The hottest Management Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

How to Build Influence as an Engineering Leader | Kelly Vaughn

Dev Interrupted • 14 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
💼 Business Engineering Leadership Management Team Collaboration Product Development Goal setting
  1. Building influence as an engineering leader requires focusing on trust, communication, and empowerment to succeed in both individual contributor and managerial roles.
  2. Adopting GenAI can be challenging due to the pressure of the hype cycle, and understanding key considerations is crucial for successful implementation.
  3. Having hard deadlines can significantly impact productivity and response rates, highlighting the importance of leveraging deadlines to improve team tempo and cadence.

Which derivative are you?

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 10 Jul 22
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Productivity Mathematics Management
  1. Derivatives help us understand how things change over time. The first derivative tells us how fast something is changing, while the second shows how that rate of change is changing.
  2. In conversations about technical issues, we often focus on the current situation. Instead, we should look at how we can improve that situation over time.
  3. Thinking about changes as derivatives can help us tackle complex problems. By considering not just the current state but how to change it over time, we can better manage projects.

Your Way

Venture Prose • 199 implied HN points • 14 Jan 20
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Investing Strategy Startups Management
  1. Successful companies often build on the strongest aspects of their industry and work backwards. This approach can lead to innovative solutions that address user needs in unique ways.
  2. When evaluating a team for investment, consider their vision (people), timing (time to market), and long-term commitment (built to last). These factors are crucial for sustainable success.
  3. Companies can excel by focusing on building innovative products, strong infrastructure, and effective distribution strategies. It's essential to adapt and evolve these elements while keeping clarity of vision.

A Note to Founders as We Head into 2023: Become the Leader Your Team Needs

Equal Ventures • 19 implied HN points • 06 Jan 23
💼 Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Startups Management Investing
  1. Great companies require great leaders, who are developed through feedback and support from those around them.
  2. In 2023, founders need to focus on fundamentals like unit economics, maintain a steady hand amid market turbulence, and have patience for the long-term success of their companies.
  3. Founders should be decisive on talent, transparent about challenges, and ensure their own needs are met to be effective leaders for their teams.
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The Power of Recognition in Engineering Leaders: A Deep Dive into the Philosophy and Practice

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 19 implied HN points • 10 Jul 23
💼 Business Leadership Management Philosophy Teamwork Recognition
  1. Recognition is more than just giving rewards; it's about appreciating each person's contributions. A simple thank you can boost team morale and motivation.
  2. Philosophers like Hegel and Honneth highlight that recognition helps people feel valued and fosters teamwork. When team members feel respected, they work better together.
  3. Leaders should be careful to recognize everyone fairly and genuinely. It's important not to overlook quieter team members and to give meaningful recognition without overwhelming the team.

Platform Governance Matters: How Platform Gatekeeping Affects Knowledge Sharing Among Complementors

Platform Papers • 19 implied HN points • 15 Feb 23
💼 Business Technology Innovation Governance Platform Management
  1. Strong platform control can encourage complementors' innovation activity instead of suppressing it.
  2. Access control by platform owners shapes complementors' knowledge sharing activities and can impact innovation.
  3. Platform governance, particularly access control, plays a crucial role in motivating cooperative behaviors among complementors for innovation.

✅ Research management: keeping track of literature and building knowledge

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
🚌 Education Research Management Tools Literature Knowledge
  1. Research management software needs to improve. Many current options just store information but don't help in building knowledge.
  2. Using tools like Notion can improve how you track and review research materials. You can create a system that organizes and summarizes papers effectively.
  3. It's important to find smarter tools and methods for research management instead of just using what's popular. Breaking tasks down can help you work better and more efficiently.

What is agile?

everything is agile • 2 HN points • 04 Jun 24
💼 Business Management Entrepreneurship Innovation Self-development Process Optimization
  1. Agile is a framework for building processes to create good software but can be applied to personal and professional life for fulfilling work.
  2. Agile is about intention, balance, being a tool that can be molded, and being experimental and personal.
  3. Agile is not a system but a mindset, not a magical solution, needs real testing, can't be bought, and there's no one true definition - it's adaptable and individual.

