SWLW #453: Heuristics for effective Software Development, The SaaS Org Chart, and more.

Heya,

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

This Week's Favorite

​​Heuristics for Effective Software Development: A Continuously Evolving List
5 minutes read.

Allen Holub shares interesting heuristics worth considering to measure your software development effectiveness. The goal is not to agree or adopt it as is, but to think of which heuristics you'd like to write for your company. I like this one: "Autonomy does not mean that the teams do not coordinate with one another and with the larger organization. Alignment around everything from strategic goals to implementation technology is essential." -- What would you write? Share and discuss internally.

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
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Culture

First Time Founder Meets Startup Life
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.
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The Problem With Prioritization Frameworks
5 minutes read.

"If team members are bought in, they bring their A-game. They contribute their ideas to the improvement effort and deliver solutions of the highest craftspersonship, because they want the effort to succeed. [...] A well-aligned product team is worth much more than a prioritization that's slightly more optimal in theory according to some framework." -- Critical element here is to involve your Go To Market team (sales, BizDev, marketing, product marketing) in this discussion.

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


The Internet Treats Bad Business Models as Defects and Routes Around Them (Thread)
3 minutes read.

Worth following Chris Dixon if you want to understand the past better and get an idea of how the next 10 years horizon might look like: "Creators can now choose to route around institutions that have been holding them back, embracing the forward progression of technology — as video games did— instead of fighting it — as the music industry did."

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


The SaaS Org Chart
5 minutes read.

David Sacks shared rough numbers and ratios to look at the way your Org is structured. This might be useful as a sanity test to start a discussion if you feel there is an unbalanced area.

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

Jobs [sponsored]

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Peopleware

How to Find Your Zone of Genius
5 minutes read.

Mathilde Collin with practical tips on energy management, structuring your days to maximize the areas you enjoy (high energy) and excellent at (provide high impact and value few can do): "There’s a very practical exercise you can do to figure out what activities fall within your zone of genius: the Energy Audit. You can do it on your own, but it’s best to have someone to hold you accountable."

Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
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Journaling Through a Pandemic
5 minutes read.

Writing can help deal with our anxiety, fears, worries, and our Monkey Mind. I hope you'll take Daniel Schauenberg's story as an inspiration to find some medium to share your inner world, and find some peace. I try to enjoy the moments (not always successfully) I have with my family and friends and at work. I don't judge situations too harshly or over-analyze them. I measure my progress and satisfaction in months and years rather than days and weeks to avoid Recency Bias and quiet down my mind. Writing has been helpful. Talking about it with others has been helpful.

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


How to (Not) Plan A Career
6 minutes read.

"Focus on what you know about yourself, what skills you have or might get, what serendipitous options might be available to you, and how you can make the most of them." -- Understanding that using Inversion as a mental model for career planning is the wrong approach is something I agree strongly about now (at the age of 37). I like Pam's approach: "Focus on what you know about yourself, what skills you have or might get, what serendipitous options might be available to you, and how you can make the most of them." -- This will help you figure out the type of people you want to surround yourself with.

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

And finally, inspiring tweets...

@sallamar: Most constraints are imaginary.

@SahilBloom: Growth Principle: Develop a bias for motion. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. When in doubt, just start moving.



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Keep reading, keep learning.
-- Oren Ellenbogen.