
Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature? - rodh
I am a developer and the startup I joined as employee #2 a year and a half ago has been growing steadily. There are now double digits employees and I&#x27;ve been given more responsibility and authority.<p>Aside from development, some of my responsibilities up to this point have already included project management, staff management and proposal writing. Now I am joining the senior management team and taking on more strategic responsibilities, including determining the direction of many of the company’s future plans and projects.<p>There are several paths I am looking at for preparing myself for my new responsibilities. I thought I’d start a discussion as out of the demographic on HN, I am sure I am not the only one in such a situation.<p>Self-teaching directions I’ve been looking at so far are:
-	Business Analyst processes.
-	Agile planning
-	Agile requirements modeling
-	Effective proposals
-	Business development<p>Although there is certainly no absence of literature in this area, I&#x27;ve found it hard to find good recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions for specific books in those areas, or any other areas that would benefit a developer taking on a more strategic role?
======
kator
Honestly I would get a mentor. Find someone either in your org or out of your
org that has the skills and career you would like to work towards and start
talking to them. If you hit it off you may have found someone who can help you
through the bumpy parts of your career and help you plan your next steps. Some
people charge for this as career coaching and that can also have some value
but it's challenging to sort out the best ones. Every place I've gone I've
looked for a mentor to bounce ideas off of and generally double check my
thinking and how I'm approaching problems and my career. You can go to
industry events and start reaching out or just look for people you admire and
reach out and start a dialog.

I personally think the concept of apprenticeship is lacking in the technology
industry and we loose out on what other older professions have with clearer
career paths because of their established practices of guiding people though
their careers. That said I've seen it abused too so there always needs to be
balance in these things.

I personally coach about five people (for free) in my current company and they
come from all areas of the org not just my group. I was very lucky in the
early days to have several great mentors in my life who helped me and I feel
it's my job to pay that back now in the latter years of my career.

Books are wonderful but nothing beats interacting with successful people.

~~~
davidw
> get a mentor

Seems easier said than done. I wouldn't want to share details of what I do
with random people. Probably not with coworkers either unless it's strictly
related to the job at hand, but at that point the advice they can give you is
also more limited. Also, you need to find someone with more experience than
you, so you don't have much to bring to the deal.

> Books are wonderful but nothing beats interacting with successful people.

That I can certainly agree with.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
I can't agree more with Kator's comment. Find a mentor - maybe pay for a
business coach if you want but you would probably be able to find an
experienced serial entrepreneur in your industry after one or two conferences.

I would however start _today_ not with a book but a clean sheet of paper. Take
a long hard look at you, your decisions and imagine explaining it all to a
judge in five years time. What bits will you be proud of, which embarrassed by
and which will land you in jail.

If I was to give five points I wish I had done more of:

\- Always be hiring

\- Always be filling the pipeline

\- Always cut more out than you think is possible. Do less better.

\- never ever lie, and stand up and speak the truth as needed

\- know where the money is going

~~~
kator
Spot on, for sure a mentor is great but introspection is a powerful tool.

The first thing I ask when I start coaching someone is what are your goals
with your career? In my career I can literally boil it down to four points:

1) Passion

2) Leadership

3) Compensation

4) Hybrid (Tech + Business)

At any time in my career I can score these 1-5 (5 being best) and the closer I
get to 20 the better I feel. That said this is just the "what's your
motivation" phase, next comes the "what's standing in your way" phase where
you look deeply at your strengths and weaknesses and see how they block your
ability to receive what you're looking for in your career. Then comes the "ok
so now what" phase where you start setting goals to help shore up your
weaknesses and magnify your strengths. Then it's "rinse and repeat" basically
measure, adjust and execute.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
I like that - might choose a different four but the idea is solid

Also totally behind the rating on a five point scale.

~~~
kator
> might choose a different four but the idea is solid

The goal is to personalize these parts so they're your own. By all means I
encourage people to pick their own but boil them down to succinct things you
can describe in an elevator pitch.

They're very powerful when you talk to a manager or a potential employer about
what makes you happy as an employee. It can be hard for a manager when you
ramble on about what you want but I can blast these out along with a short
example of each and use them as the basis of a productive dialog with the
person I'm talking to.

In short, yes, pick your own, but know them cold and know how you measure them
and how you can communicate to others when your not at a 5 in every area! :-)

~~~
lifeisstillgood
I _think_ mine are :

\- Autonomy \- Collegiate \- Purpose \- Family \- Money

Thanks for making me think it through !

------
anarchitect
In the last five years moved from development, to leading the development team
to more of a product management role. Fully agree with that DanielBMarkham
it's "the people part of things is where you'll screw up", so I'd focus on
communication and team-building as much as processes.

