Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

Managing Humans is a selection of the best essays from Michael Lopp's web site, Rands in Repose. Drawing on Lopp's management experiences at Apple, Netscape, Symantec, and Borland, this book is full of stories based on companies in the Silicon Valley where people have been known to yell at each other. It is a place full of dysfunctional bright people who are in an incredible hurry to find the next big thing so they can strike it rich and then do it all over again. Among these people are managers, a strange breed of people who through a mystical organizational ritual have been given power over your future and your bank account. Whether you're an aspiring manager, a current manager, or just wondering what the heck a manager does all day, there is a story in this book that will speak to you. What you’ll learn What to do when people start yelling at each other How to perform a diving save when the best engineer insists on resigning How to say "no" to the person who signs your paycheck Who this book is for This book is designed for managers and would-be managers staring at the role of a manager wondering why they would ever leave the safe world of bits and bites for the messy world of managing humans. The book covers handling conflict, managing wildly differing personality types, infusing innovation into insane product schedules, and figuring out how to build a lasting and useful engineering culture. Table of Contents Don't Be a Prick Managers are Not Evil The Monday Freakout Agenda Detection Mandate Dissection Information Starvation Subtlety, Subterfuge, and Silence Managementese Technicality Avoiding the Fez Your Resignation Checklist Saying No 1.0 Taking Time to Think The Soak Malcolm Events Capturing Context Status Reports 2.0 Trickle Theory A Glimpse and a Hook Nailing the Phone Screen Ninety Days Bellwethers NADD A Nerd in a Cave Meeting Creatures Incrementalists and Completionists Organics and Mechanics Inwards, Outwards, and Holistics Free Electrons Rules for the Reorg Offshore Risk Factor Joe Secret Titles