Michael Lopp is an experienced engineering leader known for building products at iconic companies like Apple, Borland, Netscape, Palantir, and Slack. Since 2002, Lopp — as he’s more commonly known — has written about engineering, management, and leadership on his popular blog ‘Rands in Repose’. He is also the renowned author of three books: Being Geek, Managing Humans, and The Art of Leadership.
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In today’s episode, we discuss:
• Lopp’s “utopia” — where engineers have time to create and invent
• What makes an excellent engineering leader
• The flexibility required for managerial roles in different contexts
• Navigating internal dynamics between design, engineering, and product
• How to build and grow effective engineering orgs
• The importance of understanding individual motivations
• Key lessons from over 30 years in the industry
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Referenced:
• AOL: https://aol.com
• Apple: https://www.apple.com
• Borland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borland
• Netscape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape
• Palantir: https://www.palantir.com/
• Phillipe Kahn:   / philippekahn  
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/
• Slack: https://slack.com
• Stewart Butterfield:   / butterfield  
• Tom Paquin:   / tom-paquin-240b4b2  
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Where to find Michael Lopp:
• Blog: https://randsinrepose.com/
• LinkedIn:   / michaellopp  
• Twitter/X:   / rands  
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Where to find Brett Berson:
• LinkedIn:   / brett-berson-9986094  
• Twitter/X:   / brettberson  
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Where to find First Round Capital:
• Website: https://firstround.com/
• First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/
• Twitter:   / firstround  
• YouTube:    / @firstroundcapital  
• This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast
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Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Introduction
[00:02:20] Beginning career at Borland
[00:05:41] The difficulty with shipping software at scale
[00:07:52] Why it’s harder to ship today than ever before
[00:09:42] What makes a startup operationally sound
[00:11:23] Why engineers should have concrete time to invent
[00:19:42] How PMs can improve engineering culture
[00:21:35] An engineer’s perspective on good product management
[00:23:36] The role of product compared to design and engineering
[00:26:38] How micromanagement kills creativity
[00:29:35] Fostering a debate culture in an org
[00:31:26] Declarative versus prescriptive leadership
[00:36:09] 3 ideas on leadership from Lopp’s upcoming book
[00:38:29] Understanding employee motivation
[00:42:28] Advice on discovering what motivates people
[00:46:06] Why teams should reorg every 6 months
[00:48:32] One thing all successful leaders do
[00:52:22] Why sound judgment is crucial for decision-making
[00:53:45] Crystallized lessons from working at software giants
[00:56:19] Why Lopp is afraid of becoming irrelevant
[00:57:58] The number one leadership lesson from Lopp’s career
[00:59:32] What Lopp has changed his mind on over time
[01:01:12] People who had an outsized impact on Lopp