I've found a few books really useful:

* The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right ([https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667514-the-checklist-ma...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667514-the-checklist-manifesto))

* Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ([https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452796-drive](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452796-drive))

* Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality ([https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7696135-making-ideas-hap...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7696135-making-ideas-happen))

* Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose ([https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6828896-delivering-happi...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6828896-delivering-happiness))

* Rework ([https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6732019-rework](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6732019-rework))

These days I get the most value from articles and videos. Here is a list of my
recommended articles on Medium, which might be useful -
[https://medium.com/@nickboyce/has-
recommended](https://medium.com/@nickboyce/has-recommended). Some great stuff
in the list recommended by ravivyas too.

Edit: Something else I have been experimenting with is buying executive
summaries of major books, in order to familiarise myself with as many
perspectives as possible.

~~~
cloverich
Can you elaborate on the purchasing of executive summaries? Sounds
interesting; I also like to forage and often find that, for certain books, I
really just want the technical footnotes.

~~~
anarchitect
Sure. There are plenty of summaries available on Amazon, for instance, this
summary of Good to Great
([http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008VGWCHY/ref=oh_aui_d_d...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008VGWCHY/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_?ie=UTF8&psc=1)).

There are also some really great mini books like Scrum: a Breathtakingly Brief
and Agile Introduction
([http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007P5N8D4/ref=oh_aui_d_d...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007P5N8D4/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o02_?ie=UTF8&psc=1))

Also, I haven't tried these yet, but there are a number of subscription
services available for summaries like
[http://www.summary.com/](http://www.summary.com/) and
[http://www.getabstract.com/en/](http://www.getabstract.com/en/)

The other way of cheating is by watching talks by the authors, which give you
the key concepts from the book in an hour. For example Simon Sinek presenting
Why Leaders Eat Last
([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReRcHdeUG9Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReRcHdeUG9Y))

------
DanielBMarkham
Disclaimer: my day job is helping companies continue to operate at scale the
same as they did when there were only 5 of them. Turns out this is not a
trivial thing to do.

Agile/XP practices are a good starting place in-between cowboy programming and
micro-management hell -- as long as you don't take them as a recipe book.
They're simply best practices that you can and should learn. Then prune/modify
as necessary. There are really too many books to list separately. I'd advise
joining a local Agile User's Group and noticing who has their shit in one
sock. Then find out what they're doing. You can also bring in external
coaches.

You need a couple of good books on the people part of things. I can guarantee
you that the people part of things is where you'll screw up. "Drive" is really
good. [http://amzn.to/1qtZdEd](http://amzn.to/1qtZdEd) So is PeopleWare
[http://amzn.to/1iBnasO](http://amzn.to/1iBnasO)

For strategic stuff, especially in a growing company, you're going to have to
master large work queues without having them eat you alive. If you'll allow me
to self-promote, my Backlogs series is geared exactly towards this problem.
[http://tiny-giant-books.com/backlogs.htm](http://tiny-giant-
books.com/backlogs.htm)

One observation: as you grow, it's not enough that you pay extremely careful
attention to whom you hire. You also need to create an on-boarding system
where new hires can learn and adopt the culture -- things like pair
programming, how the build works, good coding etiquette, and so on. Setting
the table for strategy to work is actually more important than whatever the
strategy is.

Second observation: I imagine you're going to be swimming in business book
recommendations. Business books are like dieting books: everybody has a few
favorites. (I imagine this is because the material inside matches how they
already feel). Better to identify specific areas, like Agile Requirements
Modeling, and find books targeting those areas. Then look for practical
advice. Otherwise you'll just have a ton of books that you'll spend hundreds
of hours reading and not really have much to show for it at the end of the
process.

~~~
chollida1
Links to the books Drive:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P1JDJO](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P1JDJO)

and Peopleware:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321934113/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321934113/)

for those who are worried about clicking url shortners

~~~
davidw
DanielBMarkham has been on this site for a long time and is pretty well known,
so I would trust him not to put shady links.

I also heartily agree with him that lots of business books are best digested
as summaries - look them up on wikipedia, for instance. The fundamental
problem is that many have a simple idea, but you can't sell a 10 page book. So
it gets fluffed up with lots of case studies and extra material until it's
long enough to sell as a book.

------
matrix
It sounds like you've taken the most important step, which is appreciating
that "what got you here won't get you there".

One of my favorite books when stepping into a new role is M. Watkins, "The
First 90 Days", which is very helpful in formalizing an effective approach to
succeeding quickly when in a new management role.

