SWLW #520: CTO from Startup to Scaleup, Mental models to help you cut your losses, and more.

Heya,

As always, below you can read my best findings for the week. If you want to support my work or join our SWLW community in Slack - scroll down to the bottom of the email to see how.
 

This Week's Favorite

​​Don't Wait for Motivation, Act for Momentum
3 minutes read.

Progress is a powerful drug. The most challenging skill of a leader is building the initial momentum for tasks others think too hard to execute: a complex system design, hiring for a tricky role, making an organizational change, etc. What is your tip for getting out of the analysis-paralysis stage?

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Culture

Your Friends When You Launch Any Product
1 minute read.

My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face.

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Mental Models to Help You Cut Your Losses
6 minutes read.

"One of Teller’s valuable insights is that pedestal-building creates the illusion of progress rather than actual progress itself." -- Annie Duke's tip on setting "Kill criteria" can align expectations early on, reducing busy work that produces no impact.

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The Hidden Cost of Complexity
6 minutes read.

"A simple grave would have been enough. Something similar to what heads of state receive these days. Yet we admire the building and its complexity. We don’t see it as a waste of resources that could have been invested elsewhere. [...] We admire complexity and avoid simplicity, while we should admire simplicity and avoid complexity." -- Dolev Pomeranz made me think about how I define and measure simplicity. How would you approach it?

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AI: Startup vs Incumbent Value
8 minutes read.

Generative AI applications are spawning daily, with remarkable utilization and beauty. Elad Gil has vast experience in this field, sharing a few possible outcomes. This is a great time to watch how a new market evolves from technology, product, and business perspectives.

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Peopleware

CTO From Startup to Scaleup
12 minutes read.

A fascinating read by Hugo Lassiege on his journey as a CTO. This is a great takeaway: "Learn to fire yourself. It will be one of your mantras later, how to fire yourself all the time? Now you have to hire colleagues to do certain jobs and do it better than you. You’re done with the roles of PM, UX, Front, etc. I have the feeling that some CTOs get stuck at this stage because they can’t hire better than them."

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I Survived 5 Rounds of Layoffs at Zynga / Blizzard as a Manager. What I Learned (Thread)
5 minutes read.

Given the recent layoffs in many companies, I hope everyone will figure out a way to get into a healthier place. Empathize with those who need to find a new job and those who stay to deal with a complex situation.

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You Got Laid Off? Let’s Talk About Next Steps
6 minutes read.

Share Srivatsan Sridharan's post with people you know who might need it now. Be kind and don't judge the situation ("it's good that they let you go, they're a horrible company anyway!"). If you can, help them practice their pitch (how they tell their story) and see how they answer technical questions. Help to make intros with people from your network.

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And finally, inspiring tweets...

@_gyani_: AI is short for Ambitious Indians

@david_perell: Bored writers create bored readers. Don't write about what you're supposed to write about when you can write about the things that awaken your spirit instead.



p.s. if you're interested in joining SWLW's Slack channel, simply reply to this email and let me know. If you're leading a team, consider writing your Manager README (it's free) or getting my e-book and interviews Leading Snowflakes: The New Engineering Manager's Handbook. You can also support me by becoming a SWLW Patron. Thank you ❤️




Keep reading, keep learning.
-- Oren Ellenbogen.