Hacker News with Generative AI: Management

Generative AI Is Still Just a Prediction Machine (hbr.org)
Artificial intelligence tools can now write, code, draw, summarize, and brainstorm. The proliferation of generative AI tools poses serious questions for managers, such as: What tasks can be done by AI, what will humans still need to do, and what are the sustainable sources of competitive advantage as AI continues to improve? To understand the strategic implications of these new capabilities, managers need a framework for when AI will be helpful and when it might fail.
Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Management, Strategy
3 points by naves 15 hours ago | 0 comments
Managing High Performers (substack.com)
A guide to scaling product & engineering teams from $0 to past $100M ARR
Management, Product Development, Engineering, Startups, Growth
55 points by thisismytest 4 days ago | 102 comments
Ask HN: Do you feel burnout from being less hands on as you become more senior? (ycombinator.com)
I work in a 50-60 person SaaS company and I'm taking on a head of engineering role. At this level, my whole day is spent writing out plans and proposals, responding to communications, checking on projects, connecting resources, etc. On rare occasions, if I have time, I might actually build something small.
Burnout, Career Development, Management, Software Engineering, SaaS
77 points by throwaway2478 9 days ago | 42 comments
A counter-intuitive guide to better leadership (sudarkoff.com)
Intuition is a skittish animal. Like a forest creature, it works best from the shadows—the more directly you try to observe and analyze it, the more elusive it becomes.
Leadership, Management, Intuition, Psychology
111 points by mooreds 14 days ago | 52 comments
How to delegate effectively as your responsibility grows (hitsubscribe.com)
I’m gearing up, like some kind of power washer, to spray new productized services into our operations group so they can SOP those services at scale.  And because I’m doing that, this seemed like a good moment to draw on my experience, both in leadership roles and as a management consultant, and lay out a blueprint for internal delegation.
Management, Leadership, Delegation, Operations
187 points by galfarragem 14 days ago | 52 comments
How to become a more effective engineer (pragmaticengineer.com)
Hi – this is Gergely with the monthly, free issue of the Pragmatic Engineer. In every issue, I cover challenges at Big Tech and startups through the lens of engineering managers and senior engineers. To get weekly emails like this in your inbox, subscribe here:
Software Engineering, Career Development, Management
28 points by rbanffy 15 days ago | 6 comments
What layoffs teach us about technical leadership (chelseatroy.com)
In March I published a piece called How do we evaluate people for their technical leadership? It demonstrates (I hope) why production line metrics shouldn’t be copied and pasted onto knowledge work. Then, in a cunning move I ripped from email marketers, I reach the titular question at the very end of the piece and promise to come back to it.1 For several months, I don’t.
Technical Leadership, Layoffs, Management, Knowledge Work
3 points by dillonshook 17 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: My director got fired. His rival is taking his place. What to expect? (ycombinator.com)
As title says, my director, my initial hiring manager, was fired, presumably for underperformance.
Workplace Dynamics, Career Advice, Management
45 points by golly_ned 18 days ago | 53 comments
Google employees pressure execs at all-hands meeting for clarity on cost cuts (cnbc.com)
Google, Business, Technology, Layoffs, Management
53 points by jarsin 20 days ago | 86 comments
Max Levchin: To Build a Meritocracy (levch.in)
About a year ago, we at Affirm decided to add an OKR to our annual planning titled “High Performance Culture”, to help shore up the necessary means (for the necessary means) of improving our collective productivity.
Meritocracy, Productivity, Management, Culture
10 points by kaonwarb 23 days ago | 2 comments
Psychological safety vs. high standards: A misunderstood dynamic (leadingsapiens.com)
The term “psychological safety” is often misleading. When managers hear safety, many dismiss it as a soft style that implies complacency. Meanwhile, psychology implies too much mumbo jumbo. High-profile figures like Elon Musk advocating for a “hardcore” style perpetuate this misconception. But this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between high standards and psychological safety.
Management, Psychology, Leadership, Culture, Work
124 points by sherilm 24 days ago | 58 comments
On Good Software Engineers (candost.blog)
Setting expectations for software engineers is tricky for all managers. Every company has different needs and a different structure, tech stack, and culture. Whenever someone joins a team, one of the manager’s challenges is aligning the organization’s expectations with those of the new joiner. As there’s no universal guidance on this subject, I set out to find a simple definition that would help managers frame the fundamental things they expect from software engineers.
Software Engineering, Management, Expectations, Culture, Hiring
130 points by BerislavLopac 24 days ago | 102 comments
Why that one coworker got fired for no reason (wordpress.com)
Your manager calls you into a virtual meeting and, after wading through the requisite bullshit small talk, asks what you’ve been working on for the last month.
Work Culture, Management, Workplace Dynamics
64 points by andyg_blog 28 days ago | 92 comments
Can you effectively work with leadership you don't trust? (ycombinator.com)
Let's say you have people higher on the corporate ladder on a technical level whose opinions you do not respect.
Leadership, Trust, Workplace Dynamics, Management
12 points by tpetrina 28 days ago | 12 comments
Engineering Managers' Guide to Effective Annual Feedback (peterszasz.com)
As we’re entering the last quarter of the year, the time has come when many tech companies start their yearly feedback cycles, providing formal feedback on the performance of their employees.
