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Fail Fast or Think Lean? What acceleration really means

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Written by Chris McHale
Published on November 21, 2025

In this episode of All About Accelerating Products, we sit down with Charles Hardin, Senior Director of Software Engineering at RedoxBlox, a company pioneering renewable energy management solutions for industrial applications.

With over 20 years of experience scaling startups into public companies, Charles brings a unique perspective on building products at the intersection of software, hardware, and green technology.
From early career lessons at AT&T to his current work in industrial decarbonization, his stories highlight both the thrill of big wins and the grit of hard failures, and the wisdom that comes from both.

We cover:

  • Why success often comes from spotting the “last mile” gap in giant ecosystems (and how Charles did it with AT&T + Microsoft)

  • Lessons from a failed storage startup: why optimism can be dangerous, the importance of customer pilots, and how to balance speed vs. risk

  • How to structure collaboration between material science, hardware, and software teams to accelerate complex product development

  • Why “accelerating” isn’t about going faster, but about being leaner, reducing waste, and continuously improving across the product lifecycle

  • Building green products that aren’t just sustainable, but better than the alternatives

  • The role of culture, morale, and diverse perspectives in solving complex engineering problems at scale

If you’re leading engineering teams, navigating product complexity, or building in emerging markets like green tech, this episode is packed with stories and insights you’ll carry back to your own teams.

If you want to follow our podcast guest, Charles, here is the link:

LinkedIn Profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-hardin-b34a9b1/

Produced by – The Humanize Group (www.thehumanizegroup.com)
Hosted by – Christine McHale (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismchalekling/)

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