Software Lead Weekly

The Risk Not Taken
14 minutes read.

Beautifully written post by Andy Dunn that I found myself reading 3 times this week! When I started my own first venture, there were so many concerns and fears involved. Acknowledging it, I also knew that I want to learn and explore my limits. This post reminds me of how badly we need to stretch ourselves to become better people, better dreamers and better achievers. "So what are you waiting for? Your eighty-year old self asks nothing of you but this."

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How to Maintain Your Startup Mojo as You Scale Up
10 minutes read.

Dharmesh Shah (of HubSpot) shares 9 great tips, based on his experience growing HubSpot to be one of the most successful companies in the Valley. If I had to take 2 key lessons - stop adding management layers instead of focusing on getting things done and remember that good companies create a sense of mission, while great companies sustain it.

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In Head-Hunting, Big Data May Not Be Such a Big Deal
10 minutes read.

Oh wow, this post is filled with amazingly interesting anecdotes from Laszlo Bock, Google's head of "people operations" (i.e. HR). Teaser: Laszlo admits those famous brainteasers were completely useless for hiring. Great read!

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Effective Technical Leadership
10 minutes read.

If you manage Technical Leads or you are one, this post is a huge help to define expectations - check out the "Actions" section! Technical leads should know that it's their responsibility to train their teammates, to measure and improve code quality. While Team Lead usually use "soft-skills" to improve the team, the Technical Lead is expected to use his knowledge and expertise to drive personal growth.

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What Is the Funniest Thing You Have Ever Coded?
5 minutes read.

Having fun is a huge aspect in a healthy culture. The guys at Foursquare wrote an awesome fake bot that would mimic real human behavior (too well). It's a gray area, but it's great to see how engineers can have fun while working on their products.

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1:1 Meetings: What Are Some Good Tips for 1:1's With Your Employees?
5 minutes read.

Another brilliant answer from Ian McAllister (of Amazon), on improving your 1:1 meetings. Short and awesome as always, just read it.

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What Is One Thing Someone Has Said or Done in an Interview That Made You Want to Hire Them on the Spot?
5 minutes read.

Very interesting thread (Reddit) - if you happen to interview a smart and curious individual, with a real passion to learn, 9 out of 10 times it would be a great hire, even if they don't have enough technical experience yet. Did it three times at the companies I've worked for, and they always turned out to be the best employees at the company.

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@WilloLovesYou: When in Doubt, Make Shit Happen. Start Creating Movement. Make the Call. Start Writing. Hit Record. Take a Chance. Hit Send. Take the Leap.