Engineering Leadership: A Discussion with Will Larson

This content revolves around a discussion with Will Larson, CTO at Carta, focusing on the changes in the engineering sector and the application of systems thinking. Larson discusses the shift in hiring practices, the redefinition of engineering director's performance, and the change in team structures within engineering. He emphasizes the need to treat engineers as peers, offering them more responsibilities to foster growth. Larson also discusses the concept of systems thinking, a problem-solving approach that considers the overall system, but warns that it's not universally applicable and can lead to conflicts when reality doesn't align with the system.

How does it apply to you?

The concepts discussed in this blog can be applied to real-world scenarios in software development. For example, engineering managers can reassess their hiring practices and team structures in light of these changes. Engineers can strive for more responsibility and leadership roles within their organizations. And, systems thinking can be applied to incident management to gain a more comprehensive understanding of incidents and their broader context.

Developer Checklist Refined

Engineering Management

Systems Thinking

Engineering Strategy

Content Creation

Interpersonal Relationships

Company Values and Culture

Career Growth and Learning

Summary

Engineers and Responsibilities

The speaker emphasizes the importance of treating engineers as peers and offering them more responsibilities, rather than sheltering them. They suggest that this approach enables engineers to grow and take on leadership roles.

Introduction of Will Larson

Will Larson is introduced as an experienced software engineering leader currently serving as CTO at Carta. He has held positions at Stripe, Uber, and Calm. In addition to his professional roles, he has authored two books, An Elegant Puzzle and Staff Engineer, and maintains a regular blog.

Topics of Discussion

The discussion will cover a range of topics, including engineering strategy, improving relationships between engineering managers and project managers, balancing writing and work, measuring engineering productivity, developing company values, and anecdotes from Larson's career.

Sponsorship Information

The episode is sponsored by DX, a platform for measuring and improving developer productivity, and OneSchema, an embeddable CSV importer for SaaS. Both companies offer solutions to common problems in the tech industry.

Guest Introduction

The host introduces Will Larson, thanking him for his participation and noting the high demand for his appearance on the podcast.

Changes in Engineering

The discussion shifts to changes in engineering. The speaker suggests that there have been significant changes, particularly in the transition from the zero interest rate era to the current market. The host asks for Larson's perspective on these changes and his advice to engineering leaders navigating them.

Market Changes and Impact on Engineering

Larson notes that the market has changed significantly since he began his career, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 crash. He describes a decade of growth that allowed for the development of large teams and the learning of how to hire effectively.

Shift in Hiring Practices

There's been a significant change in the hiring practices within the engineering sector. Previously, engineering managers spent a large portion of their time on hiring, conducting numerous interviews in succession. However, in recent times, this has significantly reduced, with some conducting two or less interviews a month. This shift has led to a change in the roles and responsibilities of engineering managers, with other competencies becoming more critical.

Impact on Engineering Director's Performance

The shift in responsibilities has affected how an engineering director's performance is perceived. Previously, a director who excelled at hiring could be considered a top performer. However, with the reduced focus on hiring, directors now need to demonstrate their abilities in other areas, such as team leadership and strategic decision-making.

Change in Team Structures

There has been a significant change in the structure of engineering teams. Previously, team sizes were rarely discussed unless there was a major issue. Now, however, team sizes are being carefully evaluated, with some teams being cut down or consolidated. This change has become a core part of many jobs within the engineering sector.

Shift in Engineers' Role

There has been a shift in how engineers are perceived and treated within organizations. Previously, there was a tendency to shield engineers from certain responsibilities, assuming they wouldn't want to take them on. However, the speaker believes it's important for engineers to be given more responsibility, treating them as peers and allowing them to take on senior leadership roles. This change provides engineers with the opportunity to grow and develop professionally.

Change in Evaluation of Middle Management

Previously, the performance of middle management was largely evaluated based on hiring and retention. Losing team members was considered a major issue, leading to a culture of coddling engineers. However, this is changing, with a greater focus now being placed on giving engineers challenging problems and holding them accountable. This shift has allowed engineers to take on more senior roles within organizations.

Introduction to Systems Thinking

The speaker is a strong advocate for systems thinking, a problem-solving approach that considers the overall system to understand the relationships and interactions within it. However, they caution that while it can be a useful framework, it's not universally applicable and can lead to conflicts when reality doesn't align with the system. A balance needs to be struck between systems thinking and practical realities.

Application of Systems Thinking in Incident Management

The speaker provides an example of how systems thinking was applied at Stripe in the context of incident management. It was critical for Stripe's API to be consistently available, as any downtime could result in significant financial losses for businesses using the service. Therefore, a lot of analysis was conducted to understand why incidents occurred and how they could be prevented. However, the speaker notes that they became so engrossed in the analysis that they lost sight of whether it was actually improving the situation.

Realization of Misplaced Priorities in Improvement

The speaker recognizes a flaw in their approach to improvement. Instead of focusing on actual improvements, they were overly occupied with measurements. This realization came from an understanding that continuous measurement without action doesn't lead to progress. The speaker emphasizes the necessity of taking action to make a real impact.

Systems Thinking Model and Reality

The speaker discusses the conflict between the systems thinking model and reality. They note that when there is a conflict, it's not reality that is wrong, but the model. They highlight the importance of recognizing these gaps as opportunities for learning and improving the models.

Understanding the Conflict Between Mental Models and Reality

The speaker discusses the importance of understanding where your mental model is in conflict with reality. This understanding allows you to educate yourself, improve the model, and eventually, do the work. The speaker warns against getting stuck in learning without actually doing anything.

Concept of Systems Thinking

The speaker explains the concept of systems thinking, which involves thinking about stocks and flows. Stocks are things that accumulate, such as the number of fish in a lake or people fishing, and flows are the movements between these stocks. This concept can be used to model and predict how systems can evolve over time.

Application of Systems Thinking on Hiring Pipeline

The speaker applies the concept of systems thinking to a hiring pipeline. In this model, potential candidates are the stock, and the inflows are sourced candidates, outreach, and referrals. The conversion rates at different stages of the hiring process represent the flows. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding these dynamics to identify potential issues in the hiring process.

Identifying Problems in the Hiring Process Using Systems Thinking

Using the systems thinking model, the speaker identifies a common problem in hiring pipelines: hiring managers' lack of confidence in candidates leading to a low conversion rate from potential to actual offers. The speaker suggests that identifying such issues using the model can lead to more targeted and effective improvements in the hiring process.

Issues with Hiring Conviction and Candidate Flow

The conversation discusses common problems faced by early managers during the hiring process. The first problem is a lack of conviction on who to hire. The second problem is extending many offers, but none of them being accepted. The third problem is the lack of sufficient candidates coming in despite being efficient in decision making and closing candidates. An applicant tracking system can be used to build a model to compare the expected candidate flow with the actual data, helping to identify where improvements are needed.

Understanding Hiring Issues through Data

The speaker emphasizes the importance of using data to understand and address hiring issues rather than making changes based on assumptions or feelings. For example, hiring managers might be extending too many offers due to panic, which can be identified and addressed using data. This systematic approach to problem-solving can help in making informed decisions.

Product Managers and Funnels

Product managers often think in terms of funnels, which can be applied to understand the flow of candidates through the hiring process. This approach helps in tracking the progress of candidates through different stages and identifying bottlenecks.

