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Engineering (People) Managers

Contents

  • Manager
    • Becoming More Effective
    • Meetings and Decisions
    • Goals and Objectives
      • Accountability
      • Project Management
    • Delegation
    • Communication
      • Feedback
    • Hiring and Interviewing
    • Managing Up
    • Manager Podcasts
      • Collaboration and Product
      • People Management Articles
      • Burnout
      • Re-Org Layoffs Managing Out
  • Leadership
    • Blogs on Engineering Leadership
  • Business
  • History
    • Economics

This is roughly ordered as

  1. working with people
  2. special skills
  3. leadership
  4. business
  5. learn from others and history

(if you are in a hurry, ask your favorite/best AI to summarize any of these ;)

Manager

  • Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by Tom DeMarco, Timothy Lister
  • The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks Jr.
  • The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change by Camille Fournier
  • Managing Humans: Tales of leadership from the Silicon Valley by Michael Lopp
    • https://codingsans.com/blog/engineering-leadership
  • https://alistair.cockburn.us/Characterizing+people+as+non-linear%2c+first-order+components+in+software+development (1999)
  • https://cate.blog/2015/12/23/the-hardest-shortest-lesson-becoming-a-manager/
  • https://github.com/ksindi/managers-playbook A good quick guide for being a Manager

  • https://changelog.com/gotime/203 Just about Managing (people)

  • https://www.se-radio.net/2017/10/se-radio-episode-306-ron-lichty-on-managing-programmers
  • https://www.se-radio.net/2019/07/episode-374-marcus-blankenship-on-motivating-programmers/
  • https://blog.ycombinator.com/camille-fournier-on-managing-technical-teams/
  • https://www.se-radio.net/2019/02/se-radio-episode-355-randy-shoup-scaling-technology-and-organization/
  • https://www.effectiveem.com/building-managers-leading-from-the-back-leading-from-the-front/
  • https://charity.wtf/2023/12/15/why-should-you-or-anyone-become-an-engineering-manager/

  • https://www.se-radio.net/2018/10/se-radio-episode-340-lara-hogan-and-deepa-subramaniam-on-revitalizing-a-cross-functional-product-organization A meandering summary of eng management

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2019/02/role-power-revisited-you-speak-ceo-part-1
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2015/06/results-and-retention-part-1-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2015/06/results-and-retention-part-2-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.intercom.com/blog/maker-to-manager Transitioning into Management
  • https://qz.com/work/1447711/how-to-tell-if-youre-a-good-manager/

Becoming More Effective

  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  • https://www.developingleadership.co/episode/episode-3-the-art-of-making-good-decisions
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/energy-audit-reclaiming-time-increasing-ownership-brad-henrickson
  • https://lexfridman.com/cal-newport/ (Deep Work)
  • https://medium.learningbyshipping.com/how-much-to-manage-management-energy-units-ca1637a05140
  • https://fs.blog/how-to-think/
  • https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/shane-parrish
  • https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/laura-vanderkam-606
  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-better-decisions-annie-duke
  • https://sfelc.com/annual2022/topics/lessons-on-being-deliberate

Meetings and Decisions

  • https://mfbt.ca/what-i-hear-when-you-tell-me-your-company-doesnt-do-meetings-dfbb57a038d6?gi=9c2f0ad8ab87
  • http://timharford.com/2019/08/what-we-get-wrong-about-meetings-and-how-to-make-them-worth-attending/
  • https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife/why-meetings-suck-and-how-to-fix-them-transcript
  • https://switchingtoscrum.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/what-are-story-time-meetings-for/
  • https://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

  • https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/todd-simkin/ Making Better Decisions

  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-better-decisions-annie-duke
  • https://firstround.com/review/square-defangs-difficult-decisions-with-this-system-heres-how/
  • https://hackernoon.com/the-90-agreement-rule-36757dcc8eaa

Goals and Objectives

  • https://medium.com/startup-patterns/the-dangers-of-measuring-performance-d21cd61426df
  • https://www.betterworks.com/magazine/keys-okr-success-qa-john-doerr/
  • https://medium.com/agileinsider/how-to-write-great-okr-objectives-91a2d6b5c75e
  • https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Iu-setting-kpis-and-goals
  • https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Id-dalton-michael-setting-smarter-goals
  • https://www.developingleadership.co/episode/lets-talk-about-okrs

Accountability

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2018/11/preparing-performance-reviews-hof-2018
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2018/11/delivering-performance-review-hof-2018
  • https://manager-tools.com/2021/11/preparing-performance-reviews-hof-2021
  • https://manager-tools.com/2021/11/delivering-performance-review-hof-2021

  • https://www.radicalcandor.com/podcast/podcast-season-3-episode-8/ Development vs Management

  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2022/05/how-do-i-hold-my-team-accountable
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman%27s_stages_of_group_development Storming, Norming, and Performing

Project Management

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2009/01/horstman%E2%80%99s-law-project-management-part-1-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2020/02/rules-small-project-management-chapter-1-deliverables-basics-part-1-hall-fame-guidance

