Atari 1200XL home computer A quick one today. I especially recommended the articles about productivity tools and over-meeting culture. Leadership 4 Productivity Tools I Use Everyday - I like that this is not about the tools that you buy, but how you use them. Yes, You Should Estimate Software Projects - back in the good old days when teams were still doing time estimates, I truly enjoyed it when I got them right. ...
Cheese on a plate I am well impressed by the transparency of Atlassian on going distributed and Buffer about their salary report. Both a worth a read. Leadership Overcoming toxic positivity with Susan David [Podcast] - toxic positivity is only a small part of this interesting conversation. ADRs and RFCs: Their Differences and Templates - I think nowadays ADRs are more common, maybe not always useful. Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us [Paper] - some bad ideas of leadership that are still around. ...
New year, new links! It has been fairly quiet on the blogs and podcasts recently, and I am focusing on some books at the moment. For some fun, have a look at the Jungle & Tetris posts in the random section. Leadership Productivity Measurement as a Tradeoff - good view from Kent Beck. Questionable Advice: “My boss says we don’t need any engineering managers. Is he right?” - I hope not! It’s a good summary of the purpose of managers. ...
I was lazy due to the festive season and travels. That means plenty of links for today. Leadership Engineering strategy notes. - I think I posted the articles in a previous edition. Many good resources in this one. Navigators - interesting approach. I guess in some companies these are architects or staff engineers. TBM 257: How to Make the Case for Slowing Down to Speed Up - many strategies, align with the main values and strategies. ...
I liked the story about Backstage from Spotify. The monaspace font is also lovely. Leadership Adam Bryant on how to know if you’re ready to become a leader. [Podcast] - lots of good stuff. A Practical Handbook For Engineering Management- another guide. I have just browsed a bit for now. Team Charters are a trap. - oh, I quite like them, but … “Empowering bottoms up mission-setting in an organization that practices top-down resource allocation is a trap.” ...