Engineering Strategy

The speaker talks about the lack of strategic thinking in engineering compared to other functions. They mention that every function, including engineering, has a strategy, but it is often not documented. The speaker also highlights the importance of writing down the strategy for clarity and consistency, and to allow for improvements.

The Importance of Documenting Strategy

The speaker emphasizes that having a written strategy helps in understanding whether problems arise from poor strategy or its misapplication. A documented strategy also allows for clearer communication and better debugging when issues arise.

The Power of Simple Strategies

The speaker discusses that good strategies are often simple and might seem boring. For example, in engineering, a common strategy is to only use the existing toolkit rather than introducing new tools. Such strategies, though they might seem restrictive, can be powerful and effective.

The Importance of Company Alignment and Strategic Focus

The speaker discusses the significance of company alignment and strategic focus. This process may be challenging, especially if there has been misalignment over time. However, having clear strategies that highlight what truly matters and align with the company's core values can be beneficial, even if they seem tedious at times. The speaker suggests that such strategies can help focus people's energy on the company's valued problems.

Definition of Strategy and its Components

The speaker presents Richard Rumelt's definition of strategy, which consists of three components. Firstly, a diagnosis that identifies the current status quo. Secondly, guiding policies based on the diagnosis to address the identified issues. Lastly, actions to implement these guiding policies. The speaker emphasizes the importance of action in preventing inert strategies that don't lead to any real changes.

Examples of Engineering Strategies

The speaker provides examples of engineering strategies from Uber and Stripe. At Uber, they had a strict no cloud policy, which allowed them to operate in different geopolitical constraints. This strategy, although inconvenient, enabled them to quickly set up operations in China. At Stripe, they ran a Ruby monolith, which helped focus their engineers on creating innovative features for users instead of building different tooling to support various programming languages.

The Role of Constraints in Strategy

The speaker emphasizes the role of constraints in strategy. By limiting options, companies can focus on what truly matters and move faster. Solving these constraints is a key aspect of strategy. The speaker warns against bad strategies, which often stem from a flawed diagnosis and a desire to ignore constraints. A good strategy should dictate how to invest limited capacity into problems that matter.

Recommendations for Learning Strategy

When striving to master strategy, there are various resources to consider. Richard Rumelt's 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy' is an ideal starting point, providing a solid foundation. 'The Crux' is also recommended, but perhaps as a subsequent read. 'Thinking in Systems' is beneficial for understanding systems thinking, a vital aspect of strategy. For those interested in the engineering aspect, there are books like 'Technology Strategy Patterns' by Evan Hewitt, 'The Value Flywheel effect' by Anderson, McCann and O'Reilly, and 'The Phoenix Project' by Kim, Behr, Spafford. However, there is still a need for a comprehensive engineering strategy book.

Upcoming Book on Strategy

The speaker mentions an upcoming book, 'The Engineering Executives Primer', which includes a section on strategy. The speaker also shares a desire to write a book specifically focused on engineering strategy, acknowledging that this is still an area lacking in comprehensive literature.

Writing Volume and Impact on Career

The speaker's writing volume is achieved by focusing on topics of personal interest, rather than writing for financial gain or adhering to a strict schedule. This approach allows for more creativity and energy in the writing process. Writing has had a significant impact on the speaker's career, providing an outlet for expressing thoughts and ideas. The speaker emphasizes the importance of writing about energizing topics and not forcing content that doesn't resonate.

The Writing Process

The speaker typically writes an entire book before involving a publisher. This approach requires anticipation of potential publisher concerns, but it allows for the majority of the content to be reused. The speaker's writing style, which focuses more on business than technical details, facilitates this process. The speaker stresses the importance of pursuing energizing topics and abandoning those that are not, as a strategy for maintaining a consistent writing practice over many years.

Writing for Personal Interest

The speaker writes about topics that are of personal interest, rather than tailoring content for a specific audience. This approach keeps the writing process enjoyable and energizing. While this may not appeal to all readers, the speaker is content with reaching those who appreciate the journey of the narrative.

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Writing Volume and Energy Management

The speaker reflects on the quantity of content they've produced over 16 years, estimating around a thousand posts. They emphasize the importance of focusing on topics that spark curiosity and provide energy, cautioning against writing solely based on what's popular or expected by the audience, as it can lead to burnout.

Avoiding Content Creation Burnout

The speaker discusses the risk of burnout in content creation and the tendency to feel like one has missed the wave or it's too late to join a platform. They stress the importance of persisting and creating good content, as building an audience over time is possible regardless of the platform. They also highlight the significance of finding something you can keep doing for the next decade.

The Long Game of Content Creation

The speaker agrees with the previous points, emphasizing that content creation is a long game. They believe that the key to success is consistency in producing content. They also mention that there's no competition between content creators, as it's an infinite game where everyone can help each other grow.

Raising the Bar in Content Creation

The speaker discusses the increasing standards in content creation due to the abundance of content available. They believe that in order to stand out, one must consistently produce high-quality content and add something new to the conversation. Being genuinely excited about the topic and having a unique contribution are crucial.

Balancing Writing and Work

The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding topics to write about that are directly related to one's work. This strategy allows for the integration of writing and work, making it easier to find time for both. It also helps improve work performance as writing about related topics refines thinking. The speaker cautions against writing about topics that are unrelated to work as it can be distracting and time-consuming.

Adjusting Writing Schedule After Parenthood

The speaker shares how the arrival of a child has made significant shifts in their writing schedule. Before having a child, Saturdays were dedicated to writing. However, now they mostly write at night. They stress the importance of energy management and being genuinely excited about the topic to find the time and energy for writing.

Advice for Aspiring Writers

The speaker suggests that if the aim of writing is to advance one's career, it would be more beneficial to focus on crafting two or three high-quality pieces rather than maintaining a regular blog. However, if the goal is to write consistently over time, the most important advice is to simply publish. They note that many people have numerous drafts that never get published, and encourage aspiring writers to publish almost everything they write.

Publishing and Accepting Feedback

The speaker shares their personal approach to publishing, stating that they publish almost everything they write, regardless of whether it's perfect or not. They believe that it's more important to express their ideas and share their evolving thoughts. When it comes to feedback, they advise not to spend too much time worrying about it, especially if it's negative, and to simply thank the person and move on.

Public Perception and Writing

The speaker suggests that people often overestimate how much others care about what they publish. They assert that the worst-case scenario is usually that someone will glance at the work and dismiss it, and that this shouldn't deter one from publishing their thoughts and ideas.

Dealing with Negative Internet Reactions

The content highlights the inevitability of encountering negativity on the internet, emphasizing that such incidents often have little to do with the person on the receiving end. It's suggested that people channeling their anger or frustration towards others online are often dealing with their own issues, unrelated to the person they're targeting. This point is used to stress the importance of not taking such negativity personally.

Starting Out and Building an Audience

The discussion moves on to talk about the initial stages of creating content or starting a new venture. It's mentioned that this is usually the least stressful time because there's less pressure from an audience. However, as an audience grows, stress levels can increase due to the anticipation and expectation of the audience.

Product Managers and Engineer Managers Relationship

The conversation shifts to the relationship between product managers (PMs) and engineer managers (EMs). It's suggested that PMs often wonder how to improve their relationships with EMs. The main issues identified are misaligned incentives and the lack of understanding of each other's needs. The advice given is for both parties to take time to understand each other's needs and concerns before trying to solve conflicts.