It is worth trying to get some education in people management. While much of
it is common-sense, it's worthwhile covering the basics -- the applicable
laws, managing conflicts, that sort of thing. I have yet to find a good,
practical book on organizational engineering (if anyone has a suggestion,
please post it), but this is an area that I feel someone in your role should
seek to understand well, because it has a big impact on the success of a
business.

One of the most important, fundamental skills for a senior level manager is
understanding finance. I recommend B. Knight, "Financial Intelligence" as a
primer.

My favorite book on business strategy is M. Porter "Competitive Strategy",
however, this book and all other business strategy books should be taken with
a large grain of salt. They often suffer from survivorship bias, being
applicable only to certain industries and times, and in at least one famous
case, allegedly faking the data used to draw their conclusions. I treat
business strategy books as leisure reading that simply provides another
perspective.

~~~
vasundhar
I would have recommended the same books. In addition to that please read Books
by Peter F Drucker on Management, strategy and how to treat Humans.

In startups, human interaction is most important more so than a huge
corporation because both employee and employer needs to understand the
importance of each other. Make sure you treat them right and make sure they
are excited,valued and well treated.

Get a mentor, you need to keep them engaged, request with specific questions,
ask for suggestions. No one wants to receive a specific mail asking me to be a
mentor. they would rather send a note/ give a suggestion which will help you.

All the very best for you and company, and keep us posted on how your journey
is.

------
vellum
If you're looking for a book on strategy, you can't go wrong with Peter
Drucker.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Drucker-Management-
Essen...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Drucker-Management-
Essentials/dp/0061345016)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker)

~~~
w1ntermute
Can't forget _Moshidora_ ( _What If the Manageress of a High School Baseball
Team read Drucker 's "Management"_):
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshidora](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshidora)

------
thruflo
In a senior role, effective communication becomes more important. One of the
best books I've read about how to communicate effectively is
[http://www.amazon.com/The-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-
Thinking...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-
Thinking/dp/0273710516)

It introduces a specific method to write concise, effective business
documents. Then it shows how you can use the method to critique your own
thinking.

~~~
Denzel
Yes, I can't recommend this book enough. Throughout my career, I've come into
contact with a number of consultants from Harvard/MIT, Bain, McKinsey, etc.
They all had a way of communicating ideas so clearly and effectively that I
could understand exactly what they were saying, almost immediately. There was
virtually no loss of information between what they spoke and what I heard. The
ideas and thoughts all just flowed into my brain painlessly. I aspired to
communicate as well as these people, but I just couldn't figure out the
formula.

Finally, one late night, sitting across from my managing director (the leader
of a prestigious boutique pharma-consulting firm), I asked him rather bluntly,
"How did you learn to speak so well?" He gave me a rather blank stare, and
thought for a little while. "Ah!" he exclaimed, jumping up from his desk and
darting over to his bookcase. After a little rummaging, lo and behold, he
pulled out an old copy of the Pyramid Principle. I leafed through the book and
found a number of notes and highlights as he explained to me that what I held
was the single most influential book he'd ever read. He told me to read it,
not as a way to structure presentations or emails (although it helps there),
but as a new lifestyle. Fold the ideas and principles into your very being, so
as to become second nature, and you'll never have trouble communicating again.

It's a must-read book.

~~~
avenger123
+1. What a great endorsement for the book. Your two paragraphs capture so much
and in such a delightful way that it's hard not to want to buy the book.

------
chwolfe
Congrats!

When it comes to Management, I have to second vellum's advice and go with
Drucker:

[http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Executive-Definitive-
Harperb...](http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Executive-Definitive-
Harperbusiness-Essentials/dp/0060833459/)

Classic (Mad Men era) of Marketing is ruled by Ogilvy:

[http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Advertising-Man-David-
Ogil...](http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Advertising-Man-David-
Ogilvy/dp/190491537X/)

However, I cannot stress enough the role of analytics in modern business
strategy/marketing and Kaushik's book is the best:

[http://www.amazon.com/Web-Analytics-2-0-Accountability-
Centr...](http://www.amazon.com/Web-Analytics-2-0-Accountability-
Centricity/dp/0470529393/)

------
nl
The number one thing I'd suggest it learning to communicate effectively. Since
you have been promoted already I assume you have some skills in this area -
that's good! But it can be worth deliberately focusing on improving both your
written and oral communication skills.

