Software Lead Weekly
Issue #661, 25th July 2025
This Week's Favorite
Tokens: The New Oil
5 minutes read.
Many companies are building layers and logic on top of various GenAI models. Many of them won't make it - growth can be amazing, but so is dramatic customer churn - so the question is how do you protect your assets (API calls, aka in 2025 - tokens) and create an experience worth getting back to. Use Kent's advice to give you some time to deal with that stress and buy yourself some time.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
Many companies are building layers and logic on top of various GenAI models. Many of them won't make it - growth can be amazing, but so is dramatic customer churn - so the question is how do you protect your assets (API calls, aka in 2025 - tokens) and create an experience worth getting back to. Use Kent's advice to give you some time to deal with that stress and buy yourself some time.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
I Vibe Coded a Little Game Called Coldplay Canoodlers - You're the Camera Operator and You Have to Find the CEO and HR Lady Canoodling
1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face. Nerds are the best!
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
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1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face. Nerds are the best!
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Why Senior Leaders Should Stop Having So Many One-on-Ones
7 minutes read.
"But here’s the counterintuitive truth: The more 1:1 meetings senior executives have, the more fragmented and functionally siloed the organization can become." -- I've read before about the notion of moving away from 1:1s for executive roles to a different format (per domain, capabilities, or focus area), and I think that it finally clicks for me. I see many of the traps and the upside. It's harder to build deep relationships without investing time in it, but there are more ways to achieve this than 1:1 meetings.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
7 minutes read.
"But here’s the counterintuitive truth: The more 1:1 meetings senior executives have, the more fragmented and functionally siloed the organization can become." -- I've read before about the notion of moving away from 1:1s for executive roles to a different format (per domain, capabilities, or focus area), and I think that it finally clicks for me. I see many of the traps and the upside. It's harder to build deep relationships without investing time in it, but there are more ways to achieve this than 1:1 meetings.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Andrej Karpathy Explains Elon Musk’s Unique Management Style (Video)
4 minutes read.
The legendary Andrej Karpathy shares how it feels to work with Elon. It feels intense, like operating an elite sport team. No excuses. No slack. Like many things in life, it's not good or bad. It's a culture you should fit to, and thrive in. Many companies will benefit from dialing up that mentality, even if not taking it to the same extreme.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
The legendary Andrej Karpathy shares how it feels to work with Elon. It feels intense, like operating an elite sport team. No excuses. No slack. Like many things in life, it's not good or bad. It's a culture you should fit to, and thrive in. Many companies will benefit from dialing up that mentality, even if not taking it to the same extreme.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
AI-powered R&D—vibecoding, Taste, and the Evolution of Full-Stack Design
8 minutes read.
This is one of the best posts I've read recently on the shift in how R&D organizations will work. Maybe the one takeaway that should be top of mind in the direction we're seeing is this one: "Design for supervision, not operation. In an agentic future, users become managers of AI systems rather than direct operators. This requires new patterns for monitoring, directing, and coordinating multiple AI agents—potentially even OS-level dashboards for agent management. "
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
8 minutes read.
This is one of the best posts I've read recently on the shift in how R&D organizations will work. Maybe the one takeaway that should be top of mind in the direction we're seeing is this one: "Design for supervision, not operation. In an agentic future, users become managers of AI systems rather than direct operators. This requires new patterns for monitoring, directing, and coordinating multiple AI agents—potentially even OS-level dashboards for agent management. "
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
Steal This Prompt to Create Your Own AI Copilot
3 minutes read.
A nice prompt you can use this weekend with various models to get some feedback on decisions and actions you want to take at work. I liked Maninder's recommendation to add to the prompt: "Respond in tone, style and way of thinking of Jerry Colonna."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
A nice prompt you can use this weekend with various models to get some feedback on decisions and actions you want to take at work. I liked Maninder's recommendation to add to the prompt: "Respond in tone, style and way of thinking of Jerry Colonna."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Moving From UX to AX (Agentic Experience)
4 minutes read.
"Your email client will learn your writing style and priorities. your design tool will remember your brand guidelines and suggest layouts. your CRM will track relationship patterns and recommend next moves. The best products will anticipate needs, remember context, and get better with every interaction. We're moving from tools you use to partners you work with." -- What an incredible way to capture the changes we see in the industry with the new generative AI tools. Adopt the same mindset when designing products.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
"Your email client will learn your writing style and priorities. your design tool will remember your brand guidelines and suggest layouts. your CRM will track relationship patterns and recommend next moves. The best products will anticipate needs, remember context, and get better with every interaction. We're moving from tools you use to partners you work with." -- What an incredible way to capture the changes we see in the industry with the new generative AI tools. Adopt the same mindset when designing products.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Specificity: A Weapon of Mass Effectiveness
5 minutes read.
"Generic words are a sure sign of lazy writing. [...] Besides being boring and uninspiring, generic words are interpreted differently by different people, so it’s not clear what message will be received on the other end of the Internet connection." -- Generic writing is soulless; it hides who you are and how you truly think about the subject. Writing exposes parts of you you want others to see through the lens of the topic at hand.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
"Generic words are a sure sign of lazy writing. [...] Besides being boring and uninspiring, generic words are interpreted differently by different people, so it’s not clear what message will be received on the other end of the Internet connection." -- Generic writing is soulless; it hides who you are and how you truly think about the subject. Writing exposes parts of you you want others to see through the lens of the topic at hand.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@signulll: 98% of ppl won’t get you, won’t care to, & won’t ever try. that’s not tragic. it’s just stats. the goal isn’t universal appreciation. It’s finding the 2% who see you & pouring every single thing into that.
@blakeaburge: Underrated life skill: Pausing. Life doesn't slow down on its own. You have to do that part yourself. Take a walk with your spouse. Sit with your kid a little longer. Call your parents to hear the same story you've heard 1,000 times. Savor the days before the years pass you by.
- 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.