SWLW #623: Tech Org Defaults, Radiate Intent, and more.

Like always, sharing my best findings for the week.  

 

This Week's Favorite

Funding for Outcomes: How to Budget in Product Mode Organisations
15 minutes read.

Scott Millett wrote a post every senior manager should read when considering how to present investment requests as part of the yearly budget. This one is golden: "Funding in this manner is simpler because, instead of asking, “What project should we prioritize based on assumptions and predictions of the future?” we can ask ourselves, “How much money do we want to invest in solving this problem or achieving this outcome?” “What can we achieve by this date?” “How much should we invest in this hypothesis to achieve the outcomes before we look at alternative ways?” This makes far more sense when dealing with complex problems because we can control the controllables (i.e., how much we want to spend on a problem) and task a team with prioritizing the next best action to reach the outcome and regularly review to determine if we want to continue to invest or move funding somewhere else."

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Culture

This Video Is the Reason Why I Pay My Internet Bills For
1 minute read.

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

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To Build a Meritocracy
5 minutes read.

Max Levchin shares the protocol for working at Affirm, setting the tone and aligning expectations for how work is being done. I like the "merit" section as I think it will attract some talent that would like it, while pushing away others. What would you write? What is unique about your culture that would attract the right people you seek to build a strong team?

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Tech Org Defaults
5 minutes read.

Aviv Ben-Yosef is spot on, having guidelines and defaults for team structure and report lines is extremely useful as you scale the company: It reduces tension when a decision needs to be made, and it improves the Design Review you can pull around Org Design when an opportunity introduces itself.

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Radiate Intent
4 minutes read.

"[Radiating intent] Invites participation from those with critical info or a desire to help. If wrong it gives a chance for someone to stop you without leaving you waiting to begin. You control the timeline." -- Lee Byron and Elizabeth Ayer will inspire you to write more, dream bigger, and act.

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Peopleware

A Few Thoughts on Suffering
4 minutes read.

Noah Kagan with a beautiful framing: "The micro is suffering, but the macro is rewarding. [...] We run toward pleasure and run away from pain. But what if the pain and suffering are there to help us grow? The moment where you lean into suffering is where you get the most growth."

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“Escape Competition Through Authenticity.”
2 minutes read.

I like how Julian takes Naval's advice and goes a level deeper: "Sell yourself through authenticity; become the brand. People will come to you because of who you are. This is the best era to do it. Use the internet as leverage it’s permissionless, and you can easily scale your brand if you bring authenticity and uniqueness."

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Suitably Detailed Roadmap Items
4 minutes read.

John Cutler offers a way to iterate on the product scope, requirements, and focus areas as you get closer to execution. Figuring out the right level of investment per phase helps align the team while you don't waste cycles.

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And finally, inspiring tweets...

@AdamMGrant: Abusive bosses don't drive performance. They undermine it. 471 studies, 149k people, 36 countries: in aggressive workplaces, we do poorer work, collaborate less, and shirk more. Incivility breaks confidence and breeds resentment. The best way to get results is to show respect.

@sama: the best way to get good at something is usually to just practice actually doing the thing in question. a lot of very capable people outsmart themselves with complex plans that involve working a lot on fake prerequisites.



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Keep reading, keep learning.
-- Oren Ellenbogen.