------
swombat
The best book bar none that I've read about strategy is "Good Strategy, Bad
Strategy" by Richard Rumelt:
[http://goodbadstrategy.com/](http://goodbadstrategy.com/)

I highly recommend it. It's clear, intelligent, properly defines what strategy
is (which most other books fail to do) and isn't, and how to go about
designing and implementing it. It's very low on bullshit and very high on
examples and insights from both history and business.

~~~
Tloewald
"His strategy was to risk his lead ships in order to break the coherence of
his enemy’s fleet."

He defines strategy incorrectly. He means "tactic". I think the problem is
that "strategy" sounds more important, but it irks me every time someone
confuses the two. (The US military thinks the difference is merely one of the
size of the operation, which is also wrong.)

Nelson's strategy at Trafalgar was to have a decisive battle versus a
skirmish. He _wanted_ to destroy the French navy (and was willing to risk
everything to do it).

~~~
qznc
You cannot define something incorrectly. He can very well define "strategy" as
something, you would label "tactic". That does not make it incorrect. It is
great that a definition is done for an overloaded and ambiguous word like
"strategy".

I have not found a good clear definition for "strategy" and "tactic". Could
you give yours?

~~~
Tloewald
Let me give a concrete example:

In the WWII Pacific Campaign, the overall allied strategy was called "Island
Hopping" and the intent was to establish a chain of bases to allow the supply
of airfields within range of Japan, and bypass most of the islands the
Japanese had conquered. Anything action beyond achieving that goal was
superfluous.

In one campaign an Australian field commander on a disputed island fought a
vigorous offensive against the Japanese garrison. His job was defending the
airfield, but as a consequence of his excellent leadership and tactics, he
managed to capture almost the entire garrison with little loss.

MacArthur was, reportedly, furious:

1) The Japanese garrison was starving and almost out of ammo and posed no real
threat.

2) Now supplies would need to be diverted to deal with the Japanese prisoners.

3) Ammunition and other supplies had been wasted and lives put at risk to
achieve non-objectives.

Great tactics, but counter to the strategy, and thus unproductive.

A more recent example:

The US invasion of Iraq was a superbly executed piece of tactical planning and
execution in pursuit of an idiotic (stated) strategy (conquer Iraq, the people
will happily become democratic, and the Middle East will be inspired by their
wonderful example). It's possible the real strategy was to generate business
for large defense contractors, in which case job well done. Bravo.

------
tsondermann
I don't think there's anyone writing better, more actionable advice on this
particular transition than Michael Lopp at
[http://randsinrepose.com](http://randsinrepose.com)

I'd read everything on that site.

~~~
nicholasjon
Seconded. If paper form is more your thing, I've found his compilation book
"Managing Humans" ([http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Humans-Humorous-Software-
Engi...](http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Humans-Humorous-Software-
Engineering/dp/159059844X/)) to be a great place to start.

------
ravivyas
Here is what I did when I moved from development to product & Marketing

1\. Follow people in the same field 2\. Ready up on blogs and posts : I use
Zite, Flipboard and medium 3\. A book that helped me to a large extent is Good
to great by Jim Collins ([http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-
Others/dp/00...](http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-
Others/dp/0066620996))

Also The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman [http://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-
World-Class-Business-Educ...](http://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-World-Class-
Business-Education-ebook/dp/B004JXXKR4)

4\. Video from people in the same field. 5\. This article
[https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/50-articles-and-books-that-
wi...](https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/50-articles-and-books-that-will-make-
you-a-great-product-manager-aad5babee2f7)

Some great tools:

1\. Trello - Project/product and pretty much manage any thing 2\. Qlikview -
Data Analysis : Excel on Steroids

