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, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, Symantec, Borland International, Slack, 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 is Rands in Repose. Michael lives in northern California, never far from the ocean.

Part I.- 1: Don't Be A Prick.- 2: Managers Are Evil.- 3: Stables and Volatiles.- 4: The Rands Test.- 5: How to Run a Meeting.- 6: The Twinge.- 7: The Update, the Vent, and the Disaster.- 8: Lost in Translation.- 9: Agenda Detection.- 10: Management via Worry and Crisis.- 11: Dissecting the Mandate.- 12: Information Starvation.- 13: Subtlety, Subterfuge, and Silence.- 14: Your Mid-Year Leadership Check-in.- 15: Managementese.- 16: You're Not Listening.- 17: The Hotel Giraffe.- 18: Fred Hates the Off-Site.- 19: A Different Kind of DNA.- 20: An Engineering Mindset.- 21: Tear It Down.- 22: Titles Are Toxic.- 23: Saying No.- Part II.- 24: 1.0.- 25: The Process Myth.- 26: How to Start.- 27: Taking Time to Think.- 28: Meetings are Not For You.- 29: The Value of the Soak.- 30: Capturing Context.- 31: Trickle Theory.- 32: When the Sky Falls.- 33: Hacking is Important.- 34: WFH.- 35: Entropy Crushers.- 36: Your Culture is Rotting.- 37: The Metronome.- Part III.- 38: Bored People Quit.- 39: Bellwethers.- 40: The Ninety-Day Interview.- 41: Managing Nerds.- 42: Incrementalists and Completionists.- 43: NADD.- 44: A Nerd in a Cave.- 45: Meeting Creatures.- 46: Organics and Mechanics.- 47: Inwards, Outwards, and Holistics.- 48: The Wolf.- 49: Free Electrons.- 50: The Old Guard.- 51: Rules for the Reorg.- 52: An Unexpected Connection.- 53: You are Going on a Quest.- 54: A Glimpse and a Hook.- 55: Nailing the Phone Screen.- 56: Your Resignation Checklist.- 57: Shields Down.- 58: Chaotic, Beautiful Snowflakes.- 59: Epilogue: Fear is a Liar.- Glossary.