Understanding Complex Incentives and Needs

The discussion further elaborates on the complexity of the incentives and needs of PMs and EMs. It's pointed out that people often oversimplify these complexities, creating villains in the workplace. However, the reality is that everyone has complex incentives and needs. Understanding these complexities can lead to finding a compromise solution that benefits everyone.

Addressing Misaligned Incentives

The conversation then moves on to how to address the issue of misaligned incentives. One solution proposed is to ensure that PMs and EMs are peers and have the same performance rating. This idea forces both parties to view the situation from the right perspective and work together towards a common goal. The idea of grading PMs, EMs, and business leaders based on their ability to solve the entire set of constraints, not just their functional constraints, is also discussed.

Shared Incentives in Problem Solving

The discussion highlights the idea of shared incentives in problem-solving, particularly between engineering managers (EMs) and product managers (PMs). This approach, although not perfect and can sometimes lead to wrong trade-offs, promotes understanding and collaboration. The conversation also mentions the potential of involving design managers in this shared incentive model, especially for design-led companies.

Role and Primacy of Different Functions

The conversation moves on to the varying roles and importance of different functions in different companies. It's emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and the involvement of various roles such as staff engineers or design managers can be company-specific.

Challenges between PMs and EMs

A common challenge between PMs and EMs is highlighted, where EMs are tasked with giving their team interesting work, which can sometimes conflict with the PM's project requirements. This leads to a tricky situation where EMs are trying to balance the needs of both sides. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding and open communication to navigate these constraints and avoid misunderstandings.

Measuring Engineering Productivity

The discussion moves to measuring engineering productivity, a common and often challenging question for engineering leaders. The conversation suggests that the initial focus is often on benchmarking based on funding, which although provides a defensible answer, may not necessarily lead to the right productivity outcomes. The discussion then suggests a more effective approach might be to regularly engage with the team members, as they can provide valuable insights into the team's effectiveness and potential issues.

Importance of Intuition in Leadership

Leaders can't rely solely on their intuition to assure stakeholders that everything is fine within their teams. Stakeholders are managing a diverse portfolio and have to deal with various leaders, some with excellent intuition and others not so much. Therefore, it's challenging to assess a leader's intuition effectively.

Aligning Engineering Evaluation to Business and Product Goals

Aligning engineering evaluation with business and product goals is crucial. The purpose is not to build novel systems but to support the product and customers. It's essential to show the roadmap of valuable accomplishments over a specific period, such as six months. If a leader can present a list of impactful things done during this period, stakeholders will have more confidence in the leader's abilities.

Useful Metrics and Tools

The book 'Accelerate' by Nicole Forsgren and Gene Kim suggests four crucial metrics: lead time, incident remediation time, failure rate, and a fourth unidentified one. While these metrics are useful for diagnosing where to improve, they do not ultimately define a good or bad company. They merely indicate where to focus improvement efforts. It's important to feel comfortable measuring something imperfect and use it as an opportunity to educate others on its imperfections.

The Role of Metrics

Metrics are not about providing a perfect dataset but are tools for educating those consuming the metrics about the rich data underneath. Starting with something mediocre, like the Dora metrics for diagnosis, can be a good enough starting place for reporting to stakeholders. It's about starting somewhere and then educating people on the nuances to help them understand engineering more sophisticatedly.

Understanding the Importance of Company Values

The speaker emphasizes the importance of company values and the need for authenticity and originality in defining them. The speaker shares an anecdote about a company that copied Facebook's values, which failed to inspire confidence in their executive team's critical thinking. While those values worked for Facebook, they didn't resonate with the other company's culture and ethos. The key point here is that values should not be copied from another company, but should be thoughtfully considered and defined to reflect the unique characteristics of the company.

The Rule of Honesty in Company Values

The speaker discusses the importance of honesty in company values. It's essential for a company's values to reflect its true practices and attitudes. For instance, if a company claims 'users first' as a value, but its decisions don't prioritize users, this dishonesty can undermine trust. The speaker encourages values that reflect actual company behavior.

Applicability of Company Values

The speaker underlines the need for company values to be applicable and practical. A company's values should guide decision-making and influence behavior within the organization. The speaker provides examples of companies with contrasting values that were both applicable and relevant to their specific contexts. The key point is that values should not be abstract or theoretical, but directly applicable to the company's operations and strategy.

The Concept of Reversibility in Company Values

The speaker introduces the concept of reversibility in company values. Some values are not practically usable because they don't provide a clear direction for action or decision-making. The speaker uses the example of 'We build good software,' which isn't a useful value because there's no alternative to it. The speaker encourages companies to define values that can be reversed or provide a clear alternative course of action.

The Shortcomings of Identity Values

The speaker discusses the concept of 'identity values' which are values that merely describe who the company wants to be, rather than guiding decision-making or behavior. While these values can feel good, they are not particularly useful for practical application. The speaker advises companies to avoid spending too much time on identity values and instead focus on values that help the team make decisions.

The Need for Exclusivity in Company Values

The speaker suggests that company values should clearly indicate who doesn't fit within the company culture. If everyone fits the company values, they aren't serving as a useful distinguishing factor. The speaker implies that values should serve as a hiring filter, helping companies to identify who is a good fit for their culture and ethos.

Relevance of Company Values

The topic discusses the importance of having relevant and applicable company values. The speaker emphasizes that if a value doesn't apply to anyone in the company or to anyone being hired, it is not worth having. The speaker also discusses the problem of having too many values, suggesting that companies should aim to have a few key values that people can remember and that truly reflect the company's ethos.

Integrity and Honesty as Universal Values

The speaker points out that values such as integrity and honesty are common and universally desirable, hence they do not distinguish a company. The speaker shares an example from Airbnb, where they initially had six values, but later realized that one of them, 'simplify', was not truly representative of who they were, thus they cut it out.

Failure Corner: Digg V4 Experience

The speaker recounts a story of failure from his experience with Digg's V4 rewrite. The decision was made to completely rewrite the platform to compete with social networks, a decision the speaker now recognizes as flawed. The launch was fraught with problems, including the site continually crashing, and it took a month to get it fully functional. Despite significant effort and eventual success in stabilizing the platform, the company's value still went to zero.

Debugging and Solving Problems

The speaker goes into detail about the technical issues they faced during the Digg V4 launch and the process of debugging and problem-solving. The speaker and another engineer had to write a caching system from scratch, and they had to restart every server every 12 hours. Eventually, the speaker identified a simple issue related to Python's variable initialization as the core bug, which was causing excessive load on the servers.

Aftermath of Digg V4 Launch

Despite the team's heroic efforts to get the platform working, the company's value still went to zero. A new CEO came in a few weeks after the launch and laid off many employees. The speaker reflects on this as a remarkable experience, despite the failure.

Challenging Early Career Experiences

The speaker discusses his early career experience when he became a manager of an entire engineering team due to others quitting or being laid off. Despite his lack of qualifications and the grim situation at the time, he learned a great deal, which shaped his career.

Value of Difficult Experiences

The speaker shares that difficult experiences, while challenging in the moment, often turn out to be the most significant learning and bonding experiences. He gives examples of working with a team to overcome challenges and the powerful experience it provides.

Digg's Technical Issues

The speaker recounts the technical issues faced by Digg, a company he was involved with. The platform was effectively down for a month, with most user functionality not working properly. This was one of the biggest problems the company faced, although not the only one.

