SWLW #524: Challenging the status quo at work, The end of Blitzscaling, and more.

Heya,

As always, below you can read my best findings for the week.
 

This Week's Favorite

​​The End of Blitzscaling
5 minutes read.

"Each time throughout history, when easy money and low rates vanish, so do the distortions, speculative ventures, and delayed business failures. This time has been no different. [...] Many of the companies that make it through to the other side of this difficult period will likely go on to define the technology landscape[...] While their value in the near-term may be impaired, their longer term value should be materially higher in a few years given the fact that their competition will have decreased, while their pricing power will have increased." -- Ted Lamade with a great post that captures well where we stand in 2022 and how 2023 will (probably) look like.

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Culture

Create a Drinking Game Based on Common Product Management Mistakes
1 minute read.

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

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Should We Measure the Performance of an Engineering Team?
8 minutes read.

Hugo Lassiege will get you to think about performance and measurements you can explore. I believe that OKRs and measurements such as the ones Hugo presents, give you a good "ground" to build on. Same as DORA metrics. It doesn't say anything about the organization's success, but without a good enough baseline, it will be hard to build greatness. One should define the "sky" - what is unique about your company that your team should act differently and build differently because of it? Which behaviors, tools, and practices are strange (in a good way), so candidates are surprised about them, and can you explain why it makes sense for your business?

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Challenging the Status Quo at Work?
6 minutes read.

"Are any personal feelings impacting how I feel?" is a powerful question that Hebba Youssef raises. Our relationships often hold us back from learning from others and changing our minds. I like asking "What can I learn from them?" before I think about the conflict at hand. This helps me frame the relationship as a positive one regardless of our specific disagreement. Which mental anchors do you use to separate the person (and relationship with them) from the current conflict you're dealing with?

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Overcoming Negativity
4 minutes read.

When reading Salman's post, I think not only about my mindset and response to negativity, but also about how to address it on a team's level. Recency bias with Echo chamber effect can take down your entire team, even if they do well (overall). What practices can you do as a team to fight the default negativity around us (media doesn't help)?

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Peopleware

Coping Strategies for the Serial Project Hoarder
8 minutes read.

Simon Willison is a machine. A truly inspirational maker who can serve as a great inspiration for us (I have 4 side projects, and 185 sounds... scary). This takeaway is powerful: "This is a mental trick which works really well for me. No project of mine is finished until I’ve told people about it in some way is a really useful habit to form."

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Read What You Love Until You Love to Read. Some Notes to Self on Reading. (Thread)
3 minutes read.

This thread is so powerful. Reading is a superpower. I shared this before in one of my talks (I wish someone had told me that when I was 12): "Read many books in parallel. Focus is overrated, having fun is underrated. Read only the chapters you find interesting. The author won’t know. Write inside the book. Write even more if your handwriting is ugly. Start at the end and go back. Nobody dies, it’s safe."

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Study Less Study Smart (Video)
60 minutes read.

Marty Lobdell's talk should be a must-watch for every knowledge worker. Our learning never ends. There are so many gems in this talk: How to set up your environment, how to take a break after 25-30 minutes (until you can stretch further), and many other tips to help you become an effective learner.

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And finally, inspiring tweets...

@JamesClear: You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

@beh_zod: "Schedule and manage your bandwidth, not your time" is probably the most important lesson I've learned over the last year as an independent. Being intentional about when I do things and how much I do has paid dividends in terms of energy, happiness, and quality.



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.