book

The Engineering Executive's Primer

by Will Larson

February 2024

Beginner

362 pages

9h 7m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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What This Book is NotNavigating This BookClarifying TermsO’Reilly Online LearningHow to Contact UsAcknowledgments
Why Pursue an Executive Role?One of OneFinding Internal Executive RolesFinding External Executive RolesInterview ProcessNegotiating the ContractDeciding to Take the JobNot Getting the JobSummary
What to Learn FirstMaking the Right System ChangesTasks for Your First 90 DaysLearning and Building TrustCreate an External Support SystemUnderstanding Organizational Health and ProcessUnderstanding HiringUnderstanding Systems of ExecutionUnderstanding the TechnologySummary
Defining StrategyExample StrategyDiagnosisGuiding PoliciesCoherent ActionsWriting ProcessWhen to Write the StrategyDealing with Missing Company StrategiesEstablishing the DiagnosisStructuring Your Guiding PoliciesMaintaining Your Guiding Policies’ AltitudeSelecting Coherent ActionsShouldn’t Strategy Be Bottoms-Up?Summary
The Default Planning ProcessPlanning’s Three Discrete PhasesPhase 1: Establishing Your Financial PlanThe Reasoning Behind Engineering’s Role in the Financial PlanWhy Should Financial Planning Be an Annual Process?Attributing Costs to Business UnitsWhy Can Financial Planning Be So Contentious?Should Engineering Headcount Growth Limit Company Headcount Growth?Informing Organizational StructureAligning the Hiring Plan and Recruiting BandwidthPhase 2: Determining Your Functional Portfolio AllocationWhy Do We Need a Functional Portfolio Allocation?Keep the Allocation Fairly SteadyBe Mindful of Allocation GranularityDon’t Over-index on Early ResultsPhase 3: Agreeing on the RoadmapRoadmapping with Disconnected PlannersRoadmapping Concrete and Unscoped WorkRoadmapping in Too Much DetailPitfalls to AvoidPlanning as Ticking CheckboxesPlanning as Inefficient Resource AllocatorPlanning as Rewarding Shiny ProjectsPlanning as Diminishing OwnershipSummary
What Problems Do Values Solve?Should Engineering Organizations Have Values?What Makes a Value Useful?How Are Engineering Values Distinct from a Technology Strategy?When and How to Roll Out ValuesSome Values I’ve Found UsefulSummary
Measuring for YourselfMeasure to PlanMeasure to OperateMeasure to OptimizeMeasure to Inspire and AspireMeasuring for StakeholdersMeasure for Your CEO or Your BoardMeasure for FinanceMeasure for Strategic Peer OrganizationsMeasure for Tactical Peer OrganizationsSequencing Your ApproachAntipatternsSummary
Complex IncentivesDeveloping a Shared PerspectiveBusiness StrategyAcquisition ThesisEngineering EvaluationMaking an Integration PlanTechnology Integration DecisionsTeam Integration DecisionsLeadership Integration DecisionsDissent Now or Forever Hold Your PeaceBeing AcquiredSummary
Why Executives Need Several Leadership StylesLeading with PolicyExamplesMechanicsLeading from ConsensusExamplesMechanicsLeading with ConvictionExamplesMechanicsIsn’t This Micromanagement?DevelopmentBalancing Leadership StylesSummary
“Company, Team, Self” FrameworkEnergy Management Is Positive-SumEventual Quid Pro QuoMirrors of MisalignmentOrthogonal but Not in OppositionRemain FlexibleSummary