It's a very short list, but I am learning on the job :)

~~~
davidw
Josh's book is great - he sums up a lot of thinking from other books. He also
has an account here, IIRC. Jim Collins, on the other hand, seems to write kind
of empty books without much actionable advice. In my opinion, at least.

------
_xzu
There are lot's of good advice already but I'd like to add few more. You need
to make a mind shift from dev/manager role to strategic senior manager. My
recommendation is to read: Good to Great (
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76865.Good_to_Great](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76865.Good_to_Great)
) On War (
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117031.On_War_Indexed_Ed...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117031.On_War_Indexed_Edition)
( I'm not sure which English translation is the best )

and try to see how practical tips both give for decision making. Art of War is
also good, but I'd prefer Clausewitz since it's much more straightforward.

And read this masterpiece [http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pdf/reports-
downloads/the-testa...](http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pdf/reports-
downloads/the-testament-of-a-furniture-dealer.pdf)

------
eitally
I recommend the [http://www.manager-tools.com](http://www.manager-tools.com)
site for lots of really great content on practical leadership & management. As
for process ... yes, you can read all you want, but at the end of the day your
success will be defined by your ability to sell a good idea (SDLC/ALM
processes) to your team, not the pure quality of the processes themselves. If
people don't want to or can get around process, they will.

I've never worked in a startup, but I run my teams as if they were small,
fairly-independent-but-often-symbiotic entities. I started as a dev back in
'99 and am one step below CIO in a 45,000 employee large corporation. If you'd
ever like to chat about your problems or bounce ideas off someone, I'd be
happy to.

------
awt
[http://www.amazon.com/The-Gervais-Principle-Complete-
Ribbonf...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Gervais-Principle-Complete-Ribbonfarm-
ebook/dp/B00F9IV64W)

------
stanchiang23
Developing strategy, relies on understanding the patterns evident in the
mechanics of doing business, (startups and mature corps alike).

To that end, I strongly recommend Michael Porter, who literally wrote the book
on modern "Competitive Strategy". There is no other single source of strategic
theory that is better than this. Anybody that has taken a b-school class on
strategy worth their tuition will recall concepts like Porter's 5-forces.

Other answers seem to offer more recently offered books and some might dare to
argue his frameworks are dated but really it's in a robust, tried-and-true-
kind of way. Other books that try to cover defining strategy, value chain,
industry analysis are often derivative of his work.

If you don't end up reading it at least get a list of his key concepts and
google the shit out of them. They all seem like a "duh, i knew that" on paper,
but you should have these theories in your back pocket whenever you need to
formulate a battleplan.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_generic_strategies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_generic_strategies)

[http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-
Indust...](http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Industries-
Competitors-
ebook/dp/B001CB34J0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403620127&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+porter)

------
polskibus
Understand Lean paradigm as a way of delivering business value:
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Lean-Resolving-Efficiency-
Parad...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Lean-Resolving-Efficiency-
Paradox/dp/919803930X)

In terms of agile - I believe that scrum and related are too operational-
related and not really strategic. You can skip that and delegate crunching it
to others.

Master delegation - 1 minute manager, etc. - read at least one short book
about it. Don't fall into micromanagement trap.

~~~
trendyy
Couldn't help but notice that book has a terrible review from the author John
Seddon - although he has always been a vocal critic of management thinking
such as lean.

------
webmaven
From a technical perspective, I have found 'The Mature Optimization Handbook'
invaluable: [https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/the-
matu...](https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/the-mature-
optimization-handbook/10151784131623920) (HN discussion here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6763683](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6763683))

'Team Geek' is a great primer on technical leadership:
[http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018025.do](http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018025.do)

Another recommended book is 'Shipping Greatness':
[http://shippinggreatness.com](http://shippinggreatness.com)

Assuming you're already familiar with 'The Lean Startup', there has been a
series of excellent 'sequels' on many more specific disciplines that you will
likely find useful: [http://theleanstartup.com/the-lean-
series](http://theleanstartup.com/the-lean-series)

A recent addition (that I am still digesting) on Agile processes beyond Scrum
is 'Unblock!':
[http://www.continuousagile.com/unblock/](http://www.continuousagile.com/unblock/)
(Posted to HN a few days ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7921200](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7921200))

------
redtexture
One aspect of strategy, crucially important, is actively, and continually
deciding what not to do.

It is _necessary_ to not do great projects and not pursue great ideas, because
of scarcity of resources: the organization cannot undertake all of the good
and great ideas it encounters.

There is nearly no organization that is not over-committed in its operations.
This is constant, challenging, and avoidable problem.

Actively deciding not to do a project, or not follow a particular line of
effort...instead of failing, by default to give enough resources or effort to
an idea or project aids the organization to focus and excel in particular
well-chosen areas. And avoid being mediocre in multiple areas and spread thin
as an organization, by actively choosing to do less. What great project will
you abandon, to focus on the other great projects you're already doing?

Mission statements fail to inform about what the organization will NOT do. A
strategy does.

* _Stuck: Why It’s So Hard to Do New Things in Old Organizations_ (recorded lecture, December 6, 2007)

By Rebecca M. Henderson, (now at Harvard Business School) formerly Eastman
Kodak LFM Professor of Management, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology

Video lecture (skip the first 15 minutes) (total time one hour)
[http://video.mit.edu/watch/stuck-why-its-so-hard-to-do-
new-t...](http://video.mit.edu/watch/stuck-why-its-so-hard-to-do-new-things-
in-old-organizations-9319/)

------
chiph
Take a look at the concept of servant leadership. I've worked at one business
that used it, and it was phenomenal. The crux of it is that bosses are only as
successful as the people doing the actual work, so the boss should focus on
what is needed for them to be successful.