Regressions

Venture Prose • 179 implied HN points • 03 Jan 20
💼 Business Startups Technology Management Entrepreneurship Leadership
  1. Regressions happen when services fall below our standards or expectations. It's important to address and prevent them.
  2. As organizations grow, handling regressions becomes more challenging. It's crucial to manage engineering complexities and customer expectations.
  3. Preventing regressions requires setting high standards, holding people accountable, and remaining true to values. Prevention is key to maintaining a trustworthy product and service.

How to Make Your Organization Run Like a Well-Oiled Machine

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 31 Oct 22
💼 Business Management Organization Workflow Productivity Collaboration
  1. Assign roles based on individual strengths to help team members excel. For example, creative people can focus on brainstorming, while organized individuals can handle project management.
  2. Encourage open communication and collaboration by holding regular meetings where everyone can share their ideas. This helps everyone feel valued and can improve overall productivity.
  3. Use the Pareto principle, which says that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. Identify those key activities and focus on them to boost efficiency in your organization.

The worst project manager ever: a total idiot

Respectful Leadership • 54 implied HN points • 22 Mar 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Project management Team Dynamics
  1. Qualities of a great project manager are qualitative and include moral convictions, confidence, and perceptiveness, rather than just formal credentials.
  2. Respect is key in achieving excellent project management: respecting time, understanding priorities, and communicating effectively define a good project manager.
  3. Dealing with changing priorities respectfully involves supporting the team emotionally, being transparent about costs and time estimates, and facilitating collaboration between different levels of staff.

Everything you want to know about subscriptions

Logos • 19 implied HN points • 24 May 23
💼 Business Marketing Finance Economics Management Consumer behavior
  1. There are different types of subscription models, like 'pay to access' or 'pay to save.' Each type has different strategies for companies.
  2. Companies should know their goal for subscriptions — either to make money directly or encourage customers to spend more on other products.
  3. Offering upfront annual payments may not be the best idea. Many users who pay upfront are less likely to cancel anyway, so the discount might not be worth it.

The uncertainty mindset

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 219 implied HN points • 14 Oct 19
💼 Business Management Strategy Leadership Finance Innovation
  1. Risk and uncertainty are not the same. We often confuse the two, but dealing with true uncertainty needs a different approach than just managing risks.
  2. Businesses need to adapt to unexpected changes. Having a flexible mindset can help companies navigate uncertain situations more effectively.
  3. Understanding uncertainty can improve personal and professional growth. Embracing uncertainty helps with better decision-making and can lead to new discoveries.

Goal versus Process

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 02 Oct 22
💼 Business Management Strategy Product Design Development User Experience
  1. Focusing on goals helps teams and users create better outcomes. It's important to understand what problem we're solving instead of just following a strict process.
  2. Being adaptable is key. Just like driving, we can make adjustments along the way, which leads to a more effective journey toward our goals.
  3. Users care more about reaching their goals quickly than about the steps involved. Designing with their goals in mind makes them happier and more productive.

How to think about a new role

Through Curious Eyes • 2 implied HN points • 12 Oct 24
💼 Business Career Advice Management Personal Development Workplace culture Professional Growth
  1. Accept the recognition of your new role and recognize your own achievements. It's important to validate your success and understand that you are deserving of this new opportunity.
  2. Communicate your needs and wants clearly with your manager. Sharing what support you need will help set a strong foundation for your new relationship.
  3. Keep an open dialogue and create a shared document with your manager to outline expectations. This will help both of you stay aligned and monitor your progress in the new role.

Is Now the Right Time to Become a Manager?

sumitha • 1 HN point • 09 Jul 24
💼 Business Management Career transition
  1. Making the switch from individual contributor to manager is a big decision that requires careful timing and consideration.
  2. Assess your readiness for a management role by evaluating your experience with technical problem-solving, leadership capacity, and familiarity with different tech stacks.
  3. Before transitioning to a management role, avoid pitfalls such as switching companies, attempting the switch during challenges, or considering management as an escape from technical challenges.

#31: Alternative sociality

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 159 implied HN points • 03 Jun 20
💼 Business Management Entrepreneurship Organization Collaboration Innovation
  1. Uncertainty can push people to explore new ways of collaborating that they wouldn't consider in normal times. This can lead to creative solutions and innovations.
  2. Amorphous organizations have flexible memberships and allow diverse types of participants. This inclusivity can enable them to adapt better to changing conditions.
  3. It's important for organizations to maintain some level of inefficiency and diversity to stay adaptable for future changes, even if it seems counterproductive now.