Reflections on Digg's Failure

The speaker reflects on whether Digg could have been successful. He identifies the major issue as an SEO change that led to a decrease in traffic, which in turn affected monetization. Despite the failure, he believes there is still a market gap for the type of product Digg was trying to become.

New Book Announcement

The speaker announces his upcoming book 'Engineering Executive's Primer', published by O'Reilly. The book is intended for engineering executives, those aspiring to be one, and anyone wanting to understand or work effectively with an engineering executive.

Recommended Books

The speaker recommends three books. 'Thinking in Systems and Primer' that helps in understanding the interconnectedness of systems. 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy' provides insights into effective strategic planning. 'Don't Think of an Elephant' by George Lakoff, focuses on the power of framing in conversations and its impact on communication.

Favorite TV Show

The speaker enjoys watching 'Top Chef' with his wife. The structured and formulaic nature of the show serves as a relaxing escape from real life.

Favorite Interview Question

The speaker's favorite interview question is to ask candidates how they plan to choose between multiple job offers. This question helps to understand what the candidate values in a job, enabling a more personalized pitch.

Life Motto

The speaker shares two guiding principles. 'There's no way around, just through' encourages facing challenges head-on. 'Will anyone remember what we decided in six months?' helps to reduce stress by putting the significance of decisions into perspective.

Underappreciated Writing

The speaker is asked if there is a piece of his writing that he feels is underappreciated and hasn't gained the recognition he believes it deserves.

FAQs

What is the importance of treating engineers as peers and giving them more responsibilities? This approach enables engineers to grow and take on leadership roles.

Who is Will Larson? Will Larson is an experienced software engineering leader currently serving as CTO at Carta. He has held positions at Stripe, Uber, and Calm. In addition to his professional roles, he has authored two books, An Elegant Puzzle and Staff Engineer, and maintains a regular blog.

What topics are covered in the discussion? The discussion covers a range of topics, including engineering strategy, improving relationships between engineering managers and project managers, balancing writing and work, measuring engineering productivity, developing company values, and anecdotes from Larson's career.

Who sponsors the episode? The episode is sponsored by DX, a platform for measuring and improving developer productivity, and OneSchema, an embeddable CSV importer for SaaS.

What changes in engineering are discussed? The discussion shifts to changes in engineering, particularly the transition from the zero interest rate era to the current market.

How has the market changed since Larson began his career? The market has changed significantly, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 crash. This led to a decade of growth that allowed for the development of large teams and the learning of how to hire effectively.

How have hiring practices changed within the engineering sector? Previously, engineering managers spent a large portion of their time on hiring, conducting numerous interviews in succession. However, this has significantly reduced, with some conducting two or less interviews a month. This shift has led to a change in the roles and responsibilities of engineering managers.

How has the shift in responsibilities affected an engineering director's performance? Previously, a director who excelled at hiring could be considered a top performer. However, with the reduced focus on hiring, directors now need to demonstrate their abilities in other areas, such as team leadership and strategic decision-making.

How have the structures of engineering teams changed? Team sizes are being carefully evaluated, with some teams being cut down or consolidated. This change has become a core part of many jobs within the engineering sector.

How has the role of engineers changed within organizations? There has been a shift towards giving engineers more responsibility, treating them as peers and allowing them to take on senior leadership roles. This change provides engineers with the opportunity to grow and develop professionally.

How has the evaluation of middle management changed? Performance of middle management was largely evaluated based on hiring and retention. Now, there is a greater focus on giving engineers challenging problems and holding them accountable. This shift has allowed engineers to take on more senior roles within organizations.

What is systems thinking? Systems thinking is a problem-solving approach that considers the overall system to understand the relationships and interactions within it. However, it's not universally applicable and can lead to conflicts when reality doesn't align with the system. A balance needs to be struck between systems thinking and practical realities.

How was systems thinking applied at Stripe in the context of incident management? Systems thinking was applied at Stripe in the context of incident management by conducting a lot of analysis to understand why incidents occurred and how they could be prevented. However, it was noted that they became so engrossed in the analysis that they lost sight of whether it was actually improving the situation.

What was the flaw in their approach to improvement? The flaw in their approach to improvement was that they were overly occupied with measurements, instead of focusing on actual improvements. This realization came from an understanding that continuous measurement without action doesn't lead to progress.

What is the conflict between the systems thinking model and reality? The conflict between the systems thinking model and reality is that when there is a conflict, it's not reality that is wrong, but the model. Recognizing these gaps is important as they are opportunities for learning and improving the models.

How can understanding the conflict between mental models and reality be beneficial? Understanding where your mental model is in conflict with reality allows you to educate yourself, improve the model, and eventually, do the work. It is important not to get stuck in learning without actually doing anything.

What is the concept of systems thinking? The concept of systems thinking involves thinking about stocks and flows. Stocks are things that accumulate, such as the number of fish in a lake or people fishing, and flows are the movements between these stocks. This concept can be used to model and predict how systems can evolve over time.

How can systems thinking be applied to a hiring pipeline? Systems thinking can be applied to a hiring pipeline by considering potential candidates as the stock, and the inflows as sourced candidates, outreach, and referrals. The conversion rates at different stages of the hiring process represent the flows. Understanding these dynamics can help identify potential issues in the hiring process.

What is a common problem in hiring pipelines identified using the systems thinking model? A common problem in hiring pipelines identified using the systems thinking model is hiring managers' lack of confidence in candidates leading to a low conversion rate from potential to actual offers.

What are the common problems faced by early managers during the hiring process? Common problems faced by early managers during the hiring process include a lack of conviction on who to hire, extending many offers but none of them being accepted, and the lack of sufficient candidates coming in despite being efficient in decision making and closing candidates.

How can data help understand and address hiring issues? Data can help understand and address hiring issues by providing a systematic approach to problem-solving. For example, hiring managers might be extending too many offers due to panic, which can be identified and addressed using data.

How can the concept of funnels be applied in the hiring process? Funnels can be applied to understand the flow of candidates through the hiring process. This approach helps in tracking the progress of candidates through different stages and identifying bottlenecks.

Why is strategic thinking important in engineering? Strategic thinking is important in engineering because it helps in documenting the strategy for clarity and consistency, and to allow for improvements. It is noted that every function, including engineering, has a strategy, but it is often not documented.

Why is documenting strategy important? Documenting strategy is important as it helps in understanding whether problems arise from poor strategy or its misapplication. A documented strategy also allows for clearer communication and better debugging when issues arise.

What is the significance of company alignment and strategic focus? Company alignment and strategic focus are important as they can help focus people's energy on the company's valued problems. Clear strategies that highlight what truly matters and align with the company's core values can be beneficial, even if they seem tedious at times.

What are the components of a strategy according to Richard Rumelt? Richard Rumelt's definition of strategy consists of three components: a diagnosis that identifies the current status quo, guiding policies based on the diagnosis to address the identified issues, and actions to implement these guiding policies.

What were the engineering strategies used by Uber and Stripe? At Uber, they had a strict no cloud policy, which allowed them to operate in different geopolitical constraints and quickly set up operations in China. At Stripe, they ran a Ruby monolith, which helped focus their engineers on creating innovative features for users instead of building different tooling to support various programming languages.