Delegation

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2007/01/the-juggling-koan Delegation
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2010/05/how-choose-what-delegate-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2012/02/delegating-floor
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2009/07/coaching-model-revised
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2009/07/coaching-model-part-2-hall-fame-guidance

Communication

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/07/the-single-most-effective-management-tool-part-1
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/07/the-single-most-effective-management-tool-part-2
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/07/the-single-most-effective-management-tool-part-3

  • https://www.radicalcandor.com/podcast/push-decisions-into-facts/

  • https://jvns.ca/blog/good-questions/
  • https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mastering-difficult-conversations-sarah-clatterbuck/id1481996448?i=1000451921123
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gep3IDc8ow Video of the Difficult Conversations session
  • https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/sheila-heen/ Decoding Difficult Conversations
  • https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/why-conversations-go-wrong/
  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-robust-relationships-carole-robin
  • https://www.jordanharbinger.com/robert-cialdini-a-new-look-at-the-science-of-influence/
  • https://guykawasaki.com/dr-robert-cialdini-the-godfather-of-influence/
    • https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-robert-cialdini-the-godfather-of-influence/id1483081827?i=1000462556262 (apple podcast link)

Feedback

  • https://www.tombartel.me/blog/a-primer-on-giving-critical-feedback/
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2019/10/negative-feedback-pushback-examples-part-1 (Build trust, then regularly deliver honest feedback)
  • https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-give-good-feedback/id1461493560?i=1000532766966
    • https://www.npr.org/2021/08/20/1029652315/5-tips-to-help-you-give-good-feedback
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/the-value-of-being-direct-eisar-lipkovitz

Hiring and Interviewing

  • https://stripe.com/atlas/guides/scaling-eng (a 1-2-3 guide to hiring engineers)
  • https://firstround.com/review/The-anatomy-of-the-perfect-technical-interview-from-a-former-Amazon-VP/
  • https://firstround.com/review/What-You-Want-in-a-VP-Eng-from-the-Recruiters-Behind-Twitter-and-LinkedIn/
  • https://www.lihaoyi.com/post/HowtoconductagoodProgrammingInterview.html
  • https://www.kennorton.com/essays/happy-10th-birthday-to-hthapm.html
  • https://guykawasaki.com/the_inside_scoo/ (Pragmatic Resume and Interview Prep)

Managing Up

  • https://www.managingup.show/episodes/actually-managing-up
  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2022/09/how-can-i-get-along-with-my-difficult-boss-from-hbrs-women-at-work
  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2022/11/how-do-i-overcome-my-disillusionment-with-the-executive-team

Manager Podcasts

  • https://www.se-radio.net/2019/03/se-radio-episode-359-engineering-maturity-with-jean-denis-greze/
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/changing-priorities-and-making-massive-engineering-pivots-vivian-shen
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2018/06/employee-retention-hof
  • https://www.se-radio.net/2020/03/episode-403-karl-hughes-on-speaking-at-tech-conferences/
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/engineering-execution-is-a-strategic-weapon-bill-coughran-sequoia-capital-melody-meckfessel-observable

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2011/11/steel-cage-death-match-meetings-part-1

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2011/12/steel-cage-death-match-meetings-part-2-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/all-podcasts (no nonsense advice on the art of people management)

Collaboration and Product

  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-essence-of-product-management
  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-management-theater-marty
  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-nature-of-product-marty-cagan
  • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/mastering-product-strategy-and-growing
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/reduce-friction-and-create-better-alignment-between-product-and-engineering-hubert-palan-productboard

People Management Articles

    • https://web.archive.org/web/20081016012736/http://alistair.cockburn.us/Characterizing+people+as+non-linear%2c+first-order+components+in+software+development
  • https://tomtunguz.com/plant-a-tree-youll-never-see (do the right thing even if you do not directly benefit)

  • https://firstround.com/review/these-13-exercises-will-prepare-you-for-works-toughest-situations/

  • https://medium.com/startup-patterns/the-dangers-of-measuring-performance-d21cd61426df
  • https://humanwhocodes.com/blog/2013/10/15/the-best-career-advice-ive-received/
  • https://firstround.com/review/our-6-must-reads-for-scaling-yourself-as-a-leader/

  • https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18264245 Crowdsourcing 1:1 ideas

  • https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20230133 Crowdsourcing signs of a great manager (2019)
  • https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14381264 Crowdsourcing engineering management (2017 comments about defmacro 2014)
  • https://markmcgranaghan.com/lessons-from-stripe
  • https://labs.spotify.com/2014/03/27/spotify-engineering-culture-part-1/
  • https://labs.spotify.com/2014/09/20/spotify-engineering-culture-part-2/

  • https://www.intercom.com/blog/keeping-information-flowing-as-you-grow/

  • https://medium.com/@skamille/yes-virginia-you-can-estimate-that-e33303eec9cf
  • https://codeburst.io/on-writing-tech-specs-6404c9791159?gi=147dabb57a56
  • https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3308563 Design Patterns for Managing Up

