Software Lead Weekly
Issue #175, 1st April 2016
This Week's Favorite
Thoughts on Building Weatherproof Companies
8 minutes read.
While written mostly to CEOs out there, I found it to be a great post every leader in the software industry should read. Key insight was "Develop a perpetual, aggressively help-seeking mindset" as by far this would push you to write down your current known-unknowns and get you to learn more from others. Also, carefully read the sections "Build a culture that will sustain the company through good times and bad" and "Kill the monsters of the mind, while preserving your spirit".
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
8 minutes read.
While written mostly to CEOs out there, I found it to be a great post every leader in the software industry should read. Key insight was "Develop a perpetual, aggressively help-seeking mindset" as by far this would push you to write down your current known-unknowns and get you to learn more from others. Also, carefully read the sections "Build a culture that will sustain the company through good times and bad" and "Kill the monsters of the mind, while preserving your spirit".
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator (TED Talk)
14 minutes read.
Wonderful (and hilarious!) TED talk by Tim Urban. My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
14 minutes read.
Wonderful (and hilarious!) TED talk by Tim Urban. My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Shields Down
4 minutes read.
Michael Lopp (rands) talks about that moment, where your teammates drop down their shields and starting to be available for new opportunities. It's a good reminder for us all, to make sure we don't take others for granted. We need to keep pushing them forward by praising them just as we are trying to provide constructive feedback to help them grow. Keep it in mind for your next 1:1.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
Michael Lopp (rands) talks about that moment, where your teammates drop down their shields and starting to be available for new opportunities. It's a good reminder for us all, to make sure we don't take others for granted. We need to keep pushing them forward by praising them just as we are trying to provide constructive feedback to help them grow. Keep it in mind for your next 1:1.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Please Don’t Endorse Me for Scrum
3 minutes read.
As someone who practiced (variation of) Scrum for 4 years, I can relate to Ido Ish-Hurwitz's sentiment: "The problem is Scrum makes teams spend way too much time and energy on process rather than innovating, focusing on technology, product and customers, and basically getting things done. This translates to reduced productivity and no fun." -- That being said, the problem is we often develop allergic to specific words as we see others abuse the process. I would suggest to practice a few processes, and figure out what works best for your company, your team and yourself. After all, trusting your instincts implies you have some relevant experience.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
As someone who practiced (variation of) Scrum for 4 years, I can relate to Ido Ish-Hurwitz's sentiment: "The problem is Scrum makes teams spend way too much time and energy on process rather than innovating, focusing on technology, product and customers, and basically getting things done. This translates to reduced productivity and no fun." -- That being said, the problem is we often develop allergic to specific words as we see others abuse the process. I would suggest to practice a few processes, and figure out what works best for your company, your team and yourself. After all, trusting your instincts implies you have some relevant experience.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Etsy CTO Q&A: We Need Software Engineers, Not Developers
7 minutes read.
"Engineering, as a discipline and as an activity, is multi-disciplinary. It’s just messy. And that’s actually the best part of engineering. It’s not about everyone knowing everything. It’s about paying attention to the shared, mutual understanding. " -- great interview with John Allspaw, Etsy's CTO. His thoughts, insights and the way he manages to capture and communicate them always inspire me to look inside into my own core values.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
7 minutes read.
"Engineering, as a discipline and as an activity, is multi-disciplinary. It’s just messy. And that’s actually the best part of engineering. It’s not about everyone knowing everything. It’s about paying attention to the shared, mutual understanding. " -- great interview with John Allspaw, Etsy's CTO. His thoughts, insights and the way he manages to capture and communicate them always inspire me to look inside into my own core values.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
Effective Learning Strategies for Programmers
11 minutes read.
Learning how to learn faster is a powerful set of habits and mindset worth mastering. This post by Allison Kaptur (Software Engineer at Dropbox) is packed with so many observations and gems. My favorite: "Ask about processes", a great advice on learning the most from your peers. I kind of wish it wasn't aimed for programmers in the title, as I believe that everyone could gain a lot from it.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
11 minutes read.
Learning how to learn faster is a powerful set of habits and mindset worth mastering. This post by Allison Kaptur (Software Engineer at Dropbox) is packed with so many observations and gems. My favorite: "Ask about processes", a great advice on learning the most from your peers. I kind of wish it wasn't aimed for programmers in the title, as I believe that everyone could gain a lot from it.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
#Now, #Next, #Later: Roadmaps Without the Drudgery
3 minutes read.
A simple process to help prioritizing future roadmaps and current plans is important to reduce the overhead of "backlog grooming". I liked the simplicity and language used by Noah Weiss from his days as SVP of Product at Foursquare.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
A simple process to help prioritizing future roadmaps and current plans is important to reduce the overhead of "backlog grooming". I liked the simplicity and language used by Noah Weiss from his days as SVP of Product at Foursquare.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
I Don't Like Breaking Things
2 minutes read.
"What I don't condone is approaching everything with the attitude that it's ok to actively break things. That it should be the default." -- a voice of sanity, in a world where we often confuse moving fast with being careless.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
2 minutes read.
"What I don't condone is approaching everything with the attitude that it's ok to actively break things. That it should be the default." -- a voice of sanity, in a world where we often confuse moving fast with being careless.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@sarah_edo: The hardest part of being a developer isn't the code, it's learning that the entire internet is put together with peanut butter and goblins.
@kimber_lockhart: You can be creative with almost any other process in your org, but don't mess with 1:1s. They are your safety net.
- Oren
P.S. Can you share this email? I'd love for more people to experiment and improve their company's culture.
P.S. Can you share this email? I'd love for more people to experiment and improve their company's culture.