Writing on Engineering Management
Delegation 101
When I was first put in charge of a small engineering team, I loved being...
Empathetic Leadership: Finding the Problem Under the Problem
Empathy tends to be one of the most underrated qualities in a professional environment. As...
24 Startup CTO Interview Questions
Hiring a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is a difficult feat at the best of times....
Managing Direct Reports at a Startup
I remember the first time I was put in charge of a team at a...
Sprint Planning and Agile Metrics
In late 2014, I was managing a team of software engineers working diligently on a...
The 15 Best Books for New Managers
Being a manager is a career milestone. On the one hand, it lets you have...
The Best Project Management Books
Being a project manager is not for everyone. The wide range of planning, financial, execution,...
The Best Management Books
Being a good manager requires a wide range of skills that often take years to...
Building a Great Startup Culture
I once shared office space with a quickly-growing startup in downtown Chicago. This company seemed...
Startup Working Hours: Burnout, Pacing, and Hustle Culture
When I joined my first startup almost ten years ago, most of the prevailing wisdom...
Recruiting and Hiring Software Engineers
When I took my first real management role as Packback’s Head of Engineering back in...
Essential Reading for Startup CTOs
Being a great CTO requires insight and vision in both technology and business. You have...
Managing a Remote Engineering Team
Coronavirus has forced the majority of software engineering teams across the world into remote work...
The Evolution of Our Product Management Process
In 2016 when I joined The Graide Network, I was the first developer. With the...
Developing New Engineers
I’ve gone through a couple iterations of my hiring process here on the blog, but...
Essential Reading for Software Engineering Managers
Software engineering management is an evolving field with a growing body of knowledge, and thousands...
Employees Who Say vs. Employees Who Show
In the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with several employees who...
The Many Roles of a Startup CTO
“Chief Technology Officer” (or “CTO”) sounds like a glamorous title. It’s right up there with...
Say No
People will continue to request more of your time until you say no. I was...
Prioritization is Always Relative
When asking non-technical team members to prioritize their issues on an absolute scale I’ve noticed...
Roadblocks to Project Estimation
When I first published this in April, 2015, we were trying to obsessively estimate our...
Keeping Goals Manageable
It’s time for New Year’s Resolutions, which means it’s time for at least 127,000,000 people in...
The Key to Networking: Keeping in Touch
I first started using a system for keeping in touch with important people in my...
The Myth of the Hero
When I first published this post in June, 2014, I was just starting to manage...
Dealing with Fear and Uncertainty
I remember vividly the feeling I got when I was put in charge of my...
Joining The Graide Network as Chief Technology Officer
After over 2 and a half years at Packback, I’ve decided to move on and...