

Ask HN: What books or blogs do you suggest to manage a team of techies - jamram82

I recently took a position of team lead, managing a team of 8 tech people. I managed projects not people before. Could you suggest any books or blogs on how to manage tech teams.
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Zev
Rands. At the very least, his blog: <http://randsinrepose.com>. But, his book
- Managing Humans - is great as well: <http://www.managinghumans.com>.

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edanm
I read Managing Humans twice, both before starting to manage a team, and after
having managed a team for a year. The book was great both times, but the
second time, when I had more experience, it was insanely better. Suddenly,
_everything_ talked about in the book made sense - I had real-life people and
situations straight out of the book, and I could understand exactly what Rands
was saying.

My advice - read the book. It's amazingly accurate. Then read it again once
you have experience; you'll be able to appreciate it a whole lot more.

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alanthonyc
You should read _Drive,_ by Dan Pink.

It's not a management book, per se, but it's great for gaining undersanding
into _why_ people work and what truly motivates them.

EDIT: His talk at the TED conference:

<http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html>

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tkaemming
The Mythical Man Month — it's a fairly popular read, and it's topic lies
somewhere between managing projects and managing people and focuses on the
"human element" of software engineering:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month>

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nevster
Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

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btilly
I've heard that in the late 80s Microsoft had a policy of handing out copies
of _Peopleware_ to every new manager. And then asking them enough questions
about it to ensure they actually read it.

Microsoft no longer does this. It shows.

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MaysonL
Gerald Weinberg's _The Psychology of Computer Programming_ is a classic, well
worth reading. Also second the recommendations for _The Mythical Man Month_
and _Peopleware_

~~~
hga
His _Becoming a Technical Leader_
(<http://www.dorsethouse.com/books/btl.html>) is directly addressed at this
issue.

I _think_ its good, but it's been so long since I was at this stage and read
it (late '80s) I'm not 100% sure.

That said, I've not regretted one bit reading every apropos book Weinberg had
written through the '90s (which is about when I stopped reading these sorts of
books).

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BANSAL
For me Paul Graham's essay are real worth inspiration and teachings. I just
follow his essay more than any other readings. I prefer to explore you his
essays, can give you a nice insight.
[http://www.purchase.com/blog/fundraising/3-tips-for-
startup-...](http://www.purchase.com/blog/fundraising/3-tips-for-startup-
founders) this is here his essays you can find. <http://paulgraham.com/>

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anonymouslambda
<http://joelonsoftware.com/>

Scroll down, check out the articles in the "Reading Lists" column.

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petervandijck
Christina Wodtke's Blueprints for the web <http://amzn.to/cTDimh> is about
information architecture, but is full of tangential wisdom about managing web
teams. I learnt more this book than from other books that are actually about
managing teams.

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aaronblohowiak
you manage products, you lead people.

~~~
wccrawford
You lead -good- people. You manage the rest.

~~~
DougWebb
If your people aren't good, you're not managing them well. Blame yourself, not
the people you're responsible for.

