Software Lead Weekly Software Lead Weekly

Fixing Engineering's Loyalty and Longevity Problem
12 minutes read.

Such an important and wonderfully written post. Thinking of how to build a sustainable (and scalable) engineering team is a real challenge. It's up to us, those who try to build a great team, to keep people engaged and happy. It's up to us to be upfront about what we expect from new hires. Blaming the market or the engineers who decide to switch jobs every year is pointless. Hire people who fit the kind of company you're trying to build: "Your goal, as a hiring manager, is to find the people who want to invest in their careers, who are aiming for mastery and not just looking to make more money or build a shiny resume."

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The Best Gif I Have Seen in a Long Time
1 minutes read.

As always, my humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face. p.s. I'm a nerd.

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LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman on the Biggest Lie Employers Tell Employees
5 minutes read.

Reid Hoffman has such a remarkable path, that I always find it interesting to read his views on various topics. I truly agree with him about "The biggest lie is that the employment relationship is like family," yet I don't believe that hiring should be limited to a single or a very narrow goal. I prefer to look for potential and hunger to learn and grow, hoping that our company will offer new challenges for the discovered passions each employee will have. After all, none of us knows what they will want in 5 years.

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Why Hiring Is So Hard in Tech
4 minutes read.

Hiring great people is indeed a struggle. From my experience, the problem is not a talent shortage but rather lack of focus. Too many engineers are busy with learning how to get something done, and lack the discipline and passion to learn how things actually work. So instead of writing a weekend project in node.js, try to learn about the node.js Event Loop and teach your teammates what you've learned. Don't drink too much of that "Get Things Done" Kool-Aid. Cultivate curiosity in your team.

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Scaling Lessons From the Fastest Growing SaaS Company Ever
5 minutes read.

Zenefits is one of those rare company where "overnight success" actually fits. Reading their lessons learned is a great way to see the kind of culture they have there. "Do things that do not scale" is so easy to say, but how companies actually apply this lessons?

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March to Triumph as A Mentor
12 minutes read.

This post should be sent to every engineer in your company who seek to become a senior engineer at some point. Teaching others and providing constructive feedback is a skill that we need to master, if we want to influence others and helping our teammates -- "Good engineers write good code. But the best engineers cultivate and inspire their junior colleagues. If you are a senior engineer, you must learn to be a mentor. "

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Do Things That Scare You
3 minutes read.

Justin Jackson is an inspirational all-around builder. What I love most about this post is how Justin is using peer pressure to keep him experimenting and doing those things outside of his comfort zone. May it be joining a community, mastermind class or using a mentor, find a way that will force you to do things that scare you. This is the fastest way I know to grow and learn.

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What Are Some Daily Habits That Made You a Better Developer?
4 minutes read.

Fantastic answer by Zach Holman, with some tips I appreciate more and more as I learn new things. My favorites: "Write for yourself a lot" and "All I really care about is the product" (mostly as I've worked for years on code that wasn't used. That's a lousy feeling).

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@patio11: Candidates who you don't hire should come out of your interview process as fans of your team and company who hope their friends work w/ you.

@roidrage: Emails and calendars are only scary and annoying when you let them control you and your time rather than the other way around.