Software Lead Weekly
Issue #690, 13th February 2026
This Week's Favorite
Something Big Is Happening
12 minutes read.
It's fun to see how the industry (and the world) changes, and how perspectives here vary and real-life experience changes. Personalized software will increase (software you build for yourself or for your family and friends), there is no doubt in that. Standards and scale don't appear at this stage. Fixes are trivial. Generated tests mean absolutely nothing (they're terrible), yet you don't care much. No doubt the technology will continue to mature, and with that, our ability to build scalable software. Stop seeing yourself as a "coder," "designer," or "product manager," and go back to the roots: "I'm a builder." Put your curiosity to find leverage, not to judge your (yesterday’s) role in it.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
12 minutes read.
It's fun to see how the industry (and the world) changes, and how perspectives here vary and real-life experience changes. Personalized software will increase (software you build for yourself or for your family and friends), there is no doubt in that. Standards and scale don't appear at this stage. Fixes are trivial. Generated tests mean absolutely nothing (they're terrible), yet you don't care much. No doubt the technology will continue to mature, and with that, our ability to build scalable software. Stop seeing yourself as a "coder," "designer," or "product manager," and go back to the roots: "I'm a builder." Put your curiosity to find leverage, not to judge your (yesterday’s) role in it.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
“Don’t Worry, There Will Still Be Great Jobs Even When AI Automates Everything.” the Jobs:
1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile.
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1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It
3 minutes read.
We'll see the type of behaviors Simon Willison covers here happening more and more. People are going back to time and energy management. With new tools, your focus should be on what to work on and why. It will be to squeeze 3-4 hours of great deep work, versus cramming 9 to 12 hours thinking you're productive. Work yields more work. Deep work, with high leverage (why and what, not how), will yield 20 hours of agentic execution that help you promote your vision at a speed beyond imagination, to where technology was just 12 months ago.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
We'll see the type of behaviors Simon Willison covers here happening more and more. People are going back to time and energy management. With new tools, your focus should be on what to work on and why. It will be to squeeze 3-4 hours of great deep work, versus cramming 9 to 12 hours thinking you're productive. Work yields more work. Deep work, with high leverage (why and what, not how), will yield 20 hours of agentic execution that help you promote your vision at a speed beyond imagination, to where technology was just 12 months ago.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Context Graphs, One Month In
8 minutes read.
Capturing your research and planning phases as artifacts alongside the output (e.g., code or design) will be critical. Companies that conduct Design Reviews and Architecture Decision Records already see some of the value in capturing it. It will need to go deeper to truly capture complex dependencies, data schemas, and many small modifications and nuances for data-intensive or mission-critical products. Extensive tribal knowledge will be an organizational smell you'll need to deal with, like Tech Debt.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
8 minutes read.
Capturing your research and planning phases as artifacts alongside the output (e.g., code or design) will be critical. Companies that conduct Design Reviews and Architecture Decision Records already see some of the value in capturing it. It will need to go deeper to truly capture complex dependencies, data schemas, and many small modifications and nuances for data-intensive or mission-critical products. Extensive tribal knowledge will be an organizational smell you'll need to deal with, like Tech Debt.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
2026: The Biggest Year of M&A in History?
8 minutes read.
"Contrast that with private AI companies: they can spend freely to capture market share, while public companies must find efficiencies first, battle internal resistance, navigate regulatory constraints, and deliver returns every quarter. This helps explain why, despite enormous potential, enterprise AI adoption remains “at the very beginning,” as Ben notes." -- Interesting context on the market in 2026, given the changes AI creates for different types of companies.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
8 minutes read.
"Contrast that with private AI companies: they can spend freely to capture market share, while public companies must find efficiencies first, battle internal resistance, navigate regulatory constraints, and deliver returns every quarter. This helps explain why, despite enormous potential, enterprise AI adoption remains “at the very beginning,” as Ben notes." -- Interesting context on the market in 2026, given the changes AI creates for different types of companies.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
Good CISO / Bad CISO
5 minutes read.
I like the format of Good X / Bad X to provide clarity on the role and what to look for when hiring. If you're in the process of hiring a CISO or considering whether or not you need one, this is the post for you.
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Share it via Twitter or email.
5 minutes read.
I like the format of Good X / Bad X to provide clarity on the role and what to look for when hiring. If you're in the process of hiring a CISO or considering whether or not you need one, this is the post for you.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Making Codebases Agent Ready (Video)
15 minutes read.
This is a pragmatic video to watch if you're considering how to start shifting your codebase, development environment, and production environment (aka SDLC) to support agentic development. The better you become at verification, the faster you can iterate on changes. Figure out how to set up different verification mechanisms and how to control your rollouts to production so you can continue delivering deterministic value to your users while moving faster.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
15 minutes read.
This is a pragmatic video to watch if you're considering how to start shifting your codebase, development environment, and production environment (aka SDLC) to support agentic development. The better you become at verification, the faster you can iterate on changes. Figure out how to set up different verification mechanisms and how to control your rollouts to production so you can continue delivering deterministic value to your users while moving faster.
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
You Have 12 Shots in Life
7 minutes read.
This is a powerful framing to use when considering where to put your energy and talent to work: "Each shot should expand your capabilities, compound your relationships, create lasting artifacts and position you for better future shots. Your shots should get bigger as you get better. They're all part of the same game - creating beautiful, impactful work that makes you feel like you've truly lived."
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
7 minutes read.
This is a powerful framing to use when considering where to put your energy and talent to work: "Each shot should expand your capabilities, compound your relationships, create lasting artifacts and position you for better future shots. Your shots should get bigger as you get better. They're all part of the same game - creating beautiful, impactful work that makes you feel like you've truly lived."
Read it later via Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@SahilBloom: I'm increasingly convinced that burnout doesn't come from working long hours or weekends. Burnout comes from working on things that drain your energy with people that do the same.
- 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.