Software Lead Weekly
Issue #646, 11th April 2025
This Week's Favorite
Your Strengths Are Your Weaknesses
4 minutes read.
Do yourself a favor and read this post. Read it twice. This is such an important lesson: "The qualities we celebrate in our team members are usually the same ones causing our biggest headaches. They’re not separate traits; they’re two sides of the same coin. [...] Use tension as a feature, not a bug. Some managers try to build teams where everyone works the same way. That’s a mistake. [...] We’re helping them see themselves clearly, warts and all, and teaching them when to crank up or dial back their natural tendencies. It’s more like coaching someone to use their power effectively than trying to rebuild them from scratch."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
Do yourself a favor and read this post. Read it twice. This is such an important lesson: "The qualities we celebrate in our team members are usually the same ones causing our biggest headaches. They’re not separate traits; they’re two sides of the same coin. [...] Use tension as a feature, not a bug. Some managers try to build teams where everyone works the same way. That’s a mistake. [...] We’re helping them see themselves clearly, warts and all, and teaching them when to crank up or dial back their natural tendencies. It’s more like coaching someone to use their power effectively than trying to rebuild them from scratch."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
Golden Ratios Everywhere
1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face.
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1 minutes read.
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.
"Why Don't Our Leaders Care About How We Work?"
6 minutes read.
"You can go a long way in keeping your own private document of how things work. Build it to the point where you can share it and see what happens. Sometimes, the big blocker was someone taking the stubborn time to shine the mirror back on the company." -- This advice is important, as the blocker can also be someone who doesn't understand the pain or problem.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
6 minutes read.
"You can go a long way in keeping your own private document of how things work. Build it to the point where you can share it and see what happens. Sometimes, the big blocker was someone taking the stubborn time to shine the mirror back on the company." -- This advice is important, as the blocker can also be someone who doesn't understand the pain or problem.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
A Field Guide to Rapidly Improving AI Products
16 minutes read.
"The “tools first” mindset is the most common mistake in AI development. Teams get caught up in architecture diagrams, frameworks, and dashboards while neglecting the process of actually understanding what’s working and what isn’t." -- Hamel Husain covers so many helpful tips on how to address adoption with value creation for AI products. I highly recommend watching "error analysis in action" (live walkthrough) that they share on the post to narrow down on specific failure scenarios (building your data viewer is golden) and make your product more useful for real needs your users are struggling now with.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
16 minutes read.
"The “tools first” mindset is the most common mistake in AI development. Teams get caught up in architecture diagrams, frameworks, and dashboards while neglecting the process of actually understanding what’s working and what isn’t." -- Hamel Husain covers so many helpful tips on how to address adoption with value creation for AI products. I highly recommend watching "error analysis in action" (live walkthrough) that they share on the post to narrow down on specific failure scenarios (building your data viewer is golden) and make your product more useful for real needs your users are struggling now with.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
The Power of Defining the Problem
4 minutes read.
Annie Vella's takeaway is critical for mature enough (requirements) and critical systems. Often, you don't know the problem and need to iterate enough times to observe usage and failure scenarios to better define the needs. Once you have a solid understanding, taking the time to define the problem clearly will save you months, if not years, of trial and error: "Whether we’re debugging a piece of software or optimising a process, we need to look at how each part interacts with the others - and how the system as a whole interacts with the larger environment it’s a part of. Only then can we fully understand what we’re working with. [...] In the world of software development, where speed and agility are prized, it’s tempting to jump to the solution. But if we pause - if we spend that crucial moment, as Einstein suggested, defining the problem thoroughly - we can ensure that our solutions are not only quick but also meaningful and lasting."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
Annie Vella's takeaway is critical for mature enough (requirements) and critical systems. Often, you don't know the problem and need to iterate enough times to observe usage and failure scenarios to better define the needs. Once you have a solid understanding, taking the time to define the problem clearly will save you months, if not years, of trial and error: "Whether we’re debugging a piece of software or optimising a process, we need to look at how each part interacts with the others - and how the system as a whole interacts with the larger environment it’s a part of. Only then can we fully understand what we’re working with. [...] In the world of software development, where speed and agility are prized, it’s tempting to jump to the solution. But if we pause - if we spend that crucial moment, as Einstein suggested, defining the problem thoroughly - we can ensure that our solutions are not only quick but also meaningful and lasting."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
LLMs Are Dissolving & Creating Work
6 minutes read.
Paul Millerd's post made me think that in the age of LLM, developing good taste and knowing to ask better questions (choosing what to solve) might become a differentiator in your technical career: "Play with these tools. Experiment with them at least once a week. Try to do something you didn’t think you could do. See how it changes your perception of your own work and your future path. It might be jarring but it might be exciting."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
6 minutes read.
Paul Millerd's post made me think that in the age of LLM, developing good taste and knowing to ask better questions (choosing what to solve) might become a differentiator in your technical career: "Play with these tools. Experiment with them at least once a week. Try to do something you didn’t think you could do. See how it changes your perception of your own work and your future path. It might be jarring but it might be exciting."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
You Think You’re Learning. You’re Not.
2 minutes read.
"Watching, reading, and listening feel like progress. They’re not. Real learning happens when you wrestle with ideas, apply them, and struggle. If it feels easy, you are just collecting information." -- Read Hiten Shah's short post as a useful reminder. Without practice, we gain a language. With practice, we can build a world.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
2 minutes read.
"Watching, reading, and listening feel like progress. They’re not. Real learning happens when you wrestle with ideas, apply them, and struggle. If it feels easy, you are just collecting information." -- Read Hiten Shah's short post as a useful reminder. Without practice, we gain a language. With practice, we can build a world.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Getting What You Want Out of Life by Naval (Video)
2 minutes read.
Naval Ravikant, in a two-minute clip, will push you to think differently about making important decisions. For example, investing more time thinking about the path that decision might take you through by understanding the environment setup it will create for you: "The only true test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
2 minutes read.
Naval Ravikant, in a two-minute clip, will push you to think differently about making important decisions. For example, investing more time thinking about the path that decision might take you through by understanding the environment setup it will create for you: "The only true test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@Mindset_Machine: Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: is it true? is it necessary? is it kind?
@SahilBloom: The single greatest challenge for any ambitious person is eliminating the guilt associated with free time and rest.
- 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.