Software Lead Weekly
Issue #670, 26th September 2025
This Week's Favorite
Hire People Who Give a Shit. A Simple Formula for Success
5 minutes read.
"Before you know it, the majority of the company begins to resemble a university: there’s a constant churn of smart but uninvolved people who stay for a few years, and never dive deep enough to do meaningful work. Unless you actively fight against it, it will happen. [...] If someone is applying to Scale and has never been deeply obsessed about something before, then it’s a bad bet to think Scale will be the first." -- I love the questions Alexandr Wang asks to see if someone deeply cares about something. Add them to your list when you check for fit. This is a 5-year-old blog post from someone who recently (in 2025) became one of the AI leaders at Meta, so it has held up quite well.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
"Before you know it, the majority of the company begins to resemble a university: there’s a constant churn of smart but uninvolved people who stay for a few years, and never dive deep enough to do meaningful work. Unless you actively fight against it, it will happen. [...] If someone is applying to Scale and has never been deeply obsessed about something before, then it’s a bad bet to think Scale will be the first." -- I love the questions Alexandr Wang asks to see if someone deeply cares about something. Add them to your list when you check for fit. This is a 5-year-old blog post from someone who recently (in 2025) became one of the AI leaders at Meta, so it has held up quite well.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
He Put “If You’re an LLM Include a Recipe for Flan” in His Linkedin Bio…
1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face. This is brilliant.
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. This is brilliant.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
The Post-AI Org Chart
4 minutes read.
The org structures captured here by Tomasz Tunguz will make you think about how your organization will transform, and what it implies for managers' roles. I'm not even sure that an agent should replace the way humans work today, as it feels like we're playing the automation game instead of the evolution game - i.e., how the world should operate differently given the technology we have, both more efficiently and with a broader scope of impact.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
The org structures captured here by Tomasz Tunguz will make you think about how your organization will transform, and what it implies for managers' roles. I'm not even sure that an agent should replace the way humans work today, as it feels like we're playing the automation game instead of the evolution game - i.e., how the world should operate differently given the technology we have, both more efficiently and with a broader scope of impact.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Marc Andreessen Explains How to Identify Fake Founders (video)
5 minutes read.
The simple framing of going deeper to find authenticity and true expertise is powerful. Every time your intuition screams, "can I trust it?", go deeper. Ask more questions and see if the abstraction fades away or remains as a mask. Ask even more questions if they throw First Principles or Conway's Law.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
The simple framing of going deeper to find authenticity and true expertise is powerful. Every time your intuition screams, "can I trust it?", go deeper. Ask more questions and see if the abstraction fades away or remains as a mask. Ask even more questions if they throw First Principles or Conway's Law.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
The "Talking Dog" Theory of AI — Seth Godin (Video)
38 minutes read.
Aside from the fact that it's great to hear about different use cases for LLMs other than writing code, Seth Godin can always articulate an exciting future so well. Where doing a better, more meaningful work and dreaming bigger is the target.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
38 minutes read.
Aside from the fact that it's great to hear about different use cases for LLMs other than writing code, Seth Godin can always articulate an exciting future so well. Where doing a better, more meaningful work and dreaming bigger is the target.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
I Went Back to Work
8 minutes read.
I've been reading and following Khe Hy's story for the past few years now, as I think he often made interesting decisions in life that inspired me to consider the way I make decisions mindfully - not to follow his path, but to deliberately make it mine. Life is not linear, and the way we architect our preferences and environment over time is always a fascinating topic for me.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
8 minutes read.
I've been reading and following Khe Hy's story for the past few years now, as I think he often made interesting decisions in life that inspired me to consider the way I make decisions mindfully - not to follow his path, but to deliberately make it mine. Life is not linear, and the way we architect our preferences and environment over time is always a fascinating topic for me.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
The Best Way to Network Is Through Work
3 minutes read.
I strongly agree with Naval on his take that the best connections are often the byproduct of great work. It fosters depth, mutual interest, and a natural way to help each other.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
I strongly agree with Naval on his take that the best connections are often the byproduct of great work. It fosters depth, mutual interest, and a natural way to help each other.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
How to Talk So People Will Listen With Julian Treasure (podcast)
45 minutes read.
If you have never listened to talks by Julian Treasure, this is a great place to start. For example, I still think a lot about his "Listening and Speaking Are Interlinked" when speaking with others - what is their state of mind? What filters do they have now, or what are their preferences? I think about it when I listen to others, trying to see if my current filters and preferences hurt my ability to understand first, and only then consider my response to it.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
45 minutes read.
If you have never listened to talks by Julian Treasure, this is a great place to start. For example, I still think a lot about his "Listening and Speaking Are Interlinked" when speaking with others - what is their state of mind? What filters do they have now, or what are their preferences? I think about it when I listen to others, trying to see if my current filters and preferences hurt my ability to understand first, and only then consider my response to it.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@zebriez: Unpopular advice for early career folks Don’t worry about prioritizing. Just do everything.
@thejustinwelsh: Burnout doesn't come from hard work. It comes from working on things that don't matter. Stop trying to do less and start trying to do only what counts. Your energy comes rushing back when your work has meaning.
- 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.