The Hagakure

The Hagakure offers insights for tech leaders to navigate complexities in work life and personal growth. It emphasizes trust, compassion, embracing uncertainty, and systems thinking. The content spans from handling managerial challenges, personal development, to organizational culture, advocating for a blend of personal well-being with professional efficiency.

Leadership and Management Personal Development Organizational Culture Systems Thinking Trust and Compassion in Workplaces Efficiency and Innovation Hiring and Team Building Mental Health and Burnout Feedback and Communication Career Growth

The hottest Substack posts of The Hagakure

And their main takeaways

TWH#S12: What I Read This Week

8 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
🚌 Education Career development Anxiety Management
  1. Understanding the concept of push vs. pull in software development is crucial for efficient work management.
  2. There is often a disconnect between learning and career progression in companies, hindering individuals from reaching their full potential.
  3. Moving past assumptions and taking concrete action based on facts is essential for progress and growth, both professionally and personally.

TWH#32: Different Strokes For Different Folks

26 implied HN points • 24 Mar 22
  1. Different people in a team may be solving different problems, causing frustration and ineffectiveness.
  2. Explicitly discussing individual values and priorities can help align a team towards a common goal.
  3. Creating awareness of priorities and pressures within a team through open conversation can lead to better relationships and more effective teamwork.
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TWH#34: Enable a Framework, Create Discipline

22 implied HN points • 07 Apr 22
  1. Leadership is about enabling a framework and creating discipline.
  2. Frameworks help focus on what truly matters and channel effort and creativity effectively.
  3. Discipline is crucial for executing the best frameworks and ensuring strategies are followed consistently.

The Hagakure is Back

22 implied HN points • 03 Mar 22
  1. Writing helps you clarify your thinking and improve your writing skills.
  2. Sharing knowledge and experiences through writing can help others.
  3. Writing can be a way to explore and work towards improving how we work.

TWH#30: Process has a bad rap

17 implied HN points • 10 Mar 22
  1. In startups, processes can be absent but somehow work out when there's not too many people.
  2. Many corporate processes deviate from common sense and original intentions.
  3. To improve processes, consider purpose, principles, and practices.

The Weekly Hagakure #1

44 implied HN points • 23 Apr 20
  1. Extraordinary times call for resilience and adaptation.
  2. The future will involve critical discussions about democracy, privacy, and technology.
  3. Learning and growth are key for building a better world.

The Hagakure Goes On Hiatus

17 implied HN points • 12 Nov 20
  1. The Hagakure newsletter is going on hiatus.
  2. The author is shifting focus to work responsibilities.
  3. Taking breaks and sprints alternately is important in life.

The Weekly Hagakure #2

22 implied HN points • 30 Apr 20
  1. Focus on figuring out your promise in your work.
  2. Strive to create humane workplaces in the tech industry.
  3. Develop a broad spectrum of skills to excel in complex environments.

The Weekly Hagakure #25

8 implied HN points • 08 Oct 20
  1. Focus on excellence in the next five minutes rather than the distant future.
  2. Prioritize what you can control and do in the present moment.
  3. Seek opportunities and visibility, not just advice, for underrepresented groups in tech.

The Weekly Hagakure #19

8 implied HN points • 27 Aug 20
  1. Consider asking 'why should we do this?' instead of only 'when will this be done?' in the tech world.
  2. Continuous improvement through retrospectives is vital for agile teams.
  3. Building safety, sharing vulnerability, and establishing purpose are key for leaders to create a healthy team culture.

TWH#44: Building a Great Relationship With Your Boss

1 HN point • 02 Feb 23
  1. Envision and co-design a great work relationship with your manager.
  2. Seek to understand before seeking to be understood to reduce assumptions and negative stories.
  3. Create aligned autonomy by defining an interface to maintain the two of you working in the same direction.

The Weekly Hagakure #8

8 implied HN points • 11 Jun 20
  1. Stay with the discomfort of temporary incompetence - there are no shortcuts in learning
  2. Fall in love with the process, not the outcome - find joy in the journey
  3. Become antifragile - challenges make you stronger and help you thrive under stress

The Weekly Hagakure #7

8 implied HN points • 04 Jun 20
  1. The importance of educating oneself on issues of race, inequality, and injustice
  2. Taking real actions, not just words, towards diversity and inclusivity in organizations
  3. Promoting empathy, allyship, and self-awareness to bring about meaningful change

The Weekly Hagakure #6

8 implied HN points • 28 May 20
  1. Remote work is becoming a significant trend with many companies transitioning to remote-first or remote-only setups.
  2. Businesses need to adapt to the shift towards remote work to remain competitive and fulfill employees' desires for healthier, happier work lives.
  3. The impact of remote work will have long-term consequences on factors like geography, quality of life, and company dynamics.

The Weekly Hagakure #5

8 implied HN points • 21 May 20
  1. Quantity often leads to better results than focusing only on quality.
  2. Taking action is more impactful than just being in motion.
  3. Patience and self-awareness are important for personal growth.

The Weekly Hagakure #3

8 implied HN points • 07 May 20
  1. Life is a series of sprints, take time to reflect and better yourself in each cycle.
  2. Find what drives you - towards motivation from inspiration, away from insecurity and vulnerabilities.
  3. Asking great questions is key - curiosity is essential for growth and success.