What is the role of constraints in strategy? Constraints in strategy can help a company focus on what truly matters and move faster. Solving these constraints is a key aspect of strategy. A good strategy should dictate how to invest limited capacity into problems that matter.

What are some recommended resources for learning strategy? Some recommended resources include 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy' by Richard Rumelt, 'The Crux', 'Thinking in Systems', 'Technology Strategy Patterns' by Evan Hewitt, 'The Value Flywheel effect' by Anderson, McCann and O'Reilly, and 'The Phoenix Project' by Kim, Behr, Spafford.

What is the 'The Engineering Executives Primer' about? 'The Engineering Executives Primer' is an upcoming book that includes a section on strategy.

How has writing impacted the speaker's career? Writing has had a significant impact on the speaker's career, providing an outlet for expressing thoughts and ideas. The speaker emphasizes the importance of writing about energizing topics and not forcing content that doesn't resonate.

What is the speaker's writing process? The speaker typically writes an entire book before involving a publisher. This approach requires anticipation of potential publisher concerns, but it allows for the majority of the content to be reused. The speaker's writing style, which focuses more on business than technical details, facilitates this process.

What does Vanta do? Vanta helps streamline security compliance, accelerating growth for many fast-growing companies. It offers the most in-demand security and privacy frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA and more, helping businesses build trust with external stakeholders, manage and demonstrate their security and compliance programs, get ready for audits in weeks, not months, and mitigate risks.

What is the promotional offer for Lenny's podcast listeners? Lenny's podcast listeners can get a $1,000 discount if they visit vanta.com/lenny.

How does the speaker manage writing volume and energy? The speaker focuses on topics that spark curiosity and provide energy, and cautions against writing solely based on what's popular or expected by the audience, as it can lead to burnout.

How does the speaker avoid content creation burnout? The speaker emphasizes the importance of persisting and creating good content, finding something they can keep doing for the next decade, and building an audience over time.

What does the speaker believe is the key to success in content creation? The speaker believes that the key to success is consistency in producing content and that there's no competition between content creators.

How does the speaker suggest raising the bar in content creation? The speaker suggests consistently producing high-quality content, adding something new to the conversation, and being genuinely excited about the topic.

How does the speaker balance writing and work? The speaker advises finding topics to write about that are directly related to one's work, allowing for the integration of writing and work, and improving work performance.

How has the speaker adjusted their writing schedule after parenthood? The speaker shares that they now mostly write at night due to the arrival of a child.

What advice does the speaker give to aspiring writers? The speaker suggests focusing on crafting high-quality pieces if the aim is to advance one's career, and to simply publish if the goal is to write consistently over time.

What is the speaker's approach to publishing and accepting feedback? The speaker publishes almost everything they write, and advises not to spend too much time worrying about feedback, especially if it's negative.

How does the speaker deal with public perception and writing? The speaker suggests that people often overestimate how much others care about what they publish, and the worst-case scenario is usually that someone will glance at the work and dismiss it.

How does the speaker deal with negative internet reactions? The speaker stresses the importance of not taking such negativity personally, as people channeling their anger or frustration towards others online are often dealing with their own issues.

What are the initial stages of creating content or starting a new venture like? The initial stages are usually the least stressful time because there's less pressure from an audience. However, as an audience grows, stress levels can increase due to the anticipation and expectation of the audience.

What is the relationship between product managers (PMs) and engineer managers? The content does not provide a direct answer about the relationship between product managers and engineer managers.

How can PMs improve their relationships with EMs? Both parties should take time to understand each other's needs and concerns before trying to solve conflicts.

What is the complexity of the incentives and needs of PMs and EMs? People often oversimplify these complexities, creating villains in the workplace. However, the reality is that everyone has complex incentives and needs. Understanding these complexities can lead to finding a compromise solution that benefits everyone.

How can you address the issue of misaligned incentives? One solution is to ensure that PMs and EMs are peers and have the same performance rating. This idea forces both parties to view the situation from the right perspective and work together towards a common goal.

What is the idea of shared incentives in problem-solving? Shared incentives in problem-solving, particularly between engineering managers (EMs) and product managers (PMs), promotes understanding and collaboration.

What is a common challenge between PMs and EMs? A common challenge is where EMs are tasked with giving their team interesting work, which can sometimes conflict with the PM's project requirements. This leads to a tricky situation where EMs are trying to balance the needs of both sides.

How can you measure engineering productivity? The initial focus is often on benchmarking based on funding, which although provides a defensible answer, may not necessarily lead to the right productivity outcomes. A more effective approach might be to regularly engage with the team members, as they can provide valuable insights into the team's effectiveness and potential issues.

Why is aligning engineering evaluation with business and product goals crucial? The purpose is not to build novel systems but to support the product and customers. It's essential to show the roadmap of valuable accomplishments over a specific period, such as six months.

What are the four crucial metrics suggested by the book 'Accelerate'? The book suggests four crucial metrics: lead time, incident remediation time, failure rate, and a fourth unidentified one.

What is the role of metrics? Metrics are not about providing a perfect dataset but are tools for educating those consuming the metrics about the rich data underneath.

What is the importance of company values? Company values are important as they guide the behavior and decisions within the organization.

Why is it important for a company's values to be original and authentic? Values should be original and authentic because they need to reflect the unique characteristics of the company. Copying values from another company may not resonate with the company's culture and ethos, and may not inspire confidence in their executive team's critical thinking.

What is the importance of honesty in company values? Honesty in company values is important as it reflects a company's true practices and attitudes. If a company's actions do not align with its stated values, it can undermine trust.

Why should company values be applicable and practical? Company values should be applicable and practical to guide decision-making and influence behavior within the organization. They should not be abstract or theoretical, but directly applicable to the company's operations and strategy.

What is the concept of reversibility in company values? The concept of reversibility in company values refers to the idea that values should provide a clear alternative course of action or decision-making direction. Values that cannot be reversed or don't provide a clear direction are not practically usable.

What are 'identity values' and why can they be problematic? 'Identity values' are values that merely describe who the company wants to be, rather than guiding decision-making or behavior. While these values can feel good, they are not particularly useful for practical application. Companies are advised to focus on values that help the team make decisions instead.

Why should company values indicate who doesn't fit within the company culture? Company values should indicate who doesn't fit within the company culture as a way of serving as a useful distinguishing factor. If everyone fits the company values, they aren't serving their purpose. Values should serve as a hiring filter, helping companies to identify who is a good fit for their culture and ethos.

Why is the relevance of company values important? The relevance of company values is important because if a value doesn't apply to anyone in the company or to anyone being hired, it is not worth having. Companies should aim to have a few key values that people can remember and that truly reflect the company's ethos.

Why are integrity and honesty not distinguishing company values? Values such as integrity and honesty are common and universally desirable, hence they do not distinguish a company. While they are important, they do not necessarily reflect the unique characteristics of a company.

What happened during the Digg V4 launch? During the Digg V4 launch, the platform faced numerous problems, including continual crashing. It took a month to get it fully functional. Despite significant effort and eventual success in stabilizing the platform, the company's value still went to zero.

What were some of the technical issues faced during the Digg V4 launch? Some of the technical issues faced during the Digg V4 launch included having to write a caching system from scratch and having to restart every server every 12 hours. The core bug, which was causing excessive load on the servers, was a simple issue related to Python's variable initialization.

