SWLW #437: Sustainable Change Agency, The Last Bus Problem, and more.

Heya,

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

​​Sustainable Change Agency
6 minutes read.

I love everything in this great PDF by John Cutler about being a “change agent.” For me, it’s everyone who wants to take something and make it better, enduring the friction of change and staying positive and humble. I always ask myself, “Is this truth, or just a story you tell yourself in your head” on things I’d like to see getting better. It’s damn hard. Often with a long feedback loop on success while plenty of “it won’t work” or “it’s too hard” on the way. I accept the hurdles because I care for the future I want to be a part of (in a small way). Sustainable Change Agency is a great framing.

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

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Culture

Maintaining the Monolith.
1 minute read.

My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face, even in this difficult time.

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


The Last Bus Problem
3 minutes read.

This is a good post to share with others if you're considering reducing the release cycle (or going all the way with CD): "for any repeating process it is important to consider both planning horizons and cycle time and the impact those have on the incentives they create for teams."

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


Billionaires Build
6 minutes read.

The mindset of the builder is fascinating. It can be building a company or building products inside a company, the desire to give your users superpowers is addicting. It's interesting reading Paul Graham explaining how they judge teams in 10 minutes, as it helps to see the different approach they adopted.

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


Do OKRS Work With Jobs to Be Done?
4 minutes read.

Jeff Gothelf helped me better understand how JTBD can go together with OKRs. I can see myself using it when thinking about our products (external and internal) to provide better context for everyone involved: "JTBD and OKR together provide context, motivation and success criteria. They allow teams to build a deep understanding of why current behavior is taking place, what could potentially shift it in other directions and a baseline from which to measure those behavior changes."

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

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Peopleware

Mistakes I’ve Made as an Engineering Manager
5 minutes read.

I did all of the mistakes Sarah Drasner write about. When you have long feedback cycles, it's easy to run in circles and let fears drive our decisions. Sharing our dilemmas and struggles is essential to not feel alone in this managerial journey.

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


I'm in a Buying Mood. What's the Best Thing to Get for Your Home That Most People Don't Think Of? (Thread)
4 minutes read.

You might enjoy Courtland Allen's thread and think of some creative ideas for gifts - to yourself or your teammates. As we're working more from home these days, small things like that can make a difference.

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


Where Are Your Thoughts Taking You?
3 minutes read.

Our mind is beautiful yet dangerous: "He’d be far more careful of the thoughts playing in his mind. He’d know it’s not a matter to be taken lightly, because it shapes the very experience of his Life." -- wonderful short essay that might help you calm down.

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

And finally, inspiring tweets...

@patio11: A mindset I learned the last few years which I'm getting a lot of use out of recently: "What is the much more ambitious version of that?"

@shreyas: How to “be more strategic” (Not easy, but also not impossible): (1) Think more top-down (2) Squelch fear of big goals (3) Work backwards from desired result (4) Ask why-what before how-when-who (5) Create structure via frameworks (6) See thru other people‘s lens (7) Simulate Nth-order effects



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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 and my work by becoming a SWLW Patron. Thank you ❤️




Keep reading, keep learning.
-- Oren Ellenbogen.