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Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager Publisher: Apress

Number Of Pages: 209

Publication Date: 2007-06-12

Sales Rank: 4460

ISBN / ASIN: 159059844X

EAN: 9781590598443

Binding: Paperback

Manufacturer: Apress

Studio: Apress

Average Rating: 4.5

Managing Humans is a selection of the best essays from Michael Lopp's 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. Review: Insightful and humorous Humorous perspective about software development/management but gives food for thought (and reflection) about a variety of subjects. Even though I've never worked on the west coast, the situations are very applicable to any software house where there is a manager needed (and if you happen to be a technical person AND a manager you can relate a lot more to what he has to say!) I enjoyed many of the labels he puts on people and situations -- I had a few laugh out loud moments while reading the book. Are there good ideas applicable to your job in this book? Maybe depending on your circumstances.. I found one I've not really thought about much until I read the book.

Review: Answering "What do you do?" In the book "Managing Humans", Michael Lopp (also known as Rands) explains some of the 'stuff' that managers do. For those of us without much management background, this is not as obvious as we might think. Lopp spends part of the first section explaining what managers do and what they should do. He then goes on to explain what he thinks a good software manager should know and do. In the process, Lopp shows us that most managers are not evil and that it is possible to enjoy this job. As a die-hard techie, I found this part of the book the most fascinating. Lopp shows us the interesting bits in managing software people: problems to solve, strategies to embrace and avoid, and why someone might actually enjoy doing it. In the process, he discusses hiring, layoffs, resignations, pride, and panic. Probably the biggest benefit for me in this book was getting an insight into a software manager who truly enjoys the challenges of the position. Lopp tells us what the manager should be doing for his employees. He also tells what the employees should be doing to get the most benefit from their manager. If you are considering moving from software into management or if you have recently made this move, you must read this book. If you want to know what it is that your manager really does, I'd also recommend this book.

Review: Excellent Book Very well written. The book does a good job of explaining some very useful concepts for dealing with different work situations. It also presents some ideas on how to approach a start up company. Review: Management is people! Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager is a collection of Michael Lopp's essays from Rands In Repose. Taken as a collection of essays, loosely group into three sections, provides for easy, start-anywhere-you-like reading. If one of the essays isn't doing it for you, just move on to the next one. This isn't a book that wastes your time building a foundation or central metaphor that it then tries to expand into several hundred pages. It's targeted and concise: he says what he has to say and doesn't waste your time repeating it several times. The first chapter, "Don't Be a Prick" and "Managers Are Not Evil" set the tone. This isn't a book about a management fad or another magical way to deal with people. It's not trying to enforce a way of dealing with things, but instead, just dealing with the world the way it is. Particularly, Lopp wants you to think of people as people, not computers or compilers. The book title, "Managing Humans" is important and telling: it's not managing teams, or projects, or products. Lopp's advice is most often directed toward dealing with people as people. From his reasoned approach, he acknowledges that there are two sides to any interaction, and the person who gets the most out of it deals with both sides of it. Instead of reacting out of instinct or fear, the good manager is going to look at the overall picture and how the different people fit into it. In relation to similar Apress books, I'll put this between Blunden's Cube Farm, a somewhat fictionalized and pessimistic account of his experiences at one company, and any of Joel Spolsky's works, such as Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky's Concise Guide to Finding the Best Technical Talent, which tend to be very optimisitic and hopeful. Lopp is simply pragmatic. There is good stuff and their is bad stuff; just show up to work and deal with it without getting too caught up in the emotion.

Review: Not limited to engineers or high tech managers 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! Filetype: RARed PDF

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