The hottest Efficiency Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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EL-Attention: Memory Efficient Lossless Attention for Generation

efficientml • 1 HN point • 30 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Data science Efficiency Memory Machine Learning
  1. EL-Attention proposes a method to reduce memory usage during inference in Transformer models by caching only past hidden states instead of keys and values.
  2. By re-ordering matrix multiplication steps, EL-Attention can achieve the same results as traditional attention mechanisms with significantly reduced memory requirements.
  3. EL-Attention provides an efficient way to handle attention mechanisms in transformer models, especially for decoder-only models, by halving the amount of caching memory needed.

How to work efficiently, how to efficiently get things done, and how to make the team operate efficiently.

Howard’s Newsletter • 1 HN point • 22 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Productivity Collaboration Tools Efficiency Workflow
  1. Efficiency in work is achieved by breaking down tasks into smaller segments and following a time management rule.
  2. Utilizing tools like Git, Sublime Text, and Org mode can enhance team collaboration and productivity.
  3. Assigning specific tasks, maintaining documentation, and focusing on action helps in achieving project efficiency and FDA compliance.
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How And When to Do Layoffs

Build To Scale • 0 implied HN points • 21 Sep 23
💼 Business Management Layoffs Efficiency Strategy Leadership
  1. If you've missed your targets significantly for two quarters and haven't adjusted costs, it's likely time to consider layoffs to prevent worsening financial situations.
  2. When doing layoffs, it's better to make deeper cuts of at least 15% rather than small reductions to significantly impact the company trajectory.
  3. Focus on top initiatives during layoffs by identifying key projects to prioritize, being clear about what will be stopped, and re-aligning the organization for critical goals.

What SaaS metrics should a head of engineering track?

Brick by Brick • 0 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
💼 Business Metrics Revenue Profitability Efficiency Startups
  1. Key SaaS metrics vital for an engineering leader: Focus on ARR, ACV, and TCV to gauge revenue streams effectively.
  2. Profitability metrics: Look at gross and operating margins, and free cash flow for late-stage companies to evaluate success.
  3. Efficiency tracking for startup growth: Monitor Cash Burn to Net New ARR, operational expenses per department relative to sales, to assess resource effectiveness.

Minimize the time it takes to develop a useable software

Ingig • 0 implied HN points • 09 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Language Coding Efficiency Security
  1. Minimizing the time it takes to develop usable software is crucial for competitiveness and project success.
  2. Lowering the complexity of code, such as with Plang programming language, can lead to clearer, more concise, and easier-to-understand code.
  3. Reducing lines of code not only makes development faster and cheaper, but also contributes to better security, fewer bugs, and increased stability in software projects.

Good intentions don't work

Tech Ramblings • 0 implied HN points • 05 Feb 23
💼 Business Management Processes Corporate culture Decision-making Efficiency
  1. Good intentions alone are not enough to achieve goals; having clear processes is essential. Relying on gut feelings or promises can lead to bad outcomes.
  2. Good teams follow documented processes for tasks, decisions, and problem-solving. This helps everyone know what to do and ensures accountability.
  3. Amazon's culture emphasizes clear procedures, which makes it a great place for engineers. Following these principles helps teams work effectively and align their efforts.

When Perfect Targets Go Bad: The Pitfalls of Over-Optimizing Our Measures

Anima Mundi • 0 implied HN points • 18 Jan 25
🚌 Education Learning Assessment Society Efficiency Goals
  1. Over-optimizing a goal can cause it to backfire. Instead of improving, your real goal might actually get worse.
  2. This issue, known as the strong version of Goodhart's law, shows that when we focus too much on a specific measure, we can end up harming our original aim.
  3. To avoid these pitfalls, we need to make sure our measures align closely with what we really want and be cautious about pushing for too much efficiency.

Law Enforcement Transcription Rollup

Captain's Log • 0 implied HN points • 08 Jul 23
💼 Business Acquisitions Automation Cost reduction Regulations Efficiency
  1. Acquiring and consolidating small transcription services into a single entity can optimize efficiency and reduce costs in the industry.
  2. Utilizing advanced transcription technologies like OpenAI's Whisper and ChatGPT can lead to significant cost savings and improved productivity.
  3. Centralizing operations through acquisitions and technology adoption can enhance competitiveness and profitability in the transcription industry.