"We Only Hire Seniors", And Other Mistakes

Load-bearing Tomato • 7 implied HN points • 16 May 24
💼 Business Management Workplace culture Human Resources Organizational Structure Game Development
  1. Hiring only seniors can create problems because it limits decision-making and leads to too many meetings. New or junior employees can help speed things up by handling tasks while seniors make bigger decisions.
  2. Having a mix of experience levels in a team is crucial for growth. If companies only hire seniors, they won't have new talent coming up, which can lead to challenges in the future.
  3. Good management is important in game development. Issues often come from poor organization rather than from the skill level of individual team members.

Why do startups have Boards of Directors?

Entry Level Investing • 16 implied HN points • 30 Nov 23
💼 Business Startups Boards Governance Investors Management
  1. Public companies have boards to protect shareholders from decisions made by management at their expense.
  2. Private equity firm boards are an extension of the firm itself, making major decisions about their companies.
  3. Startup boards, even when founder-controlled, provide good governance, lead to better outcomes, and offer valuable insights and support.

Product Management ++ 👀

Turnaround • 138 implied HN points • 16 Dec 19
💼 Business Product Management Technology Marketing Management Career development
  1. Neil McElroy's memo proposing the 'Brand Men' role at Procter & Gamble laid the foundation for modern brand management and product management in consumer product companies.
  2. The evolution of technology has shifted the composition of Fortune 500 companies towards the technology industry, impacting the role of product managers who now require a blend of management frameworks and tech understanding.
  3. Product managers today need to not only understand management strategies but also be adept at technology to succeed in the competitive landscape of building successful companies.

Who before what

Tech Ramblings • 19 implied HN points • 30 Apr 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Organizational Culture Team Building Strategic Planning
  1. Choosing the right people is crucial for success. Having a strong team matters more than knowing exactly what to do first.
  2. Wells Fargo thrived because they recruited talented leaders who embraced change, while Bank of America struggled with weak leadership.
  3. This 'who before what' principle also applies to personal relationships. Make sure the people you bring into your life add value and support your growth.

The history of inhouse legal

The Jolly Contrarian • 59 implied HN points • 23 Oct 21
💼 Business Legal Banking Management Consulting Operations
  1. In-house legal departments in banks have evolved over time from negligible involvement to becoming key players in managing legal relationships and adding value to the organization.
  2. The rise of magic circle law firms marked a period where law firms charged high rates for extensive legal work, benefiting from banks' willingness to pay for legal protection in their big financial deals.
  3. Management consultants stepped in to help banks reduce legal spend, resulting in the development of legal operations teams within organizations to optimize legal processes and costs.

How can R&D impact CAC, LTV & profitability

Brick by Brick • 9 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
💼 Business Finance Technology Marketing Management Strategy
  1. Understanding unit economics is crucial for businesses to determine profitability and optimize operations.
  2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is a key metric in evaluating marketing and sales efficiency, while Lifetime Value (LTV) predicts the profit from a customer's entire relationship with the company.
  3. R&D can significantly impact profitability by lowering CAC and increasing LTV through delivering superior products, enhancing user experiences, and attracting customers organically.

Salary of a Early-Stage Startup CEO

Tech Ramblings • 19 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Finance Management Strategy
  1. When starting a business, pay yourself just enough to live on. This way, you can focus on building the company without financial stress.
  2. Try to keep your living costs low before launching. This can help you manage funds better and prepare for the long journey ahead.
  3. As a startup CEO, it's important not to pay yourself too much. This helps keep resources for growth and shows you value your team's contributions.

✅ The opportunity for public relations to build on management status earned during COVID-19

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 23 Mar 23
💼 Business Management Public Relations Corporate Communication Stakeholder engagement Employee engagement
  1. Public relations has gained importance during COVID-19, helping organizations manage changes and communicate with stakeholders. This role is now more recognized in leadership decisions.
  2. Corporate affairs directors are seen as important advisers who help balance business goals with social needs. They work closely with top management to guide the company’s direction.
  3. There’s a shift towards using data and technology in public relations to understand society better. Companies are focusing on employee engagement and societal issues as key parts of their communication strategy.