SWLW #541: Subtraction not Addition, Using cultural survey data, and more.

Heya,

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

This Week's Favorite

​​Subtraction, Not Addition
7 minutes read.

Andy Johns's "Beliefs as a Vector of Attack" section is a wonderful read. I've never thought about it that way. Unplug the servers (reduce the ego). The journey of learning and unlearning about ourselves is worth taking. Seeking truth enables us to dream bigger yet appreciate the small things that make us, us.

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Culture

Gotta Reallocate That Household Entertainment Budget
1 minute read.

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

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Numbers to Know for Managing (Software Teams)
5 minutes read.

This post reminded me of the post "Latency Numbers Every Programmer Should Know." While the figures and stories (as in this case, most are just stories) are interesting to consider, they mostly made me know which numbers I deem right. What are your numbers and the stories behind them? Is it working for you, or do these figures hold you hostage for making better decisions and taking accountability?

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If You’ve Ever Worked on a Team That Was Successfully Able to “Slow Down to Speed Up” What Was the Critical Ingredient to Making It Work? (Thread)
4 minutes read.

Great question, and even better responses in this thread. Setting the pain and the goal right is the first step to go, then creating massive buy-in that starts at the top is critical to create some space and let the team have the time needed to make the change.

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Using Cultural Survey Data
8 minutes read.

There are a lot of gems within the data we gather in surveys. People trust the leaders to act upon this feedback and make needed improvements. This is an excellent advice to follow up on when starting the next survey: "Make sure to mention these improvements [ones you made due to the previous sruvey] when you introduce the next round of cultural surveying. The team will take the survey much more seriously if they know you took action last time."

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Peopleware

Running Your Engineering Leads Team Meeting
3 minutes read.

Rachel LeBlanc covers how to structure one of the most challenging meetings to get right. Given the differences between the teams and leaders involved, figuring out the agenda and who (and how) runs the meeting is critical. Discuss in this forum how good usage of the team's time looks like. Ask relevant Directors, VPs, and C-level to assist with their inputs.

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Re-Thinking Presentations
5 minutes read.

Presentations should start with "What is our goal for today?" and "Key takeways." Only then do the details and information build your case. I like Rishad Tobaccowala's 9 slides framework, as it covers everything you need and can serve as a good template for your next meeting.

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How to Use AI to Do Practical Stuff: A New Guide
5 minutes read.

This guide by Ethan Mollick can be a nice reading material before your next Hackathon at work. I'm sure the team can benefit from playing with it and enhancing their projects.

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And finally, inspiring tweets...

@sama: When you learn that you can learn anything, you are willing to take on anything. And when you learn that you can win with execution speed alone, you are willing to take on anyone.

@alexandr_wang: Let’s all be honest—working during COVID sucked. a lot. Get your ass back in an office and rediscover what it feels like to love your work, and work with a team you love. Not too many other life hacks out there that are this easy



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.