Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams, 2nd Edition

The Challenges of Managing

Managers must manage.

—ANDY GROVE, Former Intel Chairman and CEO¹

1. Paraphrased from Andrew S. Grove, High-Output Management (Vintage Books, 1995).

I’ve used Andy Grove’s phrase innumerable times to coach my managers and directors of programming teams. When confronted with a problem, they can’t just “raise a red flag.” I’m always available when needed, but good software managers find ways to solve problems without my involvement or executive management direction.

Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.

—PETER DRUCKER²

Drucker, born in 1909, is the man who has been called the “father of modern management.” ...