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Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#12

Post by lta »

danielmarkbruce wrote: post #11

The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman. https://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-10th-Anniversary-ebook/d... Great resource to go from zero to some basic understanding of a lot of stuff.

I've read it a long time ago, and while it doesn't contain anything that will change your mind, it's a concise coverage of all the important topics in a single and easy to digest package.

I feel that it gives solid foundations to start learning and build upon. I've read it and recommended it to a lot of people

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#14

Post by leonardo2204 »

baxtr wrote: post #8

Hi! Could you give an example or be a bit more specific? What kind of things are you struggling with? Is it certain topics or business lingo?

Thanks for your time! Basically, business in General, understading whether or not The company numbers are doing ok or not, how much to invest in the tech team, cut costs and so on.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#15

Post by [deleted] »

lta wrote: post #12
danielmarkbruce wrote: post #11

The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman. https://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-10th-Anniversary-ebook/d... Great resource to go from zero to some basic understanding of a lot of stuff.

I've read it a long time ago, and while it doesn't contain anything that will change your mind, it's a concise coverage of all the important topics in a single and easy to digest package. I feel that it gives solid foundations to start learning and build upon. I've read it and recommended it to a lot of people

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#16

Post by blowski »

lta wrote: post #12
danielmarkbruce wrote: post #11

The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman. https://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-10th-Anniversary-ebook/d... Great resource to go from zero to some basic understanding of a lot of stuff.

I've read it a long time ago, and while it doesn't contain anything that will change your mind, it's a concise coverage of all the important topics in a single and easy to digest package. I feel that it gives solid foundations to start learning and build upon. I've read it and recommended it to a lot of people

Agreed. There are a lot of "popular business" books which are basically a blog post stretched out over 200 pages. They're full of wonkish ideas that might, at best, only work in a specific context. Kaufman's book is a thorough grounding in the different aspects of running a business, without the faff.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#17

Post by autodev1 »

meekaaku wrote: post #6

I think getting basics of accounts/finance will go a long way. Being able to read a balance sheet/profit & loss statement/cashflow statements will help you understand the health of business. Next I would say, reading up on basic marketing/consumer psychology will help develop/acquire product and sell it. Since you mentioned being CTO, I am assume you have development/programming background. This series [1] is good re…

I second this, immensely.

I learned basic accounting at a community college-- Financial Accounting (3 hr course) & Managerial Accounting (3 hr course). I later took Intermediate Accounting 1 which was also super insightful.

But those first two... Wow. They really opened up the "black box" of internal financial operations within a business, to me. Prior to those first two courses, I had no idea what happens when I pay a cashier a dollar, and how that dollar flows through a company to pay their vendors & employees (as well as taxes).

Intermediate Accounting 1 & 2 (dropped out of 2) taught me more about how accounting statements relate to the stock market & financiers.

If you'd like a free intro, you can check out this free online college-level textbook on accounting: https://www.principlesofaccounting.com/ [1]

Accounting knowledge + Digital Marketing experience has been invaluable to me as a Software Engineering consultant (in the digital marketing & small + medium sized business space)-- I understand the language of business and can predict what a customer needs much better than I could before.

[1] About the author: Larry M. Walther is Professor Emeritus from Utah State University. He previously served as the EY Professor, Head of the School of Accountancy, and Senior Associate Dean of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. Dr. Walther has authored numerous accounting textbooks and articles, and has served as director and/or consultant to a number of public and nonpublic companies. Dr. Walther earned his Ph.D. in accounting from Oklahoma State University and has public accounting experience with the audit firm of Ernst & Young.

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