The Weekly Hagakure #28

4 implied HN points • 29 Oct 20
  1. Meditation helps increase awareness of inner state and leads to improved mood and decision-making.
  2. Setting WIP limits in teamwork can enhance productivity and focus on finishing tasks.
  3. Self-belief should be balanced with self-awareness for success; focusing on outcome-view instead of output-view is crucial.

The Weekly Hagakure #18

4 implied HN points • 20 Aug 20
  1. In interviews, ask questions about what's going well and what could be improved.
  2. Important to focus on empathy, curiosity, and mindset to become a strong job candidate.
  3. High-performance in engineering teams involves connecting improvements to user and business value.

The Weekly Hagakure #17

4 implied HN points • 13 Aug 20
  1. Effective leadership involves understanding the existing context and history of a team or company.
  2. Compound interest can be a powerful advantage in various aspects of life and work.
  3. Leadership often involves managing chaos and mastering fundamentals for success.

The Weekly Hagakure #13

4 implied HN points • 16 Jul 20
  1. Interruptions like notifications can take around 25 minutes to regain focus.
  2. Meeting overload in tech companies leads to time wasted and affects mental health.
  3. Creating deep focus and reducing distractions can lead to higher productivity and value creation.

The Weekly Hagakure #12

4 implied HN points • 09 Jul 20
  1. Good places to work are correlated with the willingness to change and adapt.
  2. When considering a new company, think about how it will benefit you in the long run.
  3. Trust your gut feeling when assessing if a company is the right fit for you.

The Weekly Hagakure #11

4 implied HN points • 02 Jul 20
  1. Run towards simplicity and away from complexity in your work.
  2. Embrace subtraction - focus on removing rather than adding.
  3. Reward and promote simplicity in your team to manage and tame complexity effectively.

The Weekly Hagakure #4

4 implied HN points • 14 May 20
  1. Great relationships depend on respect and trust.
  2. Trust gets built daily through consistent actions and giving/receiving feedback.
  3. Understanding your own quirks and those of others can lead to better relationships and productivity.

TWH#33: Write Simply, Change Effectively

1 HN point • 31 Mar 22
  1. Organizational change is difficult due to resistance to uncertainty and different perceptions of reality.
  2. Clear writing for effective change is intentional, emotional, and empathetic.
  3. Effective communication of change involves making messages kind but firm, easy to parse, and addressing fears and concerns.

The Weekly Hagakure #16

0 implied HN points • 06 Aug 20
  1. Career ladder is just the beginning, organizations need to support growth and behaviors
  2. Great employees quit due to leadership mistakes, take responsibility for growth
  3. Building happy and productive teams involves focusing on key areas like values and culture

The Weekly Hagakure #15

0 implied HN points • 30 Jul 20
  1. Moving to a new place can bring new opportunities and learning experiences
  2. Measuring engineering productivity requires trust and cannot always be straightforward
  3. Understanding cultural differences is crucial for creating efficient and positive work environments

The Weekly Hagakure #23

0 implied HN points • 24 Sep 20
  1. A plan needs to survive reality, which is filled with unknowns.
  2. Understanding psychology can help navigate challenges in the startup environment.
  3. Developing patience, humility, and understanding human nature can benefit leadership.

The Weekly Hagakure #9

0 implied HN points • 18 Jun 20
  1. Everyone, regardless of seniority, is just trying to figure things out.
  2. Creating an environment of psychological safety is crucial for business success.
  3. Good leaders welcome input from all levels and understand they don't have all the answers.

The Weekly Hagakure #20

0 implied HN points • 03 Sep 20
  1. Layoffs are emotionally charged for everyone involved, not just the ones being laid off.
  2. Showing kindness through actions is crucial when caring for those affected by layoffs.
  3. Leaving a challenging work environment due to layoffs can sometimes be a better outcome than staying.

The Weekly Hagakure #21

0 implied HN points • 10 Sep 20
  1. Leadership is about recognizing the greatness in everyone and creating an environment for it to emerge.
  2. Pragmatism is a key competency in tech, focusing not just on developing software but enabling business goals.
  3. Documenting decisions with context is crucial, as decisions are meaningful only within the constraints they were made.

The Weekly Hagakure #27

0 implied HN points • 22 Oct 20
  1. Self-care is crucial in maintaining well-being and preventing burnout.
  2. Managers should focus on coaching rather than just status updates to help their team improve.
  3. Clear and effective communication is essential in preventing organizational fatigue during times of change.

The Weekly Hagakure #10

0 implied HN points • 25 Jun 20
  1. Best relationships are peer relationships - if not learning or teaching from someone, they should not be above or below you.
  2. Running staff meetings is important: creates team unity, builds connective tissue, and provides a support group for everyone.
  3. Effective engineering management is a complex topic that requires systems thinking and understanding second- and third-degree consequences of actions.

The Weekly Hagakure #14

0 implied HN points • 23 Jul 20
  1. Feedback can help improve content by focusing on the main purpose.
  2. Collaboration with managers can lead to better outcomes than confrontation.
  3. Innovation and diversity are essential for growth and success in business.