Software Lead Weekly Software Lead Weekly

The Zeigarnik Effect
5 minutes read.

Nathan Kontny (of Draft) with a great post on the Zeigarnik Effect - "The tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that was once pursued and left incomplete". I love how he constantly tries to figure out the best way to solve a problem by delivering the simplest solution he could think of. Another self-motivational trick I use, is asking myself if like-minded people would appreciate using things I build (or write), even if I feel they are only 80% done. I enjoy having a discussion too much, to let my thoughts or projects remain in the drawer for too long.

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Inside Pixar’s Leadership
5 minutes read.

Scott Berkun transcribed his favorite quotes from an interview with Ed Catmull (Pixar's president). It's inspiring to see how big, highly creative companies prefer to protect their own unique culture, even on the expense of letting talent go. If you're tight with time, I suggest you at least read these sections - "On protecting a vision", "On firing creative geniuses" and "The process of giving feedback". Great read!

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The Origin of the 8 Hour Work Day and Why We Should Rethink It
15 minutes read.

Leo Widrich with a post you shouldn't miss. Probably the most scientific post I ever read about our working habits and how to be more productive at work. One tip I would add, is to create explicit dependencies, if possible, by working on the same feature with a teammate (split the work, use interfaces and set micro milestones to constantly integrate your code). It create huge opportunity to learn from each other, and it's a great way to use peer pressure to boost your productivity.

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What Dan Ariely Can Teach Us About Software Development
5 minutes read.

This post is by yours truly. After watching Dan Ariely's TED talk on "What makes us feel good about our work", I felt we should apply many of his insights on the way we are valuing our "execution team". More specifically, I believe that we have a huge a responsibility as managers and leaders, to strive to build an organization which values learning over building.

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A Simple Rule to Eliminate Useless Meetings
10 minutes read.

Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn's CEO) completely eliminated the use of presentations in meetings at LinkedIn. I posted a few months ago about Jeff Bezo's method of silent reading to start a meeting, and it's great to see it in action again. "If the idea of kicking off a meeting with up to 10 minutes of silence strikes you as odd, you're not alone". The most important lesson of all is to "Define the objective of the meeting". This will align everyone, and it reduces the pressure to solve all of the problems in a single meeting.

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Don’t Look for Talent, Find People Who Do Things
10 minutes read.

Tucker Max share his hiring process, and you simply have to "steal" the 2 questions he asks every candidate. His process boils down to focus on the candidate's ability to get things done but also to explain how they approached it, how passionate are they and their ability to reflect on their solution. I highly recommend sharing this post with employees in your company who's currently hiring.

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Use Tension and Conflict to Create Breakthrough Products
10 minutes read.

Toyota's chief engineer, Ichiro Suzuki, challenged his employees to produce a luxury performance sedan that would beat the best luxury sedans. This quest completely changed the way Toyota assemble cars and manage inventory. How does it apply to you then? Can you think of ways to pair your own "opposite sides of the same coin", for example, developers and quality assurance? Can you create breakthrough process to allow quick learning (by quick deliveries) while also keeping your customers happy (high/just-enough quality)?

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@patio11: New Rule: Fail Builds if the Source Tree Contains Too Many #FIXME Comments. Religiously Apply Them When Intentionally Introducing Debt.

@secboffin: "Grooming the Backlog" Sounds Like a Poorly-Paid Job in a Medieval Court.