What happened after the Digg V4 launch? After the Digg V4 launch, despite the team's efforts to get the platform working, the company's value went to zero. A new CEO came in a few weeks after the launch and laid off many employees.

What were the significant learning experiences in the speaker's career? The speaker learned a lot from difficult experiences such as working in a challenging team situation and facing technical issues at Digg, a company he was involved with.

What were the technical issues faced by Digg? Digg faced a situation where the platform was effectively down for a month, with most user functionality not working properly. This was one of the biggest problems the company faced.

What does the speaker reflect on Digg's failure? The speaker identifies the major issue as an SEO change that led to a decrease in traffic, which in turn affected monetization. He believes there is still a market gap for the type of product Digg was trying to become.

What is the speaker's upcoming book about? The speaker's upcoming book 'Engineering Executive's Primer' is intended for engineering executives, those aspiring to be one, and anyone wanting to understand or work effectively with an engineering executive.

What books does the speaker recommend? The speaker recommends 'Thinking in Systems and Primer' for understanding the interconnectedness of systems, 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy' for insights into effective strategic planning, and 'Don't Think of an Elephant' by George Lakoff, which focuses on the power of framing in conversations and its impact on communication.

What is the speaker's favorite TV show? The speaker enjoys watching 'Top Chef' with his wife.

What is the speaker's favorite interview question? The speaker's favorite interview question is to ask candidates how they plan to choose between multiple job offers. This question helps to understand what the candidate values in a job.

What are the speaker's guiding principles? The speaker shares two guiding principles: 'There's no way around, just through' and 'Will anyone remember what we decided in six months?'

Is there a piece of the speaker's writing that he feels is underappreciated? The speaker was asked if there's a piece of his writing that he feels is underappreciated and hasn't gained the recognition he believes it deserves.

Glossary

Changes in Engineering: The speaker suggests that there have been significant changes in engineering, particularly in the transition from the zero interest rate era to the current market. The host asks for Larson's perspective on these changes and his advice to engineering leaders navigating them.

Change in Team Structures: There has been a significant change in the structure of engineering teams. Team sizes are now being carefully evaluated, with some teams being cut down or consolidated. This change has become a core part of many jobs within the engineering sector.

Engineers and Responsibilities: The speaker emphasizes the importance of treating engineers as peers and offering them more responsibilities, rather than sheltering them. They suggest that this approach enables engineers to grow and take on leadership roles.

Guest Introduction: The host introduces Will Larson, thanking him for his participation and noting the high demand for his appearance on the podcast.

Impact on Engineering Director's Performance: The shift in responsibilities has affected how an engineering director's performance is perceived. Directors now need to demonstrate their abilities in areas such as team leadership and strategic decision-making.

Introduction of Will Larson: Will Larson is introduced as an experienced software engineering leader currently serving as CTO at Carta. He has held positions at Stripe, Uber, and Calm. He has authored two books, An Elegant Puzzle and Staff Engineer, and maintains a regular blog.

Introduction to Systems Thinking: The speaker is a strong advocate for systems thinking, a problem-solving approach that considers the overall system to understand the relationships and interactions within it. However, it's not universally applicable and can lead to conflicts when reality doesn't align with the system.

Market Changes and Impact on Engineering: Larson notes that the market has changed significantly since he began his career, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 crash. He describes a decade of growth that allowed for the development of large teams and the learning of how to hire effectively.

Shift in Engineers' Role: There has been a shift in how engineers are perceived and treated within organizations. The speaker believes it's important for engineers to be given more responsibility, treating them as peers and allowing them to take on senior leadership roles.

Shift in Hiring Practices: There's been a significant change in the hiring practices within the engineering sector. Engineering managers spent a large portion of their time on hiring, conducting numerous interviews in succession. However, this has significantly reduced, with some conducting two or less interviews a month.

Sponsorship Information: The episode is sponsored by DX, a platform for measuring and improving developer productivity, and OneSchema, an embeddable CSV importer for SaaS. Both companies offer solutions to common problems in the tech industry.

Topics of Discussion: The discussion will cover a range of topics, including engineering strategy, improving relationships between engineering managers and project managers, balancing writing and work, measuring engineering productivity, developing company values, and anecdotes from Larson's career.

Change in Evaluation of Middle Management: Previously, the performance of middle management was largely evaluated based on hiring and retention. However, this is changing, with a greater focus now being placed on giving engineers challenging problems and holding them accountable.

Application of Systems Thinking in Incident Management: The speaker is a strong advocate for systems thinking, a problem-solving approach that considers the overall system to understand the relationships and interactions within it. However, they caution that while it can be a useful framework, it's not universally applicable and can lead to conflicts when reality doesn't align with the system. A balance needs to be struck between systems thinking and practical realities.

Application of Systems Thinking on Hiring Pipeline: The speaker applies the concept of systems thinking to a hiring pipeline. In this model, potential candidates are the stock, and the inflows are sourced candidates, outreach, and referrals. The conversion rates at different stages of the hiring process represent the flows. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding these dynamics to identify potential issues in the hiring process.

Concept of Systems Thinking: The speaker explains the concept of systems thinking, which involves thinking about stocks and flows. Stocks are things that accumulate, such as the number of fish in a lake or people fishing, and flows are the movements between these stocks. This concept can be used to model and predict how systems can evolve over time.

Engineering Strategy: The speaker talks about the lack of strategic thinking in engineering compared to other functions. They mention that every function, including engineering, has a strategy, but it is often not documented. The speaker also highlights the importance of writing down the strategy for clarity and consistency, and to allow for improvements.

Identifying Problems in the Hiring Process Using Systems Thinking: Using the systems thinking model, the speaker identifies a common problem in hiring pipelines: hiring managers' lack of confidence in candidates leading to a low conversion rate from potential to actual offers. The speaker suggests that identifying such issues using the model can lead to more targeted and effective improvements in the hiring process.

Issues with Hiring Conviction and Candidate Flow: The conversation discusses common problems faced by early managers during the hiring process. The first problem is a lack of conviction on who to hire. The second problem is extending many offers, but none of them being accepted. The third problem is the lack of sufficient candidates coming in despite being efficient in decision making and closing candidates. An applicant tracking system can be used to build a model to compare the expected candidate flow with the actual data, helping to identify where improvements are needed.

Product Managers and Funnels: Product managers often think in terms of funnels, which can be applied to understand the flow of candidates through the hiring process. This approach helps in tracking the progress of candidates through different stages and identifying bottlenecks.

Realization of Misplaced Priorities in Improvement: The speaker recognizes a flaw in their approach to improvement. Instead of focusing on actual improvements, they were overly occupied with measurements. This realization came from an understanding that continuous measurement without action doesn't lead to progress. The speaker emphasizes the necessity of taking action to make a real impact.

Systems Thinking Model and Reality: The speaker discusses the conflict between the systems thinking model and reality. They note that when there is a conflict, it's not reality that is wrong, but the model. They highlight the importance of recognizing these gaps as opportunities for learning and improving the models.

The Importance of Documenting Strategy: The speaker emphasizes that having a written strategy helps in understanding whether problems arise from poor strategy or its misapplication. A documented strategy also allows for clearer communication and better debugging when issues arise.

The Power of Simple Strategies: The speaker discusses that good strategies are often simple and easy to understand. They argue that a complex strategy can be difficult to implement and may lead to confusion and errors.

