Software Lead Weekly
Issue #655, 13th June 2025
This Week's Favorite
LLMs Are Mirrors of Operator Skill
5 minutes read.
"Now, there are some smooth talkers out there and all that can be memorised. For instance, people can simply talk their way through all the above. So this is where the real challenge begins. You want to watch them. You want to watch them dance with the LLM. [...] Do they understand the code that has been generated? Can they explain it? Can they critique it? Do they show any indicators of taste?" -- The next few years will be interesting for builders and for interviewers who seek to hire builders who know how to leverage technology advancements while developing meaningful insights.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
"Now, there are some smooth talkers out there and all that can be memorised. For instance, people can simply talk their way through all the above. So this is where the real challenge begins. You want to watch them. You want to watch them dance with the LLM. [...] Do they understand the code that has been generated? Can they explain it? Can they critique it? Do they show any indicators of taste?" -- The next few years will be interesting for builders and for interviewers who seek to hire builders who know how to leverage technology advancements while developing meaningful insights.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
Google Veo 3 Vlogger Videos Are Breaking the Internet
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.
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.
Vibe Coding for Teams, Thoughts to Date
4 minutes read.
"As of today, LLMs don’t change some key fundamental physics of writing code as a team. Importantly, as of today, they haven’t changed the fundamental calculation that writing code is always easier than understanding code. [...] Highly productive engineering teams (historically) reach that productivity by building a deep expertise in their tool chain. [...] Lowering the cost of writing code was the thing that no engineering leader asked for, but it’s the thing we got." -- Great insights by Kellan Elliott-McCrea. How do we make sure the team shapes up the code correctly rather than creating an uncontrollable mess?
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
"As of today, LLMs don’t change some key fundamental physics of writing code as a team. Importantly, as of today, they haven’t changed the fundamental calculation that writing code is always easier than understanding code. [...] Highly productive engineering teams (historically) reach that productivity by building a deep expertise in their tool chain. [...] Lowering the cost of writing code was the thing that no engineering leader asked for, but it’s the thing we got." -- Great insights by Kellan Elliott-McCrea. How do we make sure the team shapes up the code correctly rather than creating an uncontrollable mess?
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before? Creating a Discovery Backlog
9 minutes read.
Mark Dalgarno's approach to figuring out critical knowledge (over "knowledge and urgency axes") can be useful next time you're trying to make some discoveries around knowledge missing to build products (jobs to be done analysis) or technical knowledge sharing between teams.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
9 minutes read.
Mark Dalgarno's approach to figuring out critical knowledge (over "knowledge and urgency axes") can be useful next time you're trying to make some discoveries around knowledge missing to build products (jobs to be done analysis) or technical knowledge sharing between teams.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Moats in the Age of AI: Speed!
3 minutes read.
Creating an organization that produces a sustainable speed of learning about customers' needs and provides them sustainable (low churn) value is becoming the only moat you can rely on. I like the definition of looking at moats as a short-term bridge to provide more value and buy you enough time to learn if that value can sustain the business.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
Creating an organization that produces a sustainable speed of learning about customers' needs and provides them sustainable (low churn) value is becoming the only moat you can rely on. I like the definition of looking at moats as a short-term bridge to provide more value and buy you enough time to learn if that value can sustain the business.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
On Leading Friends
5 minutes read.
Claire Lew covers how to shift between friend mode and manager mode effectively while being sensitive to the needs of both parties. I was fortunate to work with friends and sometimes be their direct manager. It's a privilege, as it's often more fun and rewarding to share the challenges with people you're close to. It's also incredibly challenging and requires a lot of trust to remain objective enough and act professionally.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
Claire Lew covers how to shift between friend mode and manager mode effectively while being sensitive to the needs of both parties. I was fortunate to work with friends and sometimes be their direct manager. It's a privilege, as it's often more fun and rewarding to share the challenges with people you're close to. It's also incredibly challenging and requires a lot of trust to remain objective enough and act professionally.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Some Notes on Negotiations (Thread)
4 minutes read.
Negotiations can be exhausting and often lead to strained relationships after the signature. This advice is priceless and took me a few rounds to learn: "Too many people cede control to lawyers in a complex negotiation. They can be there to reduce tension on complex points. But know what is a commercial point vs. a legal point. Never let them take the lead on commercial points. That’s your job. And you don’t want to negotiate these points with their lawyers. You want the company as your interlocutor."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
Negotiations can be exhausting and often lead to strained relationships after the signature. This advice is priceless and took me a few rounds to learn: "Too many people cede control to lawyers in a complex negotiation. They can be there to reduce tension on complex points. But know what is a commercial point vs. a legal point. Never let them take the lead on commercial points. That’s your job. And you don’t want to negotiate these points with their lawyers. You want the company as your interlocutor."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
The Anti-Goal Setting Guide: Creating Objectives People Actually Care About
4 minutes read.
Making the goals personal and not only SMART can align the team and the individuals to push harder in achieving these goals: "One of my favorite approaches is asking, What's the story you want to tell about yourself a year from now? This flips the common "letter to your younger self" exercise (which I personally don't really like) by putting people in their future seat. What would your future self want to say you accomplished this year?"
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
Making the goals personal and not only SMART can align the team and the individuals to push harder in achieving these goals: "One of my favorite approaches is asking, What's the story you want to tell about yourself a year from now? This flips the common "letter to your younger self" exercise (which I personally don't really like) by putting people in their future seat. What would your future self want to say you accomplished this year?"
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@david_perell: Most people aren't professional communicators, but there's barely a person who wouldn't benefit from improving their communication skills. Writing, listening, speaking, all of it. Good communication isn't the holy grail, but it makes getting there so much easier.
- 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.