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

2 edition - Apress, 2012, 292 Pages.
ISBN: 1430243147.The humor and insights in the 2nd Edition of Managing Humans are drawn from Michael Lopp's management experiences at Apple, Netscape, Symantec, and Borland, among others. This book is full of stories based on companies in the Silicon Valley where people have been known to yell at each other and occasionally throw chairs. 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 the future and bank accounts of many others. 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—and help you survive and prosper amongst the general craziness.Lopp's straight-from-the-hip style is unlike any other writer on management. He pulls no punches and tells stories he probably shouldn't. But they are massively instructive and cut to the heart of the matter whether it's dealing with your boss, handling a slacker, hiring top guns, or seeing a knotty project through to completion.This second editions expands on the management essentials. It will explain why we hate meetings, but must have them, it carefully documents the right way to have a 1-on-1, and it documents the perils of not listening to your team.Writing code is easy. Managing humans is not. You need a book to help you do it, and this is it.
What you’ll learn.
How to lead geeks.
How to handle conflict.
How to hire well.
How to motivate employees.
How to manage your boss.
How to say no.
How to handle stressed people freaking out.
How to improve your social IQ.
How to run a meeting well.
And much more.
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 bytes 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..
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.About the Author.The Management Quiver.
Don't Be a Prick.
Managers Are Not Evil.
The Rands Test.
How to Run a Meeting.
The Twinge.
The Update, The Vent, and the Disaster.
The Monday Freakout.
Lost in Translation.
Agenda Detection.
Mandate Dissection.
Information Starvation.
Subtlety, Subterfuge, and Silence.
Managementese.
Fred Hates It.
DNA.
An Engineering Mindset.
Three Superpowers.
Saying No.
The Process is the Product.
1.0.
How to Start.
Taking Time to Think.
The Soak.
Managing Malcolm Events.
Capturing Context.
Trickle Theory.
When the Sky Falls.
Hacking is Important.
Versions of You.
Bored People Quit.
Bellwethers.
The Ninety Day Interview.
Managing Nerds.
NADD.
A Nerd in a Cave.
Meeting Creatures.
Incrementalists and Completionists.
Organics and Mechanics.
Inwards, Outwards, and Holistics.
Free Electrons.
Rules for the Reorg.
An Unexpected Connection.
Avoiding the Fez.
A Glimpse and a Hook.
Nailing the Phone Screen.
Your Resignation Checklist.