Managing Humans
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Managing Humans is a selection of the best essays from Michel Lopps web site, Rands In Repose. Drawing on Lopp's management experiences at Apple, Netscape, Symantec, and Borland, this book is full of stories based on companies in the Silicon Valley where people have been known to yell at each other. It is a place full of dysfunctional bright people who are in an incredible hurry to find the next big thing so they can strike it rich and then do it all over again. Among these people are managers, a strange breed of people who through a mystical organizational ritual have been given power over your future and your bank account.
Whether you're an aspiring manager, a current manager, or just wondering what the heck a manager does all day, there is a story in this book that will speak to you.
What you’ll learn
- What to do when people start yelling at each other
- How to perform a diving save when the best engineer insists on resigning
- How to say "No" to the person who signs your paycheck
Who this book is for
This book is designed for managers and would-be managers staring at the role of a manager wondering why they would ever leave the safe world of bits and bites for the messy world of managing humans. The book covers handling conflict, managing wildly differing personality types, infusing innovation into insane product schedules, and figuring out how to build a lasting and useful engineering culture.
Table of Contents
- DON’T BE A PRICK
- MANAGERS ARE NOT EVIL
- THE MONDAY FREAKOUT
- AGENDA DETECTION
- MANDATE DISSECTION
- INFORMATION STARVATION
- SUBTLETY, SUBTERFUGE, AND SILENCE
- MANAGEMENTESE
- TECHNICALITY
- AVOIDING THE FEZ
- YOUR RESIGNATION CHECKLIST
- SAYING NO
- 1.0
- TAKING TIME TO THINK
- THE SOAK
- MALCOLM EVENTS
- CAPTURING CONTEXT
- STATUS REPORTS 2.0
- TRICKLE THEORY
- A GLIMPSE AND A HOOK
- NAILING THE PHONE SCREEN
- NINETY DAYS
- BELLWETHERS
- NADD
- A NERD IN A CAVE
- MEETING CREATURES
- INCREMENTALISTS AND COMPLETIONISTS
- ORGANICS AND MECHANICS
- INWARDS, OUTWARDS, AND HOLISTICS
- FREE ELECTRONS
- RULES FOR THE REORG
- OFFSHORE RISK FACTOR
- JOE
- SECRET TITLES
About the Author
Michael Lopp is a Senior Software Engineering Manager for Apple Computer. His previous positions as an IT manager include such companies as Icarian, Netscape, Symantec, and Borland.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun to the point,
By Kerola Sami (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager (Paperback)
This is enjoyable and well written book. Many of the things described are familiar in the sense of 'oh, that's just like in our office (or in Dilbert)'. Never the less I feel that this is not timeless classical text book which will inspire readers after forty years. There is two reasons for that.
First of all the book is a bit ethnocentric. Author does acknowledge this himself. The material is from silicon valley with a view point being solely that. Not everything what is in this book will apply to culture and environment elsewhere. Secondly I found it a bit dull minded that dichotomy was used as much as it was as a thinking model. Bosses vs subordinates. Place where work can be done vs other places. What happens if you say yes or no. And so on. To be honest time to time also author made conclusion that world is not that black and white, but perhaps not often enough and only as conclusion. On the other hand the book is originally a blog so this writing / thinking style is perhaps better fit that environment than really deep doubt about meanings that are vague. This book is in it's best on work trip that will last for a two or three days and you don't have anything to do in hotel at evening.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plenty to take away,
By
This review is from: Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager (Paperback)
Having been inspired by the blog I was expecting a few fun anecdotes rather than anything particularly significant. It's not earth shattering stuff but I felt the approach was compelling and that it put some dreaded meetings and certain players into perspective for me. Anyway, it's a really enjoyable book and I found plenty to take away in the few hours it took to read. Recommended to everyone.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews) 28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valuable insights for both the manager and the "manage-ee"...,
By Thomas Duff "Duffbert" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager (Paperback)
Managing people is difficult. Managing software engineers is something completely different. Michael Lopp brings his experience to bear in the book Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager. Wickedly funny, and dangerously accurate...
Contents: Part 1 - Management Quiver: Don't Be A Prick; Managers Are Not Evil; The Monday Freakout; Agenda Detection; Mandate Dissection; Information Starvation; Subtlety, Subterfuge, And Silence; Managementese; Technicality; Avoiding The Fez; Your Resignation Checklist; Saying No Part 2 - The Process Is The Product: 1.0, Taking Time To Think; The Soak; Malcolm Events; Capturing Context; Status Reports 2.0; Trickle Theory Part 3 - Versions Of You: A Glimpse And A Hook; Nailing The Phone Screen; Ninety Days; Bellwethers; NADD; A Nerd In A Cave; Meeting Creatures; Incrementalists And Completionists; Organics And Mechanics; Inwards, Outwards, And Holistics; Free Electrons; Rules For The Reorg; Offshore Risk Factor; Joe; Secret Titles Glossary; Index Although the title would lead you to believe that the book is targeted for managers, that's not really the case. Yes, software managers will get a *lot* from these pages, but so will any other software professional being managed (that should cover everyone). Lopp, aka "Rands", has spent many years on the front lines of management, from larger companies to startups. In a "cut to the chase" fashion (with words you likely won't see in any other management book), he shares his insights and knowledge when it comes to dealing with the strange and often bizarre world of software development. You'll learn the underlying cause of the Monday morning "freakout", and what's really being said behind the emotional outburst. You'll understand what happens when your staff is starved for information (not a good thing). And something I've already used... figuring out the players in a meeting, and what the real agenda is. Much of part 1 is devoted to the management side, but parts 2 and 3 are more general in nature, and apply to your own well-being. The Soak is something that we often don't allow ourselves the luxury of, but it's critical to sorting through your thoughts and ideas. A Nerd In A Cave does a great job explaining why we set up our work area as we do. And if you've ever had an argument with someone over the merits of a particular solution to a problem, you'll immediately relate to Incrementalists and Completionists. I know that explains a lot about my approach to problem resolution... This is one of those reads that is both enjoyable and valuable. You'll either learn to manage better, or learn how to be managed better. You may even learn how to manage yourself while you're at it. 33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some good content, but needs an editor,
By A. Pukinskis "alex025" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager (Paperback)
I'm torn, because there's a lot of great content in this book on management responsibilities, how to handle specific management problems, and how developers can understand managers.
But the book is really choppy. Topics shift abruptly in the middle of chapters without transitions, headings have nothing to do with the content that follows then, and the chapters don't flow together. The style is downright strange at times. There are whole paragraphs full of incomprehensible colloquial gobbledygook. The author occasionally refers to himself in the third person as "Rands", but only at random, which just serves to make the book harder to read. I usually inhale books like this in a day or so, but I've been working on this one for weeks and am barely a hundred pages in. If you need practical software management advice, do buy this book, but be prepared to do a lot of work to get value out of it. And let's hope Mr. Lopp can find a skilled editor for a second edition that really helps this great information shine. 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely not the best book on management,
By Leonardo Bueno - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager (Paperback)
I've read a couple of Rand's posts on his blog and thought it'd be nice to be able to read the edited, reviewed and improved paper version... I should have saved my money. It's not that the book is useless, but it doesn't adds to much value to the blog posts. Also, not all chapters are worth reading, so you pay for a lot of bad stuff too.
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