Understanding Hiring Issues through Data: The speaker emphasizes the importance of using data to understand and address hiring issues rather than making changes based on assumptions or feelings. For example, hiring managers might be extending too many offers due to panic, which can be identified and addressed using data. This systematic approach to problem-solving can help in making informed decisions.

Understanding the Conflict Between Mental Models and Reality: The speaker discusses the importance of understanding where your mental model is in conflict with reality. This understanding allows you to educate yourself, improve the model, and eventually, do the work. The speaker warns against getting stuck in learning without actually doing anything.

Company Alignment and Strategic Focus: The process of aligning all company activities and strategies with its core values and objectives. This alignment can be challenging, especially if there has been misalignment over time, but it is beneficial in focusing energy on valued problems.

Engineering Strategies: Specific approaches adopted by engineering teams to solve problems or achieve goals. For example, using an existing toolkit rather than introducing new tools, or running a Ruby monolith to focus on creating innovative features.

Constraints in Strategy: Limitations or restrictions that shape a strategy. Constraints can focus a company on what truly matters and help it move faster. Solving these constraints is a key aspect of strategy.

Learning Strategy: The process of acquiring knowledge and skills related to strategy. Various resources can be used, including books and other educational materials.

Writing Volume and Impact on Career: The amount of writing produced by an individual and its influence on their professional development. Writing about topics of personal interest can have a significant impact on one's career.

Writing Process: The steps taken to produce written content. This can vary from person to person, but may include drafting, revising, and publishing.

Writing for Personal Interest: The practice of writing about topics that the writer finds personally interesting, rather than tailoring content for a specific audience. This keeps the writing process enjoyable and energizing.

Vanta's Security Compliance Services: Services provided by Vanta to streamline security compliance for companies, including popular frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA. These services help businesses build trust, manage and demonstrate their security and compliance programs, prepare for audits, and mitigate risks.

Strategy and its Components: Richard Rumelt's definition of strategy includes three components: a diagnosis that identifies the current status quo, guiding policies based on the diagnosis to address identified issues, and actions to implement these guiding policies.

Adjusting Writing Schedule After Parenthood: The speaker talks about how having a child has changed their writing schedule. Previously, they dedicated Saturdays to writing, but now they mostly write at night. They emphasize the importance of managing energy and staying interested in the topic to find time and energy for writing.

Advice for Aspiring Writers: The speaker advises that if the goal of writing is career advancement, it is better to focus on creating two or three high-quality pieces rather than maintaining a regular blog. However, if the goal is to consistently write over time, the most important advice is to publish. They encourage aspiring writers to publish almost everything they write.

Avoiding Content Creation Burnout: The speaker discusses the risk of burnout in content creation and the feeling of having missed the opportunity or it being too late to join a platform. They emphasize the importance of persistence and creating good content, saying that building an audience over time is possible regardless of the platform. They also highlight the importance of finding something you can continue doing for the next decade.

Balancing Writing and Work: The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding topics to write about that are directly related to one's work. This strategy allows for the integration of writing and work, making it easier to find time for both. It also helps improve work performance as writing about related topics refines thinking. The speaker cautions against writing about topics that are unrelated to work as it can be distracting and time-consuming.

Dealing with Negative Internet Reactions: The speaker discusses the inevitability of encountering negativity on the internet, emphasizing that such incidents often have little to do with the person on the receiving end. They suggest that people channeling their anger or frustration towards others online are often dealing with their own issues, unrelated to the person they're targeting. This point is used to stress the importance of not taking such negativity personally.

Product Managers and Engineer Managers Relationship: The speaker discusses the relationship between product managers and engineer managers.

Promotion for Vanta: A promotional offer is mentioned for podcast listeners. They can get a $1,000 discount if they visit vanta.com/lenny.

Public Perception and Writing: The speaker suggests that people often overestimate how much others care about what they publish. They assert that the worst-case scenario is usually that someone will glance at the work and dismiss it, and that this shouldn't deter one from publishing their thoughts and ideas.

Publishing and Accepting Feedback: The speaker shares their personal approach to publishing, stating that they publish almost everything they write, regardless of whether it's perfect or not. They believe that it's more important to express their ideas and share their evolving thoughts. When it comes to feedback, they advise not to spend too much time worrying about it, especially if it's negative, and to simply thank the person and move on.

Raising the Bar in Content Creation: The speaker discusses the increasing standards in content creation due to the abundance of content available. They believe that in order to stand out, one must consistently produce high-quality content and add something new to the conversation. Being genuinely excited about the topic and having a unique contribution are crucial.

Starting Out and Building an Audience: The speaker talks about the initial stages of creating content or starting a new venture. They mention that this is usually the least stressful time because there's less pressure from an audience. However, as an audience grows, stress levels can increase due to the anticipation and expectation of the audience.

The Long Game of Content Creation: The speaker agrees with the previous points, emphasizing that content creation is a long game. They believe that the key to success is consistency in producing content. They also mention that there's no competition between content creators, as it's an infinite game where everyone can help each other grow.

Writing Volume and Energy Management: The speaker reflects on the quantity of content they've produced over 16 years, estimating around a thousand posts. They emphasize the importance of focusing on topics that spark curiosity and provide energy, cautioning against writing solely based on what's popular or expected by the audience, as it can lead to burnout.

Addressing Misaligned Incentives: The process of resolving the issue of differing incentives between parties. This could be achieved by ensuring that all parties are peers and have the same performance rating, forcing them to work together towards a common goal.

Aligning Engineering Evaluation to Business and Product Goals: The crucial activity of synchronizing engineering evaluation with business and product objectives. This is not aimed at building novel systems but to support the product and customers.

Challenges between PMs and EMs: The common issues that arise between Product Managers (PMs) and Engineering Managers (EMs), often due to conflicting requirements and needs. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and open communication.

Importance of Intuition in Leadership: The concept that leaders cannot solely rely on their intuition to assure stakeholders about the state of their teams due to the diverse portfolios managed by stakeholders.

Measuring Engineering Productivity: The process of evaluating the effectiveness of an engineering team. It suggests that initial focus is often on benchmarking based on funding, but a more effective approach might be regular engagement with team members.

Role and Primacy of Different Functions: The concept that different roles and their importance vary across different companies. There is no one-size-fits-all approach and the involvement of various roles can be company-specific.

Shared Incentives in Problem Solving: The idea of common incentives in problem-solving, particularly between Engineering Managers (EMs) and Product Managers (PMs). This approach promotes understanding and collaboration.

The Role of Metrics: Metrics are tools for educating those consuming the metrics about the rich data underneath. They are not about providing a perfect dataset but starting somewhere and then educating people on the nuances.

Understanding Complex Incentives and Needs: The process of understanding the complexities of the incentives and needs of different parties. Understanding these complexities can lead to finding a compromise solution that benefits everyone.

Understanding the Importance of Company Values: The emphasis on the importance of company values.

Useful Metrics and Tools: The concept of using specific metrics and tools for diagnosing areas of improvement. These metrics do not define a good or bad company, but indicate where to focus improvement efforts.

Aftermath of Digg V4 Launch: Refers to the fallout following the problematic launch of Digg's V4 platform, which despite significant effort, resulted in the company's value going to zero and many employees being laid off.

Applicability of Company Values: The necessity for company values to be practical and directly applicable to the company's operations and strategy, guiding decision-making and influencing behavior within the organization.