[http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Leadership-Legitimate-
Greatnes...](http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Leadership-Legitimate-Greatness-
Anniversary-ebook/dp/B00511JL6C)

------
jonstewart
If you're under 50 people, you're still too small for many processes. Read
every book you can lay your hands on about people-management (not project
management, not product management, not strategy) and remember to over-
communicate. The best lever you have at this point is to become a great
manager of people--you'll motivate them to do good work and help turn some of
them into great managers as the company grows.

------
Su-Shee
Start with the "classics" like "mystical man month" (Brooks) for example, then
get many of the books by Tom de Marco and possibly read Richard Gabriel's
"Patterns of Software". The book about the "Chandler" project (forgot it's
title) is also a particular good read. Those two in particular are interesting
reads about why things fail.

Go on to reading the Toyota management style in itself, there's a couple of
books about it, that's what many IT techiques are getting their ideas from.

It's mostly about finding your values so to speak and pinpoint what you really
think makes up a good software development company - maybe your focus will be
on organization, maybe on other things, so get an overview first.

These two articles are hopefully also an interesting nudge to think about many
things:

[http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137708/Opinion_The_u...](http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137708/Opinion_The_unspoken_truth_about_managing_geeks)

[http://alistair.cockburn.us/Characterizing+people+as+non-
lin...](http://alistair.cockburn.us/Characterizing+people+as+non-
linear%2c+first-order+components+in+software+development)

O'Reilly has a very interesting book with analysis which practices actually
work and why/how - sadly I also forget the title. There's for example a
chapter about when and why pair programming works and when and why not.

Also, just watch carefully and learn to notice "good organization" \- happens
in surprising corners and niches and try to see WHY it's good.

~~~
spenrose
"The book about the "Chandler" project (forgot it's title) is also a
particular good read. Those two in particular are interesting reads about why
things fail."

Dreaming in Code, by Scott Rosenberg. Highest recommendation. 10x coders hired
by visionary engineer to scratch their own itch. What could go wrong?

[http://www.dreamingincode.com](http://www.dreamingincode.com)

------
franze
1st "Thinking in Systems" [http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-
Meadows/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-
Meadows/dp/1603580557)

2nd Article "Leverage Points"
[http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-
place...](http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-
intervene-in-a-system/)

after these two you will have enough know-how on how to identify and manage
systems (i.e.: your growing company)

then the only thing between you and success is reality, for how to influence
the company reality you live in please read

3rd "Seeing Systems" [http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Systems-Unlocking-
Mysteries-Org...](http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Systems-Unlocking-Mysteries-
Organizational/dp/1576754553)

good luck and have fun (with the books, with your new responsibilities)

------
robinwarren
This is my own list, I've not read these yet but collated this list after a
similar promotion

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6398792-growing-
software](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6398792-growing-software)

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6233608-software-
product-...](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6233608-software-product-
management-and-pricing)

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13705334-enterprise-
softw...](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13705334-enterprise-software-
delivery)

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6278270-the-principles-
of...](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6278270-the-principles-of-product-
development-flow)

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9706236-management-3-0](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9706236-management-3-0)

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17278287-the-founder-s-
di...](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17278287-the-founder-s-dilemma)

[http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Minds-Technology-Officers-
Peopl...](http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Minds-Technology-Officers-
Peoplesoft/dp/1587620561/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=07NSG36D99JGTXTSKEQ2)

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1118443667/ref=as_li_ss_t...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1118443667/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1118443667&linkCode=as2&tag=feldwebsite-20)

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Essential-Drucker-Management-
Ess...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Essential-Drucker-Management-
Essentials/dp/0061345016)

------
SloopJon
Foundations of Business Strategy started last week on Coursera:

[https://www.coursera.org/course/strategy101](https://www.coursera.org/course/strategy101)

Probably not too late to catch up.

~~~
rodh
What a fantastic suggestion. I've used Coursera on technical topics in the
past, but it hadn't even occurred to me to look there in this instance.
Thanks.

------
mindcrime
Wow, lots of good recommendations in this thread already... I skimmed them,
but apologies in advance for any dupes:

I'd suggest some general "business strategy" works that will help you
understand the context of how/why the very highest level business decisions
are made, as well as some works that deal with tying together strategy and
tactical execution (which includes technical initiatives).

1\. _Understanding Michael Porter_ \- John Magretta.
[http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Michael-Porter-
Essential...](http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Michael-Porter-Essential-
Competition/dp/1422160599)

Porter's framework is VERY influential in the business world, and having at
least a passing familiarity with his work is important at the higher levels.
Going straight to the primary sources (Porter's books) can be a bit daunting
as they are big, dry, and academic and not exactly what you'd call "page
turners". This book is a fairly solid overview of the key elements of Porter's
approach, and a good read before diving into the meat of Porter's works.

