➰ SWLW #407: How to prepare for an extended period of remote work, How to join a team and learn a codebase, and more.

I hope that you and your family are doing well, and you are able to find a new rhythm in this hard situation.

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

This Week's Favorite

​​CEOs and Leaders: Here’s How to Prepare for an Extended Period of Remote Work
35 minutes read.

David Hassell shares a post you can easily navigate to pick up ideas to help accommodate the "new normal." It made me think about many areas I need to improve on, and areas where the company has to play a different role. Skim over it, pick areas of interest, and dive deeper. My recommendation is to save this post and go over the different topics in the next couple of months based on interests and challenges at hand.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.

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Culture

When Your Social Media Person Is Also the Photographer, Video Editor, Graphic Designer, Copywriter, Strategist, Customer Service...
1 minute read.

My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face, even in this difficult time. I wonder how much time it took to arrange this setup.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.


The Memos: A Glimpse of the Winning Entrepreneurs Before They Were Famous
8 minutes read.

Bessemer shared some of their portfolio companies' early memos, covering their vision and status when raising money in the early days. I enjoyed browsing between the different companies and see how they presented their North Star and progress. There is plenty to learn from it if you want to work in a startup or start one - how to pitch the company, prioritize your risks, pick the metrics worth tracking, etc.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
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If Management Isn't a Promotion, the Engineering Isn't a Demotion
6 minutes read.

This post by Charity Majors should be a must-read for anyone considering taking a managerial position: "Management is only one of many forms leadership can take. Yes, you have formal powers delegated to you on behalf of the org, but formal authority is the weakest form of power, and you should resort to using it rarely. Good leaders lead by influence and persuasion, weak leaders with “because I said so”"

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Recruiting & Interviewing — Benefits & Frustrations Nobody Tells You About!
7 minutes read.

Vitaly Futoriansky provides helpful advice to consider when taking part in the interviewing process. This is one of the areas I enjoy the most. Done right, you can make an incredible impact - hiring great people to join and help you scale the company.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
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 Looking to hire for your team? Promote your open positions on SWLW! 

Peopleware

What to Talk About in 1:1s
2 minutes read.

The one and only Julia Evans with a one-pager you can use for 1:1s to focus the conversation on their well-being, mutual alignment (employee, manager, team, company), and growth opportunities.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.


Favorite Interview Question? “Teach Me About Something You’re Obsessed With.” Could Be About History or Knitting. I’m Topic Agnostic. That’s Not the Point. It Helps Me Find Passionate People Who Are Curious and Linear Thinkers. What’s Your Favorite Interview Question? (Thread)
3 minutes read.

Alex Lieberman started a thread around a question that helps navigate the interview towards deep passion by the candidate. The goal here is to see how they tell the story, how they teach, their learning framework, etc. A few useful questions were added in the thread. Do it with care, as the candidate can be puzzled by the situation and the question. Help them understand what you're seeking by asking it.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.


How to Join a Team and Learn a Codebase
6 minutes read.

Samuel Taylor wrote a post you should share with managers in your company to help them set clear expectations with new teammates: "If you're new to the company, figure out its mission, product offering(s), and goal(s). Then work to understand how your team fits into those things.[...] Without an understanding of the team's place in the company, you're doomed. You won't have sufficient context to execute your work well."

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.

And finally, inspiring tweets...

@KyleTibbitts: Goldilocks principle of career growth: Too junior: all execution/no strategy Too senior: all strategy/no execution Just right: both strategy+execution Progress to the point where you build a strategy muscle, but not to the point where your execution muscle atrophies to nothing.

@tylertringas: Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) Good advice for: programming. Bad advice for: marketing, leadership, twitter, branding, writing, positioning, mentoring, strategy, campaigning, learning.



p.s. if you're interested in joining SWLW's Slack channel, simply reply to this email and let me know.

p.s.2 are you leading a team of engineers? Write your Manager Readme or get my book Leading Snowflakes: The New Engineering Manager's Handbook.

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Keep reading, keep learning.
-- Oren Ellenbogen.