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This isn't really directly related, but close enough that I feel it isn't off topic: what are the 3-5 best books a new staff engineer should read? I realize th

This isn't really directly related, but close enough that I feel it isn't off topic: what are the 3-5 best books a new staff engineer should read? I realize that reading 5 books on the subject generally puts you 4-5 books ahead of just about everybody else, but I like books. Also: this needs (2020) in the title.

blondin 5y ago
staff engineer by Will Larson. recently read that book. it's funny that the book wanted to show a diverse group of staff engineers and what they do. but i ended up thinking, oh wow, they are all pretty much saying the same thing. (there were a few exceptions) but at least the book gives you an idea.
- triyambakam 5y ago
  What about for becoming a Sr SWE or Tech Lead?
  - patleeman 5y ago
    The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier is my go to recommendations for all new tech leads or those getting into people management on my team.
kqr 5y ago
Either The New Economics or Out of the Crisis or both, by Deming. I could recommend twenty more books that I think are essential to be a good leader (in various areas like ownership, communication, continuous improvement, planning, innovation, anthropology, visual control, calibrated estimation, etc.), but Deming stands way above everything else.
- angrais 5y ago
  Well ... Go on then! What are the other 20 that you recommend, sorted by your personal favourites?
  - bckr 5y ago
    Yep, I'd love to get the full list too.
    - kqr 5y ago
      I did manage to write up a list in a response to the grandparent comment.
  - kqr 5y ago
    Some authors take multiple books to fully flesh out the ideas outlined in the first, so there are some doubles recommended here. I also found it impossible to rank books, so instead I took roughly the top 20, grouped them into themes, and then ranked the themes based on how important I think they are. 1. Deming is the primary writer of the type of management we need to be competitive: Deming, The New Economics & Out of the Crisis. 2. There is a wide variety of ways for humans to organise. Nobody is forcing the default capitalist bureaucracy on you, so be creative: Graeber, Bullshit Jobs & Dawn of Everything & The Democracy Project. 3. How people are motivated: Pink, Drive. 4. How to create a high-trust, less authoritarian, open, collaborative environment within a traditional hierarchy: Marquet, Leadership is Language. 5. Communication: Voss, Never Split the Difference. Faber, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen. 6. How to help organisations who don't want to admit what their problem is: Weinberg, Secrets of Consulting. 7. How to structure organisations and processes to deliver maximum value: Reinertsen, Principles of Product Development Flow. Ward, Lean Product and Process Development. Womack, Machine That Changed the World. 8. How to innovate cheaply: Westrum, Sidewinder. 9. How to estimate things properly: Hubbard, How to Measure Anything. Tetlock, Superforecasting. Savage, The Flaw of Averages. 10. How to train people to be experts at things: Hoffman, Accelerated Learning. 11. How people fail at decisions: Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow & Noise. I had to leave out a few about statistics, causality inference, project portfolio investment that didn't make the top 20 cut.
    - bckr 5y ago
      love it! I've got some audible to listen to :) thanks
softwarebeware 5y ago
What about Debugging Teams?
- softwarebeware 5y ago
  Or Peopleware
  - actually_a_dog 5y ago
    I've actually read Peopleware and got a lot out of it. It's been a while, so I might be due for a re-read.

blondin 5y ago

staff engineer by Will Larson. recently read that book. it's funny that the book wanted to show a diverse group of staff engineers and what they do. but i ended up thinking, oh wow, they are all pretty much saying the same thing. (there were a few exceptions) but at least the book gives you an idea.

triyambakam 5y ago
What about for becoming a Sr SWE or Tech Lead?
- patleeman 5y ago
  The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier is my go to recommendations for all new tech leads or those getting into people management on my team.

kqr 5y ago

Either The New Economics or Out of the Crisis or both, by Deming. I could recommend twenty more books that I think are essential to be a good leader (in various areas like ownership, communication, continuous improvement, planning, innovation, anthropology, visual control, calibrated estimation, etc.), but Deming stands way above everything else.

angrais 5y ago
Well ... Go on then! What are the other 20 that you recommend, sorted by your personal favourites?
- bckr 5y ago
  Yep, I'd love to get the full list too.
  - kqr 5y ago
    I did manage to write up a list in a response to the grandparent comment.
- kqr 5y ago
  Some authors take multiple books to fully flesh out the ideas outlined in the first, so there are some doubles recommended here. I also found it impossible to rank books, so instead I took roughly the top 20, grouped them into themes, and then ranked the themes based on how important I think they are. 1. Deming is the primary writer of the type of management we need to be competitive: Deming, The New Economics & Out of the Crisis. 2. There is a wide variety of ways for humans to organise. Nobody is forcing the default capitalist bureaucracy on you, so be creative: Graeber, Bullshit Jobs & Dawn of Everything & The Democracy Project. 3. How people are motivated: Pink, Drive. 4. How to create a high-trust, less authoritarian, open, collaborative environment within a traditional hierarchy: Marquet, Leadership is Language. 5. Communication: Voss, Never Split the Difference. Faber, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen. 6. How to help organisations who don't want to admit what their problem is: Weinberg, Secrets of Consulting. 7. How to structure organisations and processes to deliver maximum value: Reinertsen, Principles of Product Development Flow. Ward, Lean Product and Process Development. Womack, Machine That Changed the World. 8. How to innovate cheaply: Westrum, Sidewinder. 9. How to estimate things properly: Hubbard, How to Measure Anything. Tetlock, Superforecasting. Savage, The Flaw of Averages. 10. How to train people to be experts at things: Hoffman, Accelerated Learning. 11. How people fail at decisions: Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow & Noise. I had to leave out a few about statistics, causality inference, project portfolio investment that didn't make the top 20 cut.
  - bckr 5y ago
    love it! I've got some audible to listen to :) thanks

softwarebeware 5y ago

What about Debugging Teams?

softwarebeware 5y ago
Or Peopleware
- actually_a_dog 5y ago
  I've actually read Peopleware and got a lot out of it. It's been a while, so I might be due for a re-read.