2\. _Competitive Strategy_ \- Michael Porter.
[http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-
Indust...](http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Industries-
Competitors/dp/0684841487/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y)

3\. _Competitive Advantage_ \- Michael Porter.
[http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Advantage-Creating-
Sustain...](http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Advantage-Creating-Sustaining-
Performance/dp/0684841460/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0FTB9ZNV98C1VSBMH30V)

4\. _On Competition_ \- Michael Porter. [http://www.amazon.com/On-Competition-
Updated-Expanded-Editio...](http://www.amazon.com/On-Competition-Updated-
Expanded-
Edition/dp/142212696X/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0FTB9ZNV98C1VSBMH30V)

5\. _Good Strategy, Bad Strategy_ \- Richard Rumelt.
[http://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-
Matters/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-
Matters/dp/0307886239/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0FTB9ZNV98C1VSBMH30V)

6\. _Blue Ocean Strategy_ \- W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne.
[http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Ocean-Strategy-Uncontested-
Compet...](http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Ocean-Strategy-Uncontested-
Competition/dp/1591396190/ref=pd_sim_b_15?ie=UTF8&refRID=0FTB9ZNV98C1VSBMH30V)
This book has its critics, but I think it's a worthwhile read. Some people
argue against the whole idea of a "blu e ocean" market, but even if the
authors aren't 100% right about everything, I think the lines of thinking this
book fosters are valuable in a general sense.

7\. _The Discipline of Market Leaders_. [http://www.amazon.com/Discipline-
Market-Leaders-Customers-Do...](http://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Market-
Leaders-Customers-
Dominate/dp/0201407191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636311&sr=1-1&keywords=the+discipline+of+market)
I think very highly of this book and the author's approach to strategy. It's
not radically different from the Porterian approach in some ways, but I'd say
it's narrower in focus and simpler. The big takeway is the idea (which
_should_ be obvious, but often isn't) that "you can't be everything to
everyone". The authors push a model of choosing a market discipline to appeal
to a certain type of customer, and making that discipline the core of your
business.

8\. _The Machine That Changed The World_. [http://www.amazon.com/Machine-That-
Changed-World-Revolutioni...](http://www.amazon.com/Machine-That-Changed-
World-
Revolutionizing/dp/0743299795/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636244&sr=1-1&keywords=the+machine+that+changed+the+world)
Have you ever wondered what this "lean" stuff is all about? Or why Toyota is
so revered by business leaders? Here's a good place to find the answer to
those questions.

9\. _Working Knowledge_ \- Davenport and Prusak.
[http://www.amazon.com/Working-Knowledge-Thomas-H-
Davenport/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Working-Knowledge-Thomas-H-
Davenport/dp/1578513014/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636102&sr=1-1&keywords=working+knowledge)
Perhaps _the_ seminal book on Knowledge Management, or at least one of them.
If you want to understand the importance of knowledge in an organization, this
is a very valuable read.

10\. _Outside Innovation_ \- Patricia Seybold. [http://www.amazon.com/Outside-
Innovation-Customers-Co-Design...](http://www.amazon.com/Outside-Innovation-
Customers-Co-Design-
Companys/dp/B000ULVK7Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636501&sr=1-1&keywords=outside+innovation)

11\. _The Future of Competition_. [http://www.amazon.com/Future-Competition-
Co-Creating-Unique-...](http://www.amazon.com/Future-Competition-Co-Creating-
Unique-
Customers/dp/1578519535/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636525&sr=1-1&keywords=future+of+competition)

12\. _The Balanced Scorecard_. [http://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Scorecard-
Translating-Strateg...](http://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Scorecard-Translating-
Strategy-
Action/dp/0875846513/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636595&sr=1-1&keywords=balanced+scorecard)

13\. _Strategy Maps_. [http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Maps-Converting-
Intangible-Ta...](http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Maps-Converting-Intangible-
Tangible/dp/1591391342/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0D3MEADXPXKSP6ASQ1QV)

14\. _The Strategy Focused Organization_. [http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-
Focused-Organization-Scorecar...](http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Focused-
Organization-Scorecard-Companies-
Environment/dp/1578512506/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636595&sr=1-6&keywords=balanced+scorecard)

15\. _If Only We Knew What We Know_. [http://www.amazon.com/Only-Knew-What-
Know-Knowledge/dp/14516...](http://www.amazon.com/Only-Knew-What-Know-
Knowledge/dp/1451697570/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636835&sr=1-1&keywords=if+only+we+knew+what+we+know)
Another seminal title in the Knowledge Management world.

