Newsletters

How to scale a unicorn-building engineering team

March 27, 2022

In this issue, explore strategies for scaling engineering teams, addressing organizational debt, navigating power dynamics, and enhancing leadership through daily reflection. Plus, insights on overcoming self-created mental barriers.

Levels of technical leadership

March 20, 2022

This issue dives into the nuances of technical leadership, effective requirement gathering, managing team dynamics, and balancing multiple roles as a technology leader. Discover strategies to enhance your engineering journey.

Software engineering principles

March 13, 2022

This issue explores essential software engineering principles, the importance of psychological safety for team performance, and strategies for scaling infrastructure in startups. Dive in for valuable insights.

Delegation is an art, not a science

March 06, 2022

In this issue, explore the art of delegation, learn how top companies foster a culture of documentation, master storytelling for impactful communication, and discover effective onboarding strategies for new developers.

What you give up when moving into engineering management

February 27, 2022

This issue explores the transition to engineering management, the significance of craftsmanship in product design, calendar reviews for better agency, and the power of momentum. Plus, a wild hire story you won't want to miss.

Building infrastructure platforms

February 20, 2022

This issue explores key insights for engineering teams, from building robust infrastructure platforms to effective learning methods. We also discuss the evolving role of TPMs and offer practical systems thinking tools. Join us.

Managing people 🤯

February 13, 2022

This issue explores essential insights for founders and managers, covering topics like managing teams, organizational culture, tech debt, and optimizing workspaces for productivity. Dive in to enhance your leadership skills.

Managing yourself

February 06, 2022

This issue dives into key challenges in engineering productivity, self-management, and team dynamics. Discover insights on prioritization, trade-offs in software quality, and navigating workplace stress for better results.

Don’t worry, be happy

January 30, 2022

This issue features insights on LeBron James' stellar season, the importance of 1-1 meetings in management, the pitfalls of legacy systems in CI/CD, and crafting memorable strategy statements for your team.

Structural lessons in engineering management

January 23, 2022

This week’s newsletter explores the balance of structural thinking in teams, the intricacies of software complexity, the impact of attrition, mental models for problem-solving, and a delightful story about two office cats, Jean and Jorts.

Know how your org works (or how to become a more effective engineer)

January 16, 2022

In this issue, explore strategies for effective project estimation without deadlines, understand Engineering Enablement, and gain insights from a personal journey in tech job searching. Dive into key takeaways to enhance your engineering effectiveness.

The power of defaults

January 09, 2022

In this issue, explore the secrets of structural competitive advantages, boost your team's productivity, tackle tech debt in super apps, and navigate the complexities of decision-making styles for better outcomes.

Principles of decision making

January 02, 2022

This week’s issue dives into decision-making principles for leaders, Mark Porter's tech journey at MongoDB, the nuances of code reviews, group dynamics, and insights on fostering a high-velocity DevOps culture.

The seven areas of software management

December 26, 2021

In this issue, we explore how to shift focus from projects to milestones for better results, the challenge of improving bad systems, and insights into metrics-driven product development. Discover strategies for effective engineering management.

How Stripe scaled

December 19, 2021

This issue features insights from Claire Hughes-Johnson on scaling startups, a guide to post-incident analysis, tips for performance ratings, and the evolving landscape of data teams. Dive in for valuable leadership and management strategies.

Hiring (and retaining) a diverse engineering team

December 12, 2021

This issue dives into building diverse engineering teams, aligning strategic objectives, enhancing on-call processes, prioritizing through calendars, and improving engineering communication. Discover insights from industry leaders.

OOPS writeups

December 05, 2021

This issue highlights effective OOPS write-up structures, the importance of clarity in architecture discussions, the growth fostered by strong software teams, and critical reflections on the "5 Whys" technique.

Planning for change with RFCs

November 28, 2021

This week’s issue explores effective knowledge-sharing through RFCs, revisits Agile principles, discusses intelligent escalation for SRE, emphasizes developer productivity, and tackles the challenge of measuring analytics work.

Don't soften feedback

November 21, 2021

In this issue, we explore the art of delivering tough feedback, the impact of code quality on team dynamics, and strategies for independent product engineering. Plus, insights on empowering directive leadership and measuring software engineer performance effectively.

Becoming a CTO

November 14, 2021

This week’s issue dives into insights on becoming a CTO, effective team communication, architectural design forces, the importance of rapid shipping in startups, and the mutual benefits of mentorship in tech.