I don’t know if minting money in the tens of billions can be described as “hellish”, but this is a well-researched and fun article, in a voyeuristic kind of way.

Tech is not all terrible!  “Creative” sites (Ebay, Etsy, Twitch etc etc) allowed about 15 million people to make about $6Bn last year.  Very, very cool.

The always great software lead weekly has started publishing “Manager ReadMe” files.  It’s a terrific idea in general, and this is a lovely example.  Check it out.  See how you might implement your version.

A nice communication trick for quickly establishing connection in a group, but also for entering a conversation with care.

Not sure I love everything in this, but it’s certainly an amazing experience and a good, clear read.

Provocative title.  But he does put his finger on an issue with OKRs: like every other planning mechanism they are brittle, so need to be be well-defined but relatively loosely held. (Truth in advertising: the author is also selling his expertise).

We are prone to spending time and attention on things that are easy.  Sounds obvious!  But watch for it, and you can now name it and therefore manage it: the “Bike Rack Effect”.

This is short, and neat.  Worth two minutes.

A passionate discussion of making decisions imperfectly.  I like the idea of “safe to try” decisions as a filter.  Like all guidelines, use with caution…

I think this pushes on what “servant leadership” means.  In my mind, making hard decisions, and using “authority” is as much a service to the team as making sure the pizza arrives.  I don’t think they are in conflict.  But take a read, particularly if you’re uncomfortable being “the leader”.

A short, effective Leadership Listicle.  We all do at least one of these, sometimes multiple in a day.  Take a look.

The “Start With Why” video is a well-known TED talk about how Apple and others Became Great.  I’ve never really gotten it.  This is neat little article argues that the real trick is how those companies told their stories, rather than having some deep, core, well-understood “Why”.  (The author is, admittedly, selling his story-telling services, but it’s still a thought-provoking article).

In which the Internet of Things isn’t there yet.  Lots of practical details to be worked out.

Including this purely for the title.  Bananas are inherently funny.  Hard to know why, but they are.

A fantastic memo by Norm Meyrowitz (the best engineering manager I ever worked with), describing his expectations for his team, back in the day.  It’s a terrific list, still relevant and inspiring to read all these years later.  We helped build a company based on these expectations.  It worked, and it was fun.

A typically excellent post from Rands on three basic leadership skills, all of which require self-management and care.

Very simple, but useful, thoughts on how to really check references from Fred Wilson.  Always good to be reminded.

A longish read, but a good, and complete, introduction to the art of listening: a critical skill that we tend to take for granted.

A much shorter post, but gets the heart of things:

“The more you listen, the more you will be heard. And the more you are heard, the better your chances of influencing others”

“Brutal Honesty” is a sometimes-used excuse for “Obnoxious Aggression”.  I enjoyed this short twitter take-down.  If you find yourself about to say “to be brutally honest”, or similar, take a beat and consider what it is you really want to say.