In this episode of Software Without Borders, Andy and Scott sit down with Steve Petersen, a veteran software architect and engineering leader known for building collaborative, high-trust technical teams across global environments. Steve shares the lessons he’s learned from decades of experience—coding, mentoring, scaling engineering orgs, and navigating the cultural and communication challenges that come with distributed teams.

Guest Introduction:

Steve Petersen is a seasoned software architect, engineering leader, and mentor with deep experience designing scalable systems and guiding teams through growth and transformation. Known for his calm leadership style, technical clarity, and focus on people-first engineering cultures, Steve has spent his career helping developers elevate their craft while strengthening communication and trust across globally distributed organizations.

Key Takeaways:

Communication is the real bottleneck, not code. Highly distributed teams succeed when they over-communicate clearly and consistently.

Pairing senior and junior engineers is a force multiplier, accelerating learning for both sides and strengthening team cohesion.

Humility makes great engineers—those willing to ask questions, seek clarity, and challenge assumptions collaboratively.

Technical leadership is not about having all the answers, but about creating a space where the best ideas surface.

Avoiding unnecessary complexity leads to higher velocity and more maintainable systems.

Global engineering teams thrive on structure, predictable rhythms, and clear expectations that support asynchronous work.

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Welcome to Software Without Borders

0:21 Introducing Steve Petersen

1:13 Steve’s Background & Early Career Path

2:46 Technical Leadership vs. Individual Contribution

4:05 How Engineering Teams Break Down Communication

5:32 The Power of Pairing Senior & Junior Engineers

7:01 What Makes an Engineer Truly Great

8:44 Curiosity, Humility & Asking the Right Questions

10:12 Reducing Complexity for Better Outcomes

12:09 Leading Distributed Engineering Teams

14:03 Building Predictable Rhythms & Expectations

15:58 Technical Debt vs. Necessary Complexity

17:30 Creating a Culture Where Engineers Feel Safe Speaking Up

19:03 What Steve Looks for When Hiring Developers

21:18 Why Mentorship Accelerates Team Growth

22:40 When to Step Back as a Technical Leader

24:11 Coaching Engineers Through Hard Problems

26:05 Final Thoughts & What Steve Wishes He Knew Earlier

End: Closing Remarks

Keywords:

Software Without Borders, Andy Hilliard, Scott Pollov, Steve Petersen, engineering leadership, software architecture, distributed engineering teams, global teams, technical mentorship, engineering culture, communication in engineering, technical debt, software development leadership, scaling teams

In this episode of Software Without Borders, we sit down with Joe Forgét—founder of Igniting Momentum and a leader who has lived through mergers, global team integrations, and the uncomfortable-but-necessary transitions that define high-growth companies. Joe breaks down what really happens when organizations hit those inflection points: culture drift, misalignment, operational chaos, and the quiet pressure founders and leaders carry while trying to scale.

Guest Introduction:

Joe Forgét is the founder of Igniting Momentum, a leadership and operations coach who helps growing companies rebuild clarity, alignment, and execution discipline. With deep experience leading global teams through mergers, restructures, and rapid scale, Joe blends operating system rigor with human-centered leadership. His work centers on creating momentum through intentional rhythms, strategic alignment, and practical accountability structures.

Key Takeaways:

Companies often realize they need help when they hit the moment Joe calls: “The business owns me now.”

Momentum comes from structured operating rhythms — not heroic effort.

Frameworks like EOS, Pinnacle, and System & Soul provide scaffolding, but must be tailored to each organization.

Early-stage founders may not need full frameworks yet, but scale-ups absolutely do.

Mergers & acquisitions create cultural collisions; alignment must come before acceleration.

Empowerment only works when role clarity and accountability structures are in place.

Progress must be viewed through “the gap and the gain,” recognizing wins instead of only missing pieces.

