SWLW #632: On avoiding pile-ups, The Chief Architect role, and more.

Like always, I am sharing my best findings for the week. Under "Culture," you'll find content worth reading and sharing with others; you'll need others' help to pull it off. Under "Peopleware," you'll find content that can help you approach situations differently with new perspectives and frameworks.   

 

This Week's Favorite

How I Read - Non-Secrets for Voracious Reading
7 minutes read.

"I don’t finish every book I start. I skim. I’ll read a chunk of a book, place it on my shelf, and then pick it up two years later and continue. There have been a couple of occasions where I’d read the first page of a book, found it dull, and donated it. More than a year later, I bought it again, and read the whole thing in a few days. Sometimes, you have to be ready for a book. Most of what you read won’t be especially interesting or insightful. You have to crush a lot of rock to get to the gems. Deep learning demands effort. If you want to possess a large mental universe of knowledge from which to draw, you have to consume a lot of information. This requires focused reading." -- Books are a competitive advantage today. Your ability to think deeply and develop expertise comes from learning and practicing new concepts. Most people prefer to practice without understanding the fundamentals. Shallow practice will get you far, but you often miss opportunities to build compounding learning.

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Culture

Frontend Devs Like "App Is Finished"
1 minute read.

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

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The Duck-Rabbit & the Polarities of Leadership
8 minutes read.

This post should be a required reading for any leadership position (technical or managerial). Learning to pause and breathe in certain situations, to "hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. ", is a sign of mature leadership. Our minds seek to resolve the tension quickly. It prevents any deeper conversation and creative thinking.

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On Avoiding Pile-Ups. (Thread)
3 minutes read.

Jason Fried explains how the psychology changes when you decide to use 6 weeks iterations (worth reading Shape Up): "But, when you work in six week cycles, or relatively short time frames, later means something else entirely. There’s no time for later. It’s now or not. Later doesn’t mean we’ll get to it at the end of this cycle. It means we’ll drop it. Later means another time, not this time. Later isn’t an obligation, it’s a maybe. Later isn’t a cage, it’s freedom."

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Overcoming Resistance to Extreme Programming
7 minutes read.

Thought-provoking post that will get you to think about the individual and the team. What are you trying to optimize for? What do you want to experiment with next as a team? How do you find fun and joy in the way the team operates? "Popular developer culture glorifies individual autonomy and preferences above all else. What helps an individual focus, get into flow, get most done, avoid distractions. Maximise flow, minimise meetings. Embracing XP values requires embracing what’s best for the team and the team’s outcomes; at the expense of individual freedom and productivity. This wrankles."

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Peopleware

Your 12-Month Engineering Manager MBA for 2025
4 minutes read.

Anton Zaides shares excellent resources you can read over 12 months for Engineering Managers. Learning is part of our careers, expanding beyond any degree we might have. What do you plan to read this month? Who can you talk with about it to exchange ideas?

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The Chief Architect Role — Part 2 (The Actual Work)
4 minutes read.

Nir Rubinstein shares insights from his role as the Chief Architect at AppsFlyer. Looking at the role of the Architect during the Definition of Ready (when to start) and Definition of Done (when to stop) is an interesting observation. How does it work in your company?

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Beyond Staff Engineer
8 minutes read.

Alex Ewerlöf covers the technical IC's ladder on the higher spectrum of Senior to Staff to Senior Staff and Principal Engineer. "You will be closer to how the money is made and are expected to fit the technical solutions to business problems. You get used to reading the numbers and interpreting it to technical improvements." -- This point is often challenging for technical leaders as it forces them to connect business needs with technical solutions, and such investments are often not easily connected yet still critical.

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And finally, inspiring tweets...

@BrianNorgard: If you want to put your dreams to sleep, consume lots of media.

@SahilBloom: Here’s a harsh truth: No one cares about your deep work ritual or morning routine if you don’t get sh*t done. Input quality may get you social media likes, but output quality (and quantity) is what gets you paid.



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.