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Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager |  | Author: Michael Lopp
Publisher: Apress
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
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Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 23818
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 209
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 159059844X
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.300207
EAN: 9781590598443
ASIN: 159059844X
Publication Date: June 12, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Managing Humans is a selection of the best essays from Michael 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. You will 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
Among fans of Michael Lopp is the incomparable Joel Spolsky, cofounder and CEO of Fog Creek Software: "What you're holding in your hands in by far the most brilliant book about managing software teams you're ever going to find".
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 40
 Valuable insights for both the manager and the "manage-ee"... July 14, 2007
Thomas Duff (Portland, OR United States)
24 out of 27 found this review helpful
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.
Informative and hilariously spot on. July 2, 2007
James Craig (San Francisco)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
Rands cuts through the typical managementese B.S. and tells it like it is. Each chapter is composed of real stories (with names changed to protect the guilty) of office situations we've all experienced and try our best to avoid. Some of the stories read like "Office Space" in real life, but each is paired with insightful advice to resolve the situation and avoid similar ones in the future. I've already benefited from the knowledge just this week:
- how to respond to Dingfelder's Monday Freakout.
- when to break out of the meeting once it's no longer worth my time.
A great read. Should be required for every manager, or anyone who has ever been "managed."
great, humorous book on management April 5, 2008
M. Garvey (CT USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Managing Humans" is a very funny but insightful view of managing software engineers in a high tech field, though I find the insights relevant even though I manage traditional IT in a non-technical industry. I kept seeing people I know, and, even worse, myself, in the scenarios he describes. Have recommended the book to my direct reports and hope they don't recognize me in it.
The title should be Managing Software Engineering Humans! November 16, 2008
Paula Sisson (Phoenix, Arizona United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Living in a Software Engineering world, this book nailed it. Not everyone gets "1.0 Start-Up Tragedies". Perhaps it's something akin to Katrina. (You had to be there.) Beyond that he does a little physco-analysis of personality work approaches: incrementalist and completionists, manager (north and south) poles of organics and mechanics. It's not only funny and true-to-life, but upbeat. It might be a nice stocking stuffer for that new engineer in the family.
Not limited to engineers or high tech managers August 22, 2007
S. gilfoil (Silicon Valley, CA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
A well written book for all. I run a large staffing operation in Silicon Valley and was pleasantly surprised at all i learned - specifically getting into the mind of an engineering hiring manager. I've always been one who cares about my hires long after they get the job. Michael Lopp did a great job of mapping out the process of identifying talent - how to hire them - and what you do with them oncetheir on the team. I don't recall reading any other books related to high tech that cover this so thoroughly. I also appreciate the humor... Highly recommended!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 40
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