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Welcome back to Software Without Borders

0:23 Introducing guest Joe Forgét

2:17 Joe’s discovery of coaching

4:11 The Ignition Framework (Align → Activate → Accelerate)

6:22 EOS, Pinnacle, System & Soul explained

8:04 Coaching in fast-growth organizations

9:47 The moment leaders realize the business owns them

11:35 Measuring early momentum

15:51 The Gap and the Gain mindset

17:02 People-first additions in newer operating frameworks

20:03 Why implementation must be customized

23:35 Cultural blending in mergers

26:58 Choosing between scale, exit, or reinvention

30:25 Post-inflection indicators that help is needed

33:12 Role clarity as empowerment

35:05 Why coaches need their own coaches

End: Closing insights and wrap-up

Keywords:

Software Without Borders, Andy Hilliard, Scott Pollov, Joe Forget, Igniting Momentum, leadership coaching, operating rhythms, EOS, System and Soul, business scaling, mergers and acquisitions, organizational alignment, executive coaching, leadership frameworks, global team leadership

In this episode of Software Without Borders, Andy and Scott sit down with Kristina Crane, transformational executive, fractional COO/CSO, and CEO of The Canyons Group, to unpack what it really takes to lead organizations through AI-driven change. Kristina draws on 25+ years across SaaS, government tech, and operational transformation to explain how companies can embrace AI without losing their people, culture, or strategic focus. From building a “culture of curiosity” to using proven software-industry frameworks for prioritization, Kristina brings a grounded, practical perspective on how leaders can move fast and smart.

Guest Introduction:

Kristina Crane is a transformational executive and fractional COO/CSO with deep expertise in AI adoption, organizational change, and strategic operations. As CEO of The Canyons Group, she helps government agencies, enterprises, and growth-stage companies navigate complex transitions with a framework centered on “Navigate to Elevate.” Kristina spent 12+ years at STC Health leading a major shift from a dev-shop model to a scaled SaaS organization, driving 10x revenue and 60% efficiency gains through AI.

Key Takeaways:

• AI transformation is a people problem first—tech only works when teams understand the “why” and feel empowered. episode-37

• Companies must balance curiosity with prioritization to avoid shiny-object chaos.

• The software industry provides proven frameworks (like RICE) that non-tech organizations can use to evaluate AI opportunities.

• Old-school executive teams need a business-first, tech-translated approach to adopt AI successfully.

• Strategic planning cycles must speed up—leaders should revisit their business model, ICP, and value proposition every 12–36 months.

• Consultants accelerate outcomes not because of frameworks, but because of pattern recognition and objective accountability.

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Intro

1:07 Welcome to Software Without Borders

1:12 Introducing Guest — Kristina Crane

1:56 Kristina’s Background in Strategy, SaaS & GovTech

3:41 Teaching Roots → Consulting → SaaS Incubation

5:58 Transition to STC Health & Leading SaaS Transformation

6:34 Difference Between Kale Crane & The Canyons Group

8:08 AI FOMO, Human Intelligence & Organizational Change

9:03 Navigating Noise & Extremes Around AI

10:26 What AI Forces Every Organization to Learn

12:30 How Old-School Exec Teams Can Embrace AI

14:14 Culture of Curiosity & Empowering Teams

15:34 Guardrails, Governance & Safe Experimentation

16:57 When to Bring in Technologists

17:12 Prioritization Frameworks (RICE & ICE)

18:54 Governance Policies & Early-Stage Experimentation

19:29 Curiosity Champion Groups & Brown-Bag Cycles

22:22 Training Teams to Think Like Product Organizations

23:19 Overcoming Fear & Starting Small

23:46 Strategy vs. Operations — Big Picture Impacts

24:58 Business Model Iteration in the AI Era

26:51 The SaaS Business Model Shift as an Analogy

28:12 Professional Services & White-Collar AI Disruption

29:37 Innovating Without Breaking the Core Business

30:01 Leading Large-Scale Change Inside Mature Organizations

32:21 Why Consultants Matter in AI Transformation

33:15 Seeing Blind Spots & Reading Culture

34:10 Accountability, Execution & “Skinned Knees”

35:13 The Hardest Transformation Leaders Will Face

End Closing Thoughts

Keywords:

Software Without Borders, Andy Hilliard, Scott Pollov, Kristina Crane, The Canyons Group, AI transformation, organizational change, SaaS transformation, leadership, culture of curiosity, AI adoption, operational strategy, RICE prioritization, business model evolution, enterprise AI, government tech