/Management

Executive Compensation

tl;dr: In this post, we cover some of the most important topics for late-stage companies putting together an executive compensation package, including: (1) How to think about the mix of base, bonus, and equity. (2) Best practices for benchmarking. (3) Selling a candidate on the value of equity. (4) What you’ll need to disclose about executive compensation. (5) How to make the offer.

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What Are Deployment Patterns?

- Dr Milan Milanović tl;dr: The top three strategies for continuous deployment are: (1) Feature flags: toggle features on/off without deploying new code. (2) Blue / green deployments: run two environments simultaneously to test and switch traffic between them. (3) Use permission systems: grant access to a select group of users to test new features before releasing to all.

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How NASA Writes Space-Proof Code

- Jason Kottke tl;dr: The rules focus on testability, readability, and predictability: (1) Avoid complex flow constructs, such as goto and recursion. (2) All loops must have fixed bounds. This prevents runaway code. (3) Avoid heap memory allocation. (4) Restrict functions to a single printed page. (5) Use a minimum of two runtime assertions per function.

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How To Make Hard Decisions: Even / Over Statements

- Lara Hogan tl;dr: The "even / over" statements tool involves filling in the blanks: "In order to [thing], I'm choosing [x important thing] even over [y important thing]." This helps when there are two equally important options, and making a decision feels challenging. By articulating the trade-off and choosing one over the other, individuals can gain clarity. This is tool is for the present or a specified period.

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Failure

- Mike Fisher tl;dr: "Embracing failure, dissecting it, and learning from it not only builds stronger systems but also fosters an environment of psychological safety, creativity, and continuous improvement." Mike discusses his experiences at Etsy, where it was recognized that system failures are often the result of systemic issues rather than personal failures.

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Estimation Isn’t For Everyone

tl;dr: From the NYTimes Open team, the authors propose focusing on velocity as the primary metric for measuring a team's productivity. Instead of using story points for estimation, they suggest tracking the number of work items completed by the team each week. By focusing on throughput and breaking down tasks efficiently, teams can achieve predictable output without spending excessive time on estimation discussions.

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APIs Vs SDKs: Why You Should Always Have Both

tl;dr: This post explains what APIs and SDKs are, exploring the different use cases, examples and best practices for each, and explaining why having both are necessary.

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Amir’s 10 Laws Of Tech

- Amir Shevat tl;dr: “These are my personal observations working in tech for more than 20 years”: (1) A technology that was built for good will eventually be also used for bad. (2) A company’s technology stack will be based on the experience and preferences of the first technical person in that company. (3) The most painful, and least useful projects are migration projects, yet companies will replace technologies every 4 years. And more.

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Accountability For Effective Teams

- Jessica Kerr tl;dr: Accountability within teams should prioritize behavior over just measurable outcomes. Focusing on behavior is more fundamental and leads to better results in the long run. It requires having courageous conversations, confronting deficiencies, and suggesting paths aligned with collective goals. Blaming individuals after failures is not as effective as addressing behavior proactively.

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Helicopter Management And Other Mistakes

- Charity Majors tl;dr: “The message is simply that it took me years and years to learn that there is more to being a great manager than caring about my team.” Charity discusses 3 rookie mistakes in new managers: (1) Only managing down. (2) Helicopter management - overly identifying with your team instead of considering them in context of the organization, or letting them take risks. (3) Your view of the business is incomplete.

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