How I write group emails at work.
February 17, 2018 I believe for most folks working in technology, our most important daily contribution is communication. Lately I've started to experimenting with systemizing how I write emails at work, particularly emails to groups of folks, and these are my notes.
Product management in infrastructure engineering.
February 6, 2018 Recently a bunch of teams I work with have turned the corner, having paid down technical debt to a long-term sustainable level. The future unfurls with possibility. Many of the infrastructure engineer teams I’ve been a part of have struggled to make the transition from maintenance to innovation, and I wanted to write down some of the ideas that we’re exploring to ease this shift.
Inclusion in the first shift.
January 23, 2018 Several years and an employer ago, I was interviewing a candidate for an engineering management role and asked them how they built diverse teams. They mentioned the pipeline problem and concisely summarized their experience: it’s hard. I knew it was a weak answer. And mine was uncomfortably similar.
Vulnerability.
January 20, 2018 Vulnerability is sharing more of who you are emotionally than people expect, and often more than they’re comfortable with hearing. If you read enough management books, you’ll get this sense that there is a skill called authenticity for you to learn, but I think it’s less something that you need to add, than having the courage and the willingness to put away some of your masks for a while.
Cold sourcing: hire someone you don't know.
January 8, 2018 Most managers devote their hiring attention to folks that they already have a relationship with, which can lead to uniform teams and becoming a hiring bottleneck as your company scales. This post looks at the process of reaching out to folks you don't know, frequently referred to as cold sourcing.