The Ever-updating Reading List

Opening Remarks

This is a continuously updated list of articles, blog posts, tweets, videos, books, albums, pictures, you name it — random things that I’ve found somehow thought-provoking or even world-shaking lately.

The list is one window to my soul landscape, and maybe one day, we can see how my world has changed over time - or then not. 😄

The list runs in reverse chronological order; the last item added is found first in the list.

The List

What Silicon Valley “Gets” about Software Engineers that Traditional Companies Do Not

As a software engineer, pleasant places to work at is where you are a problem solver, not a factory worker. Which one are you today? – Gergely Orosz

⟹ https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/what-silicon-valley-gets-right-on-software-engineers/

Jeff Bezos Says It Will Always Be “Day 1” at Amazon

Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1. – Jeff Bezos

⟹ https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/13/jeff-bezos-says-it-will-always-be-day-1-at-amazon.aspx

If Management Isn’t A Promotion, Then Engineering Isn’t A Demotion

We need to see the work that engineers, managers, directors, VPs, and CxOs do as equally valuable and equally capable of prestige. We need to flip the org chart upside down, and treat “management” roles like support systems they should be. – Charity Majors

⟹ https://charity.wtf/2020/09/06/if-management-isnt-a-promotion-then-engineering-isnt-a-demotion/

Why Digital Organizations Are Principles-Based

To gain the maximum speed, you need your autonomous teams to be able to make as many decisions as possible themselves. ― Mark Schwartz

⟹ https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/enterprise-strategy/why-digital-organizations-are-principles-based/

Organization Observation

People tend to resist changes in structure that counteract their chosen method of influence. ― John Cutler

⟹ https://twitter.com/johncutlefish/status/1296316581153091585?s=20

The Future of Ops Jobs

Ops is everybody’s job now. ― Charity Majors

⟹ https://acloudguru.com/blog/engineering/the-future-of-ops-jobs

Your Code May Be Elegant

Your code may be elegant, by mine f***ing works. ― Leon Fayer

⟹ https://omniti.com/seeds/your-code-may-be-elegant.html

On Being a Senior Engineer

I expect a “senior” engineer to be a mature engineer. ― John Allspaw

⟹ https://www.kitchensoap.com/2012/10/25/on-being-a-senior-engineer/

But Why Is It Working?

Unhappy teams and organizations are often very similar, while happy/successful teams and organizations can be quite different! ― John Cutler

⟹ https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-3353-but-why-is-it-working