16\. _Common Knowledge_ \- Nancy Dixon. [http://www.amazon.com/Common-
Knowledge-Companies-Thrive-Shar...](http://www.amazon.com/Common-Knowledge-
Companies-Thrive-
Sharing/dp/0875849040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636919&sr=1-1&keywords=common+knowledge)
Another seminal title in the Knowledge Management world.

17\. _Winning The Knowledge Transfer Race_. [http://www.amazon.com/Winning-
Knowledge-Transfer-Michael-Eng...](http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Knowledge-
Transfer-Michael-
English/dp/B005ZOM87O/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403636985&sr=1-1&keywords=winning+the+knowledge+transfer+race)

------
ChuckMcM
Getting a mentor will help, usually someone outside the company that you trust
enough to question them honestly (too many people try to get mentored by
people they think of as infallible and then fail to ask questions when their
understanding is incomplete).

If you are looking for reading material, consider putting the books
"Execution" and "Facing Reality" (by Larry Bossidy with Ram Charan) on your
list. I found these to be a good concise description of some of the more
'meta' aspects of senior leadership.

------
pjmorris
Consider the book 'Becoming a Technical Leader' [1], by Jerry Weinberg. He and
his students (e.g. Johanna Rothman, Esther Derby) have a whole host of
excellent books and courses in the space you describe. They're also very
approachable, if you want to discuss these matters.

[1]
[http://www.geraldmweinberg.com/Site/Technical_Leader.html](http://www.geraldmweinberg.com/Site/Technical_Leader.html)

------
ckluis
The Heart of Change - best book I read in the MBA

Six Thinking Hats - best way to think like an analyst (and to lead meetings
that are effective)

Both of these are killer and quick and easy books.

------
quarterconfig
If you are looking for an intellectual discussion around management (helpful
for some people) I'd recommend checking out Henry Mintzberg.

He's been writing on Management for 4 decades and he's opened my eyes to what
management is about. [http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Henry-
Mintzberg/dp/1605098744](http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Henry-
Mintzberg/dp/1605098744)

------
cscharenberg
The book Understanding Michael Porter was a good introduction to strategy for
me. I used it in my EMBA program when I was struggling to grasp business
strategy. That gave me a solid grounding in how to think about it and some of
the basic concepts. From there I was able to branch out to other books on
strategy. But that one was a good starting point for me and some classmates.

------
dandare
Mobile MBA by Jo Owen - less empty words, more practical advice. My absolutely
favourite management book.

[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mobile-MBA-Skills-Further-
Faster/dp/...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mobile-MBA-Skills-Further-
Faster/dp/0273750216)

------
eigenrick
How to Measure Anything -- By Douglas Hubbard

The successful role models in my life have a keen ability to at least
relatively measure large, nebulous things. For thinking in probabilities and
ways to gauge intangibles like "effectiveness" I think this book is excellent.

------
tim333
I'd recommend, if you have not already read them, reading the relevant seeming
articles off the front page of joelonsoftware.com and possibly Dharmesh Shah
at onstartups.com and Paul Graham's essays. There's a lot of good stuff there.

------
attheodo
"Strategic Management" Fred David,
[http://amzn.com/0132664232](http://amzn.com/0132664232)

Some people find it too academic but it covers pretty much all of the
essentials of strategy and business policy practices.

------
wurzelgogerer
If you are in the bay area then we should go grab coffee some time. I was in
your position a year ago and I'm more than happy to share my experiences and
struggles. Send me an email and we can connect.

------
spektom
I warmly recommend you to read Peopleware:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321934113/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321934113/)

------
hemantv
One of the best book I found in similar situation is High Output Management
and Only Paranoid Will Survive by Andy Grove.

------
iandanforth
[Meta] I really wish I could see upvote counts for this post. Answers here are
reviews and each vote for a review matters. If only 10 people have voted for
anarchitect's list of sources, that means there is _very_ little consensus
here which could mean that there are _no_ truly good books on this somewhat
ephemeral topic.

------
amirnathoo
I'd suggest reading Four Steps to Epiphany to learn about customer
development.

------
hyperliner
Just learn how to think. The best way to learn to think is to solve many
problems. Solve many problems many times. Don't just solve the ones you
already know how to solve.

I am not sure you can learn how to think from a book, but the recommendations
here can be good to "know what you don't know."

Maybe the best question you should be asking is not what to read, but what
problems you can solve you have not solved before. Here is one constraint: if
you can solve it yourself, and not through others, then it is not a very
interesting problem.

------
illumen
Karate kid learned from a book in the beginning.

Wax on. Wax off.

Obviously a book won't do. You need a training montage.

