measure Tracker: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-turnaround-measure-tracker

A Guide to the Turnaround Measure Tracker: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/a-guide-to-the-turnaround-measure-tracker

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-five-step-plan-to-rescue-a-failing-project

David Crawford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-crawford-13679a/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Copy-paste CVs, stock questions, and the myth that the company holds all the power. This episode takes apart all three, from both sides of the table.

Sam Grill, Head of Quality and Support Engineering, has hired across fast-moving tech teams and sat in both chairs. Practical advice whether you're interviewing or being interviewed.

What you’ll learn:

• For candidates: why "I used X for five years" isn't enough — show problem, context, outcome

• For candidates: how to work with talent partners from the first conversation

• For candidates: recovering from a question that blindsides you, without bluffing

• For hiring managers: agree what good looks like before the ad goes live

• For hiring managers: fewer, better questions, and pulling the right threads

• For hiring managers: gut feel versus evidence, and keeping bias out of the decision

Hiring? You'll leave with a tighter process. Interviewing? You'll know how to stand out.

Free download

The Interview Cheatsheet: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-interview-cheatsheet

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-win-at-job-interviews

Sam Grill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-grill/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Tick the boxes, climb the ladder, chase the promotion. Most career frameworks stop at progression — and most people find they don't work.

Dan Ashby, Director and Head of Engineering, flips the model to start from impact instead. His five-part framework connects personal growth to what the company actually needs.

What you’ll learn:

• Why checklist frameworks create frustration and a sense of entitlement

• Reframing growth around impact, evidence and outcomes

• Why completing tasks doesn't qualify you for promotion

• Intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery and purpose

• Skills mapping, growth tables and Dan's radar for impact

• Building a career passport you can carry into any role or company

For anyone tired of frameworks that feel like admin, and managers stuck in endless promotion debates.

Free download

The Impact First Career Growth Framework: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-impact-first-career-growth-framework

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/transforming-career-growth-through-impact

Dan Ashby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-ashby/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Talking to the C-suite is nothing like talking to your peers. Packed diaries, constant context-switching, high stakes. Miss on clarity and you lose the room and the opportunity.

Cheryl Warlow, technology leader, shares the playbook she uses to land messages at the top of an organisation.

What you’ll learn:

• How to secure time in a senior leader's diary

• Writing emails executives actually read and act on

• Leading with the recommendation instead of the journey

• Handling hard questions and chaotic meetings without losing your footing

• The role of friendlies and sponsors in getting a decision made

• Reading the room when the agenda changes underneath you

For your first board presentation, or your fiftieth.

Free download

How to Nail C-Suite Communication: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/how-to-nail-c-suite-communication

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-nail-c-suite-communication

Cheryl Warlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-rosenthal-warlow/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Get feedback wrong and you damage trust, confidence and performance. Get it right and it's the fastest way to grow a team.

Leadership coach Clem Pickering shares a practical framework for saying the thing that needs saying — including how to take feedback yourself without getting defensive.

What you’ll learn:

• Why most managers avoid giving feedback, and what that costs

• The See, Think, Feel, Intent framework for high-impact feedback

• Choosing the right moment, and why timing does most of the work

• The ABC technique for receiving feedback professionally

• Why annual performance reviews rarely change anything

• How to challenge your highest performers, who usually get the least feedback

The difference between criticising a behaviour and attacking a character, and why it decides whether anything changes.

Free download

The Manager's Feedback Playbook: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-managers-feedback-playbook

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/the-managers-guide-to-effective-feedback

Clem Pickering on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clement-pickering/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Months of wordsmithing, and you end up with one-word posters nobody remembers. Values that don't shape behaviour are wallpaper.

Culture consultant Alya Lilani explains how to define values that actually change how people act, and how to embed them so they survive contact with a busy quarter.

What you’ll learn:

• Why most company values fail before they're launched

• Three steps to turn values into daily behaviours

• How strong values improve hiring, retention and performance

• Making values easy to remember and impossible to ignore

• Testing whether a value is real: what does it cost you to hold?

• Embedding values into the decisions people already make

If your values don't influence how people behave, this is how to fix that.

Free download

The Values Starter Kit: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/the-values-starter-kit

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-build-company-values-that-deliver-results

Alya Lilani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alya-lilani-19995497/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

Most people lurk on LinkedIn. They scroll, they like, they never post. The result is a beige feed and a missed opportunity.

Jack Ralph went from hating LinkedIn to building a following and winning clients in a few months. He was terrified of posting, decided to post the damn thing anyway, and everything changed.

What you’ll learn:

• Why so many of us freeze right before hitting post

• Finding ideas by turning ordinary working life into content

• Making posts and videos stand out with no fancy kit

• Moving from fear to confidence one post at a time

• Why imperfection and honesty beat polish every time

• Building visibility without becoming an influencer

If you've been sitting on the sidelines, consider this your invitation.

Free download

Post the Damn Thing: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/post-the-damn-thing

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/show-up-and-stand-out-on-linkedin

Jack Ralph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-ralph-467a031b5/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

In a market flooded with AI-generated CVs and overwhelmed hiring managers, standing out takes more than luck. It takes a pipeline.

Marylin Schlamkow, Global Partnerships Lead, treats the job search exactly like a sales process — organised, targeted and confident, without any of the sleaze.

What you’ll learn:

• Identifying your ideal companies instead of applying everywhere

• Reaching out with a purpose rather than a template

• Telling a story that a hiring manager remembers

• Building genuine relationships before you need them

• Following up without becoming a nuisance

• Closing the interview properly, and what to do next

Ten steps that change how you think about job hunting.

Free download

10 Steps to Job Hunt Like a Sales Pro: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/10-steps-to-job-hunt-like-a-sales-pro

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-job-hunt-like-a-sales-pro

Marylin Schlamkow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marylin-schlamkow/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

In a field that never stops moving, standing still is falling behind. But learning more isn't the answer — learning the right things, and being seen doing it, is.

Consultant Kevin McDonnell shares a system for choosing what to learn, turning new skills into genuine confidence, and sharing your work so the right people notice.

What you’ll learn:

• How to choose what's worth learning, and what to ignore

• Turning knowledge into skill through deliberate practice

• Why learning in public accelerates everything

• Sharing what you know without sounding like a self-promoter

• Building a learning habit that survives a busy job

• How visible learning translates into promotions

For anyone trying to level up, pivot, or simply stay sharp.

Free download

Learning Through Doing and Sharing: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/learning-through-doing-and-sharing

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/how-to-fast-track-your-career-with-continuous-learning

Kevin McDonnell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevmcdonnell/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.

How do you get things done when doing them risks upsetting someone? Most leaders pick a side: kind but vague, or decisive but cold.

Executive coach Charlotte Rooney shows how to hold both — clarity and compassion at the same time — and why happy teams consistently outperform unhappy ones.

What you’ll learn:

• Why results and relationships aren't a trade-off

• Being kind without being vague, and decisive without being cold

• Setting expectations clearly enough that nobody has to guess

• Kind candour: saying the hard thing in a way people can hear

• Simple team rituals that build momentum

• Prioritising by outcome so the team delivers without burning out

Getting results without burning people out.

Free download

Results First Prioritisation: https://www.buildyouredge.org/tools/results-first-prioritisation

No email address required — no sign-up of any kind.

Episode notes: https://www.buildyouredge.org/podcast/episodes/high-performance-from-happy-teams

Charlotte Rooney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotterooney/

Build Your Edge helps ambitious people in tech think smarter, lead better and deliver more. One focused topic per episode, one guest who has done the job, and a free tool every time. New episode every other Tuesday.