Managing Humans

Michael Lopp is a veteran engineering manager who has never managed to escape the Silicon Valley. In over 20 years of software development, Michael has worked at a variety of innovative companies, including Apple, Netscape, Symantec, Borland International, and a startup that slowly faded into nothingness. In addition to his day job, Michael writes a popular technology and management weblog under the nom de plume "Rands," where he discusses his management ideas, worries about staying relevant, and wishes he had time to see more of the world. His weblog can be found at RandsinRepose.com. Michael lives in northern California, never far from the ocean.

Section 1: The Management Quiver 1. Don't Be a Prick 2. Managers Are Not Evil 3. The Rands Test 4. How to Run a Meeting 5. The Twinge 6. The Update, The Vent, and the Disaster 7. The Monday Freakout 8. Lost in Translation 9. Agenda Detection 10. Mandate Dissection 11. Information Starvation 12. Subtlety, Subterfuge, and Silence 13. Managementese 14. Fred Hates It 15. DNA 16. An Engineering Mindset 17. Three Superpowers 18. Saying No Part 2: The Process is the Product 19. 1.0 20. How to Start 21. Taking Time to Think 22. The Soak 23. Managing Malcolm Events 24. Capturing Context 25. Trickle Theory 26. When the Sky Falls 27. Hacking is Important Part 3: Versions of You 28. Bored People Quit 29. Bellwethers 30. The Ninety Day Interview 31. Managing Nerds 32. NADD 33. A Nerd in a Cave 34. Meeting Creatures 35. Incrementalists and Completionists 36. Organics and Mechanics 37. Inwards, Outwards, and Holistics 38. Free Electrons 39. Rules for the Reorg 40. An Unexpected Connection 41. Avoiding the Fez 42. A Glimpse and a Hook 43. Nailing the Phone Screen 44. Your Resignation Checklist Glossary