

What books should non-technical founder must read to manage a software company? - technology

Software/technology company only<p>I've been suggested The Mythical Man Month by Frederick Brooks.<p>Any other must reads ?
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malandrew
Learn to program. Seriously. I know this isn't the answer you're expecting,
but there is nothing you can do that will better prepare you to manage
developers.

I managed one very technically complex product (VPS service like
Slicehost/Rackspace, where the customers were also developers) and one
consumer based product (micropayment provider for social games before I
finally bit the bullet and learned to program (I'm now the hustler and one of
the hackers at a startup I founded)

I would have been far far more effective at those previous two positions if I
knew then what I know today.

My recommendation, especially if you work with any product where the interface
and user experience matters, is to learn Javascript. Specifically, I would
suggest Eloquent Javascript by M. Haverbeke.

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MarlonPro
Some of the best:

\- The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master \- Code Complete: A
Practical Handbook of Software Construction \- Joel on Software: And on
Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to
Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by
Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity

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jeffepp
Four Steps to the Epiphany, Rework, Entrepreneurs Guide to Cust Dev, The Lean
Startup

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egorfine
Peopleware, absolutely.