Management, Human Resources, Software Engineering, Feedback
4 points by BerislavLopac 30 days ago | 0 comments
Apple's New iPad Mini Highlights the Company's AI Advantage (bloomberg.com)
Apple’s new iPad mini highlights the company’s secret advantage in artificial intelligence. Also: Sonos weighs a headphone reboot after a sluggish start; Amazon rolls out a color Kindle; and Jony Ive-designed jackets arrive. On the management front, Apple’s chief people officer and top recruiter depart, and the company names new hardware leaders.
Apple, Artificial Intelligence, Hardware, Software, Management
25 points by marban 32 days ago | 22 comments
Home Depot Orders Corporate Staff to Work in Stores 4 Times a Year (bloomberg.com)
Home Depot Inc. will begin requiring corporate employees to work a full day at one of its stores every quarter, a move the company said is aimed at supporting its retail staff.
Business, Retail, Labor, Management
5 points by herbertl 34 days ago | 3 comments
God Mode (sahillavingia.com)
A few weeks ago, Paul Graham published Founder Mode, about a management style practiced by Brian Chesky at Airbnb that was at least partially inspired by Steve Jobs.
Management, Leadership, Startups, Software
19 points by sahillavingia 35 days ago | 2 comments
How to Work for a Boss Who Always Changes Their Mind (hbr.org)
Five ways to navigate this frustrating — yet common — experience.
Management, Work, Leadership, Communication, Productivity
7 points by KingOfCoders 35 days ago | 3 comments
I quit Amazon after being assigned 21 direct reports (businessinsider.com)
Yvonne Lee-Hawkins says she felt disappointed she couldn't give her direct reports more individual support.
Management, Amazon, Work Culture, Burnout
19 points by miles 37 days ago | 21 comments
'Founder Mode' Explains the Rise of Trump in Silicon Valley (nytimes.com)
Silicon Valley’s current fascination with a trendy management meme illustrates a broader and more troubling turn in certain powerful pockets of its culture — one that has seized our politics and could even unduly influence our election (again).
Silicon Valley, Politics, Culture, Management, Elections
14 points by mitchbob 41 days ago | 2 comments
The path to GM: some thoughts on becoming a general manager (2005) (microsoft.com)
The recruiting season is getting underway and shortly we’ll be “at a college near you” looking to connect. I will be at Harvard Business School the first week of October, where I’ll visit some classes and also participate in a career fair. I hope to see some readers there!
Management, Career Advice, Recruiting, Business School
17 points by jeffreyrogers 42 days ago | 0 comments
Engineering Managers' Guide to Effective Annual Feedback (peterszasz.com)
As we’re entering the last quarter of the year, the time has come when many tech companies start their yearly feedback cycles, providing formal feedback on the performance of their employees.
Engineering, Management, Feedback, Performance Reviews, Human Resources
12 points by mooreds 44 days ago | 2 comments
What is "founder mode"? (tomblomfield.com)
We held a YC event a couple of months ago where Brian Chesky from Airbnb gave a passionate talk about his experience running Airbnb over the last 17 years. He believed that as Airbnb hired more professional managers, he lost a close connection with the details of the end product and the company suffered as a result.
Startups, Leadership, Management, Business
88 points by nqureshi 44 days ago | 65 comments
Amazon could cut 14,000 managers soon and save $3B a year (businessinsider.com)
Amazon could cut 14,000 managers soon and save $3 billion a year, according to Morgan Stanley
Amazon, Layoffs, Business, Finance, Management
6 points by kesor 46 days ago | 0 comments
Amazon Layoffs: Tech Firm to Cut 14,000 Manager Positions by 2025, Says Report (abplive.com)
Amazon is reportedly planning to reduce 14,000 managerial positions by early next year in a bid to save $3 billion annually, according to a Morgan Stanley report.
Amazon, Layoffs, Tech Industry, Business, Management
27 points by moonka 46 days ago | 22 comments
Bureaucrat Mode (andrewchen.substack.com)
Founder mode vs Bureaucrat modeMany of you have heard about Founder mode, the idea that there are times when you have to make real decisions, overrule people, lead via conviction not consensus, etc. Before this, Ben Horowitz wrote is the excellent essay on Wartime CEOs vs Peacetime CEOs preceding “founder mode” by over a decade.
Leadership, Management, Business, Startups
109 points by kiyanwang 47 days ago | 49 comments
Amazon could cut 14,000 managers soon (msn.com)
Amazon, Layoffs, Business, Technology, Management
9 points by ExMachina73 48 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: What does the recruiting process look like for VPs at FAANGs? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: What does the recruiting process look like for VPs at FAANGs?
Recruiting, FAANG, Careers, Management, Tech
16 points by b20000 48 days ago | 3 comments
When, why, and how to stop coding as your day job (kevingoldsmith.substack.com)
By letting go of writing code, you open yourself up to excelling as a manager.
Programming, Career Advice, Management
11 points by kiyanwang 53 days ago | 14 comments