  • https://web.hypothes.is/blog/code-review-in-remote-teams/

  • https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16197364 (Showing work as a remote)

  • https://hbr.org/2019/08/8-ways-leaders-delegate-successfully

  • https://www.gwern.net/Complement (Commoditize your Complement aka weaponizing open-source)
  • https://kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ (Opinions for a career as a Software Engineer)
  • https://www.intercom.com/blog/run-less-software/

  • https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/

Burnout

  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2021/12/how-to-handle-feeling-overworked
  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2021/02/on-the-brink-of-burnout
  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2024/05/how-can-i-set-the-right-boundaries-in-a-new-job
  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2024/03/how-do-i-get-results-without-feeling-burned-out

Re-Org Layoffs Managing Out

  • https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/how-to-rid-your-company-of-toxic-employees
  • https://art19.com/shows/well-adjusting/episodes/d3b14bac-def7-4054-a3e7-fdc21e42ee6b "What to Do After a Layoff"
  • https://se-radio.net/2024/02/se-radio-601-han-yuan-on-reorganizations/
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/how-to-do-an-effective-re-org-aaron-erickson-orgspace-mike-tria-atlassian
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2005/10/compassionate-layoffs-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2023/02/how-lay-direct-part-1-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2023/03/how-lay-direct-part-2-hall-fame-guidance

Leadership

  • https://www.manager-tools.com/2020/10/decisions-not-choices-part-2-hall-fame-guidance
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/building-autonomous-teams-and-engineering-career-ladders-sri-viswanath
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/debate-flat-vs-hierarchical-organizations-farhan-thawar-jerry-krikheli
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/spend-time-on-what-matters-will-larson-cto-calm
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkA5A7BJF2k (2023 interview with Will Larson)
  • https://lethain.com/path-to-eng-manager-of-managers
  • https://medium.com/the-mission/part-2-overcome-the-5-dysfunctions-of-a-team-ef922309f8b5
  • https://hbr.org/2009/05/what-only-the-ceo-can-do
  • https://delian.io/lessons-3 (Keith Rabois on How to be an Effective Executive)
  • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/conscious-career-growth (Wade Chambers on "conscious growth")
    • https://sfelc.com/podcasts/conscious-career-growth-part-2 (Wade Chambers on increasing your capacity to win)
  • https://hbr.org/podcast/2024/04/how-do-i-avoid-a-career-plateau-at-midlife
  • https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/naval-ravikant-171/

Blogs on Engineering Leadership

  • http://www.elidedbranches.com/ (Camille Fournier)
    • http://www.elidedbranches.com/2016/11/building-and-motivating-engineering.html
  • https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/management

    • https://randsinrepose.com/archives/say-the-hard-thing/
  • https://larahogan.me/management

    • https://larahogan.me/blog/desk-moves/
  • https://cate.blog/tag/management/

  • https://katemats.com

    • https://katemats.com/the-art-of-delegating/
  • https://devtomanager.com/interviews/kim-moir/
  • https://medium.com/@kimber_lockhart
    • https://medium.com/@kimber_lockhart/priorities-and-taxes-7f8726cff868
    • https://medium.com/@kimber_lockhart/how-to-give-a-great-1-1-5cf923d9c6d8
  • https://softwareleadweekly.com/issues (a well curated weekly email of links for leaders)

https://markmcgranaghan.com/lessons-from-stripe

Business

  • The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
  • Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan
  • Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

  • https://web.archive.org/web/20200113140527/https://genius.com/Keith-rabois-lecture-14-how-to-operate-annotated?referent_id=4336630#note-4336630

  • https://www.industryweek.com/operations/quality/article/21963885/dr-deming-management-today-does-not-know-what-its-job-is-part-1

  • https://www.industryweek.com/operations/quality/article/21963886/dr-deming-management-today-does-not-know-what-its-job-is-part-2

History

  • Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston
    • https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-social-radar-jessica-livingston
  • Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
  • https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/microsoft
  • https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/microsoft-volume-ii
  • https://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2017/09/the-story-of-the-aoltime-warner-merger/
  • https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-44-aol-time-warner-with-the-internet-history-podcast
  • https://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2022/12/the-del-icio-us-story-with-joshua-schachter/
  • The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

  • https://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2019/05/microsoft-cto-kevin-scott/

  • https://www.se-radio.net/2019/07/episode-373-joel-spolsky-on-startups-growth-and-valuation/

  • https://mastersofscale.com/brian-chesky-handcrafted (Airbnb)
  • https://mastersofscale.com/stewart-butterfield-the-big-pivot/ (Slack)

  • https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/54663623/traynor-the-reality-of-ai Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy: Intercom adopting AI

Economics

  • Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard H. Thaler
  • https://art19.com/shows/think-like-an-economist/episodes/abb4af12-01fa-4d8e-b7d5-a387ae9d989a Gains from trade and specialization
  • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2024-06-28/odd-lots-the-theory-on-why-everyone-went-crazy-podcast