/Management

Interview With Tobi Lütke

tl;dr: Tobi, Founder and CEO of Shopify, discusses his typical day, how he manages time, meetings, and a lot more. "I reserved my afternoon for “greenpathing exercises” - where, oddly, I'm trying to discern how everyone is thinking about the main things we're working on. I feel as though I am the connective tissue combining operations, finance, and more formal business functions with the product itself. This connection helps me to make good decisions."

featured in #287


Using ‘Roofshots’ To Make Impossible Decisions

- Scott Triglia tl;dr: "A good plan would result in strong execution and a successful outcome" but this approach failed Scott when managing larger projects. His advice: "make plans that bend and adapt with the changing world around you. I built a habit of forming rough, directional plans, testing them with small bets, and using quick production feedback to reorient myself and start the cycle again."

featured in #286


5 Best Practices For Securing SSH In 2022

- Catherine Blake tl;dr: From changing the SSH default options to using a bastion host, this is a good reminder of how to boost the security of your infrastructure.

featured in #286


5 Heuristics To Decide When It’s Time To Stop Designing And Start Coding

- Shy Alter tl;dr: (1) There are enough "known knowns" in the project i.e. things you're aware of and understand. (2) There are no more "known unknowns" i.e. things you're aware of but don't understand. (3) There are too many "known unknowns" - this might be a good indication that you need more info, and a prototype can focus your efforts. (4) You stop learning new things. (5) Falling down the rabbit hole.

featured in #286


Mix And Match Mental Models

- Will Larson tl;dr: Will believes being too attached to any given mental model is what distinguishes managers perceived to have good judgment from those perceived to have bad judgment. "Run a problem through one mental model, and then another. If both models agree on the problem or approach, then great. However, if they disagree, spend time digging into why. There’s something valuable to learn there." He shows us how he's approaching headcount planning this way. 

featured in #285


Why Syncing .env Files Doesn’t Scale For Secrets Management

- Ryan Blunden tl;dr: The scary days of managing secrets are over. Introducing Doppler: the first universal secrets platform that enables developers to automate secrets and env files. 11,000+ customers use Doppler to keep their secrets in sync across devices and environments. 

featured in #285


What To Do When You’re Stuck In The Survival Zone

- Tony Schwartz tl;dr: The survival zone is when your energy is high, but negative at work. People in this zone are anxious, impatient and self-critical. Tony shares 6 observations to avoid falling here: (1) Become a sprinter, not a marathoner. (2) Substitute self-observation for judgment. (3) When you feel bad, remember that’s not the whole story. (4) Create a safe space for yourself within yourself. (5) Take up something you enjoy doing just for its own sake.(6) Make someone else’s life better. 

featured in #285


How "Engineering-Drive" Leads To "Engineering-Supremacy"

- Charity Majors tl;dr: Companies that describe themselves as engineering-driven tend to fall into 2 traps: (1) They alienate the business side showing little interest in other functions, such as sales or marketing. (2) Act like engineering is superior to other roles in the company. Charity hires engineers that show interest in the business, and believes that caring for the business is a "learnable skill" highlighting the tactics used at her company. 

featured in #284


Being A Great Developer Product Company Is More Than Building Products For Developers

tl;dr: There are mature playbooks for building B2C or B2B businesses, but developer businesses, despite massive success in some cases, are all still early. Here's what we think are the key characteristics for a successful developer product company.

featured in #284


Structural Lessons In Engineering Management

- Camille Fournier tl;dr: Engineering managers are "attracted to formulas, algorithms, and structures" and this kind of thinking can create too much structure when applied to team management. Camille gives an example: Engineering managers do not scale well beyond 7–8 direct reports, and teams can also downsize quickly i.e. people quit. Therefore, "the temptation is to create a clean tree structure for your organization" to rebalance numbers, but this can have adverse consequences quickly. Camille advises "to nudge it back into shape over time, or very occasionally, reorganize into something more appropriate." 

featured in #283