Why Have Meetings?Six Essential MeetingsWeekly Engineering Leadership MeetingWeekly Tech Spec Review and Incident ReviewMonthlies with Engineering Managers and Staff EngineersMonthly Engineering Q&AWhat About Other Meetings?Who Runs the Meetings?Scaling MeetingsSummary
Maintain the DripTest Before BroadcastingBuild the PacketKeep It ShortUse Every ChannelSummary
Brand Versus PrestigeIs Building Prestige Worthwhile for You?Manufacture Prestige with Infrequent, High-Quality ContentMeasuring Prestige Is a MinefieldSummary
Are You Supported, Tolerated, or Resented?Navigating the Implicit Power DynamicsBridging NarrativesDon’t Anchor to Previous ExperienceFostering an Alignment HabitFocusing on a Small Number of ChangesHaving Conflict Is Fine, Unresolved Conflict Is NotSurviving Peer PanicSummary
Debugging and Establishing the TeamOperating Your Leadership TeamExpectations of Team MembersCompetition Amongst PeersSummary
Leveraging Your NetworkWhat’s the Cheat Code?Building the NetworkWorking TogetherCold OutreachCommunity BuildingWriting and SpeakingLarge CommunitiesWhat Doesn’t WorkOther Kinds of NetworksFoundersVenture CapitalistsExecutive RecruitersSummary
Why This MattersOnboarding Executives Versus Onboarding EngineersSharing Your Mental FrameworkDefine Your RolesTrust Comes with TimeHow Much Progress Is Possible?Summary
Limitations of Managing Through TrustTrust Alone Isn’t a Management TechniqueWhy Inspected Trust Is BetterInspection ToolsIncorporating Inspection in Your OrganizationSummary
The Peril of Misaligned StandardsMatching Your Organization’s StandardsEscalate CautiouslyRole Modeling for Your PeersAdapting Your StandardsSummary
Typical Pattern ProgressionEarly StartupBaselineSpecialized Engineering RolesCompany Embedded RolesBusiness Unit LocalPatterns’ Pros and ConsEarly StartupBaselineSpecialized Engineering RolesCompany Embedded RolesBusiness Unit LocalOperating the Baseline PatternDealing with Budgeting RealitiesNavigating the Trend CycleSummary
Establish a Hiring ProcessPursue Effective Rather Than PerfectMonitoring Hiring Progress and ProblemsHelping Close Key CandidatesLeveling CandidatesDetermining Compensation DetailsManaging Hiring PrioritizationTraining Hiring ManagersHiring Internally and Within Your NetworkIncreasing Diversity with HiringBuilding an Engineering BrandShould You Introduce a Hiring Committee?Remember That the System Exists to Support YouSummary
Real-world ExamplesOnboarding FundamentalsRolesCurriculumWho Can Attend Engineering Onboarding?Why Onboarding Programs FailIntegrating with Company OnboardingWhen to Prioritize OnboardingSummary
Conflicting GoalsPerformance and PromotionsFeedback SourcesTitles, Levels, and Leveling RubricsPromotions and CalibrationDemotionsFloor for FeedbackCompensationHow Often Should You Run Cycles?Avoid Pursuing PerfectionSummary
Reading ResultsTaking Action on the ResultsWhen to Change the QuestionsStarting and FrequencySummary
Succession Planning Before a TransitionDeciding to LeaveAm I Changing Jobs Too Often?Leave With or Without Your Next Role?Telling the CEONegotiating the Exit PackageEstablish the Communication PlanTransition Out and Actually LeaveRevisiting the DecisionSummary
Foundational ReadingBuilding Valuable ThingsLeading Your TeamOperating as an Engineering ExecutiveInterviewing, Hiring, and Job SearchingRunning MeetingsRunning Distributed Offices and Teams
Avoiding the Unicorn SearchHow Interviewing Executives Goes WrongStructure for Evaluating ExecutivesFour Areas of EvaluationExecutive SkillsRole and Company-specific SkillsEngineering Functional ExpertiseHistorical Performance and BehaviorSummary
What’s in a P&L StatementLearning from a P&LDigging into the QuestionsThis Is an Ongoing ActivityFinding S-1s and 10-KsSummary
Hub, Not RemoteWhy Add an Engineering HubMissionExecutive EngagementPredictabilityIntegrationSummary
StandardizationExplorationTensionAn Order of Magnitude ImprovementLimit Work-in-Progress

Content preview from The Engineering Executive's Primer

Chapter 8. Developing Leadership Styles

For a long time, I found the micromanager CEO archetype very frustrating to work with. They would often pop out of nowhere, jab holes in the work I had done without understanding the trade-offs, and then disappear when I wanted to explain my decisions. In those moments, I wished they would trust me based on my track record of doing good work. If they didn’t trust my track record, could they at least take the time to talk through the situation so I could explain my decisions?!

I longed for a more distant CEO, one who defined a clear process for how we worked, benevolently approved my headcount requests, and occasionally sent me a note confirming my inherent genius, but otherwise left me to do my work. As I spoke with industry peers, I was surprised to realize that the CEO-at-a-remove does exist. In fact, there are many CEOs who are removed from daily execution, but my peers working with those CEOs weren’t celebrating them. Instead, they were quite frustrated. Where I’d imagined an absentee CEO would feel empowering, executive teams working with such CEOs in practice often found they couldn’t move important decisions forward. When the executives did make progress, it was by accepting whatever outcome they could build consensus around, rather than making the best possible decisions.

From that realization, I came to more fully appreciate that there’s no one style of executive leadership that’s applicable everywhere, and that particularly effective ...