Challenging Early Career Experiences: Refers to difficult or demanding situations encountered at the beginning of one's professional journey, often offering valuable learning experiences.

Debugging and Solving Problems: The process of identifying, analyzing and resolving technical issues, often in a software or technology context.

Failure Corner: Digg V4 Experience: Refers to the unsuccessful launch of Digg's V4 platform, which despite significant effort and resource allocation, resulted in the company's value going to zero.

Integrity and Honesty as Universal Values: Refers to the common and universally desirable values of honesty and integrity, which however, do not distinguish a company as they are expected across all organizations.

Relevance of Company Values: The importance of having company values that are relevant and applicable, and truly reflect the company's ethos. Values that do not apply to anyone in the company or to anyone being hired are not worth having.

The Concept of Reversibility in Company Values: Refers to the need for company values to provide a clear direction for action or decision-making, including potential alternative courses of action.

The Need for Exclusivity in Company Values: The idea that company values should clearly indicate who doesn't fit within the company culture, serving as a useful distinguishing factor and a hiring filter.

The Rule of Honesty in Company Values: The importance of company values reflecting its true practices and attitudes, as dishonesty can undermine trust.

The Shortcomings of Identity Values: Refers to 'identity values' which are values that merely describe who the company wants to be, rather than guiding decision-making or behavior, and are thus not particularly useful for practical application.

Value of Difficult Experiences: Difficult experiences, while challenging in the moment, often turn out to be the most significant learning and bonding experiences. They involve working with a team to overcome challenges and provide a powerful experience.

Digg's Technical Issues: This refers to the technical issues faced by Digg, a company. The platform was effectively down for a month, with most user functionality not working properly. This was one of the biggest problems the company faced.

Reflections on Digg's Failure: This term refers to reflections on whether Digg could have been successful. The major issue identified was an SEO change that led to a decrease in traffic, which in turn affected monetization.

New Book Announcement: This term refers to the announcement of a new book 'Engineering Executive's Primer', published by O'Reilly. The book is intended for engineering executives, those aspiring to be one, and anyone wanting to understand or work effectively with an engineering executive.

Recommended Books: Term for the books recommended by the speaker. 'Thinking in Systems and Primer' helps in understanding the interconnectedness of systems. 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy' provides insights into effective strategic planning. 'Don't Think of an Elephant' by George Lakoff, focuses on the power of framing in conversations and its impact on communication.

Favorite TV Show: This term refers to the speaker's favorite TV show, 'Top Chef'. The structured and formulaic nature of the show serves as a relaxing escape from real life.

Favorite Interview Question: This term refers to the speaker's favorite interview question which is to ask candidates how they plan to choose between multiple job offers. This question helps to understand what the candidate values in a job, enabling a more personalized pitch.

Life Motto: This term refers to the speaker's guiding principles. 'There's no way around, just through' encourages facing challenges head-on. 'Will anyone remember what we decided in six months?' helps to reduce stress by putting the significance of decisions into perspective.

Underappreciated Writing: This term refers to a piece of the speaker's writing that he feels is underappreciated and hasn't gained the recognition he believes it deserves.

Resources

Will Larson's Blog: A blog maintained by Will Larson where he shares his thoughts and experiences in the field of software engineering.

The Engineering Mindset: The Engineering Mindset is a YouTube channel that provides educational engineering videos to help people understand and learn about various engineering concepts.

Book - An Elegant Puzzle: Written by Will Larson, this book explores the challenges and lessons in software engineering management.

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management

Shared via Kindle. Description: There’s a saying that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. Management is a key part of any organization, yet the discipline is often self-taught and unstructured. Getting to the good solutions for complex manage…

Book - Staff Engineer: Another book by Will Larson that provides insights into the role of a staff engineer.

Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track

Shared via Kindle. Description: At most technology companies, you’ll reach Senior software engineer, the career level for software engineers, in five to eight years. At the career level, your company’s career ladder won’t require that you work towards the n…

Book - Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: This book by Richard Rumelt provides a solid foundation for understanding strategy.

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Shared via Kindle. Description: <b><i>Good Strategy/Bad Strategy</i> clarifies the muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful action-oriented strategy for the real world.</b><br /> <br />…

Book - The Crux: This book is recommended for further reading after 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy'.

The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists

Shared via Kindle. Description: <p><b>Financial Times, Best Business Books of 2022<br /> Forbes, Best Business Books of 2022<br /> The Next Big Idea Club, Best Leadership Books of 2022<br /> The Globe & Mail, Best Management Books of 2022</b><br /><br /…

Book - Thinking in Systems: This book is beneficial for understanding systems thinking, a vital aspect of strategy.

Thinking in Systems: International Bestseller

Shared via Kindle. Description: <p><strong>The classic book on systems thinking—with more than half a million copies sold worldwide!</strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>“This is a fabulous book… This book opened my mind and reshaped the way I think abou…

Book - Technology Strategy Patterns: Written by Evan Hewitt, this book is recommended for those interested in the engineering aspect of strategy.

Technology Strategy Patterns: Architecture as Strategy

Shared via Kindle. Description: <p>Technologists who want their ideas heard, understood, and funded are often told to speak the language of businessâ??without really knowing what that is. This bookâ??s toolkit provides architects, product manage…

Book - The Value Flywheel effect: This book by Anderson, McCann and O'Reilly is recommended for those interested in the engineering aspect of strategy.

The Value Flywheel Effect: Power the Future and Accelerate Your Organization to the Modern Cloud

Shared via Kindle. Description: <p>It’s no secret that technology is moving faster than ever, but current business/IT strategies are not working. To survive the next wave of transformation, the relationship between businesses and technology must evolve. In…

Book - The Phoenix Project: This book by Kim, Behr, Spafford is recommended for those interested in the engineering aspect of strategy.

The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

Shared via Kindle. Description: <b>***Over a half-million sold! The sequel, <i>The Unicorn Project</i>, is coming Nov 26***</b><br /><br /><b>“Every person involved in a failed IT project should be forced to read this book.”</b>--TIM O’REILLY, Fou…

Book - Accelerate: Written by Nicole Forsgren and Gene Kim, this book suggests four crucial metrics: lead time, incident remediation time, failure rate, and a fourth unidentified one. These metrics are useful for diagnosing where to improve, but they do not ultimately define a good or bad company. They merely indicate where to focus improvement efforts.

Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations

Shared via Kindle. Description: <strong>Winner of the Shingo Publication Award</strong><p><strong><br /></strong>Accelerate your organization to win in the marketplace.</p><br />How can we apply technology to drive business value? For years, we’ve been told…

Book - Engineering Executive's Primer: An upcoming book by the speaker, published by O'Reilly. The book is intended for engineering executives, those aspiring to be one, and anyone wanting to understand or work effectively with an engineering executive.

The Engineering Executive’s Primer

Shared via Kindle. Description: <p>As an engineering manager, you almost always have someone in your company to turn to for advice: a peer on another team, your manager, or even the head of engineering. But who do you turn to if you’re the head of engineeri…

Book - Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff: A book recommended by the speaker that focuses on the power of framing in conversations and its impact on communication.

The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate

Shared via Kindle. Description: <p><strong>“[Lakoff is] the father of framing.”—<em>The New York Times</em></strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong>“An indispensable tool for progressives—packed with new thinking on framing issues that are hotly debated right no…