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Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

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Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#71

Post by mindcrime »

Wow, lots of good recommendations in this thread already... I skimmed them, but apologies in advance for any dupes:

I'd suggest some general "business strategy" works that will help you understand the context of how/why the very highest level business decisions are made, as well as some works that deal with tying together strategy and tactical execution (which includes technical initiatives).

1. Understanding Michael Porter - John Magretta. http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Michael-Porter-Essential...

Porter's framework is VERY influential in the business world, and having at least a passing familiarity with his work is important at the higher levels. Going straight to the primary sources (Porter's books) can be a bit daunting as they are big, dry, and academic and not exactly what you'd call "page turners". This book is a fairly solid overview of the key elements of Porter's approach, and a good read before diving into the meat of Porter's works.

2. Competitive Strategy - Michael Porter. http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Indust...

3. Competitive Advantage - Michael Porter. http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Advantage-Creating-Sustain...

4. On Competition - Michael Porter. http://www.amazon.com/On-Competition-Updated-Expanded-Editio...

5. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy - Richard Rumelt. http://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-Matters/d...

6. Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne. http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Ocean-Strategy-Uncontested-Compet... This book has its critics, but I think it's a worthwhile read. Some people argue against the whole idea of a "blu e ocean" market, but even if the authors aren't 100% right about everything, I think the lines of thinking this book fosters are valuable in a general sense.

7. The Discipline of Market Leaders. http://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Market-Leaders-Customers-Do... I think very highly of this book and the author's approach to strategy. It's not radically different from the Porterian approach in some ways, but I'd say it's narrower in focus and simpler. The big takeway is the idea (which should be obvious, but often isn't) that "you can't be everything to everyone". The authors push a model of choosing a market discipline to appeal to a certain type of customer, and making that discipline the core of your business.

8. The Machine That Changed The World. http://www.amazon.com/Machine-That-Changed-World-Revolutioni... Have you ever wondered what this "lean" stuff is all about? Or why Toyota is so revered by business leaders? Here's a good place to find the answer to those questions.

9. Working Knowledge- Davenport and Prusak. http://www.amazon.com/Working-Knowledge-Thomas-H-Davenport/d... Perhaps the seminal book on Knowledge Management, or at least one of them. If you want to understand the importance of knowledge in an organization, this is a very valuable read.

10. Outside Innovation - Patricia Seybold. http://www.amazon.com/Outside-Innovation-Customers-Co-Design...

11. The Future of Competition. http://www.amazon.com/Future-Competition-Co-Creating-Unique-...

12. The Balanced Scorecard. http://www.amazon.com/Balanced-Scorecard-Translating-Strateg...

13. Strategy Maps. http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Maps-Converting-Intangible-Ta...

14. The Strategy Focused Organization. http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Focused-Organization-Scorecar...

15. If Only We Knew What We Know. http://www.amazon.com/Only-Knew-What-Know-Knowledge/dp/14516... Another seminal title in the Knowledge Management world.

16. Common Knowledge - Nancy Dixon. http://www.amazon.com/Common-Knowledge-Companies-Thrive-Shar... Another seminal title in the Knowledge Management world.

17. Winning The Knowledge Transfer Race. http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Knowledge-Transfer-Michael-Eng...

Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#72

Post by hyperliner »

Just learn how to think. The best way to learn to think is to solve many problems. Solve many problems many times. Don't just solve the ones you already know how to solve.

I am not sure you can learn how to think from a book, but the recommendations here can be good to "know what you don't know."

Maybe the best question you should be asking is not what to read, but what problems you can solve you have not solved before. Here is one constraint: if you can solve it yourself, and not through others, then it is not a very interesting problem.

Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#73

Post by garrickvanburen »

kator wrote: post #62
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't agree more with Kator's comment. Find a mentor - maybe pay for a business coach if you want but you would probably be able to find an experienced serial entrepreneur in your industry after one or two conferences. I would however start today not with a book but a clean sheet of paper. Take a long hard look at you, your decisions and imagine explaining it all to a judge in five years time. What bits will you be…

Spot on, for sure a mentor is great but introspection is a powerful tool. The first thing I ask when I start coaching someone is what are your goals with your career? In my career I can literally boil it down to four points: 1) Passion 2) Leadership 3) Compensation 4) Hybrid (Tech + Business) At any time in my career I can score these 1-5 (5 being best) and the closer I get to 20 the better I feel. That said this is…

In my experience a good mentor/coach/consultant prompts introspection in a much more powerful way than books are able.

Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#74

Post by webmaven »

From a technical perspective, I have found 'The Mature Optimization Handbook' invaluable: https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/the-matu... (HN discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6763683)

'Team Geek' is a great primer on technical leadership: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018025.do

Another recommended book is 'Shipping Greatness': http://shippinggreatness.com

Assuming you're already familiar with 'The Lean Startup', there has been a series of excellent 'sequels' on many more specific disciplines that you will likely find useful: http://theleanstartup.com/the-lean-series

A recent addition (that I am still digesting) on Agile processes beyond Scrum is 'Unblock!': http://www.continuousagile.com/unblock/ (Posted to HN a few days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7921200)

Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#76

Post by kator »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #66
kator wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spot on, for sure a mentor is great but introspection is a powerful tool. The first thing I ask when I start coaching someone is what are your goals with your career? In my career I can literally boil it down to four points: 1) Passion 2) Leadership 3) Compensation 4) Hybrid (Tech + Business) At any time in my career I can score these 1-5 (5 being best) and the closer I get to 20 the better I feel. That said this is…

I like that - might choose a different four but the idea is solid Also totally behind the rating on a five point scale.

> might choose a different four but the idea is solid

The goal is to personalize these parts so they're your own. By all means I encourage people to pick their own but boil them down to succinct things you can describe in an elevator pitch.

They're very powerful when you talk to a manager or a potential employer about what makes you happy as an employee. It can be hard for a manager when you ramble on about what you want but I can blast these out along with a short example of each and use them as the basis of a productive dialog with the person I'm talking to.

In short, yes, pick your own, but know them cold and know how you measure them and how you can communicate to others when your not at a 5 in every area! :-)

Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#79

Post by redtexture »

One aspect of strategy, crucially important, is actively, and continually deciding what not to do.

It is necessary to not do great projects and not pursue great ideas, because of scarcity of resources: the organization cannot undertake all of the good and great ideas it encounters.

There is nearly no organization that is not over-committed in its operations. This is constant, challenging, and avoidable problem.

Actively deciding not to do a project, or not follow a particular line of effort...instead of failing, by default to give enough resources or effort to an idea or project aids the organization to focus and excel in particular well-chosen areas. And avoid being mediocre in multiple areas and spread thin as an organization, by actively choosing to do less. What great project will you abandon, to focus on the other great projects you're already doing?

Mission statements fail to inform about what the organization will NOT do. A strategy does.

* Stuck: Why It’s So Hard to Do New Things in Old Organizations (recorded lecture, December 6, 2007)

By Rebecca M. Henderson, (now at Harvard Business School) formerly Eastman Kodak LFM Professor of Management, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Video lecture (skip the first 15 minutes) (total time one hour) http://video.mit.edu/watch/stuck-why-its-so-hard-to-do-new-t...

Re: Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?

#80

Post by lifeisstillgood »

kator wrote: post #76
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like that - might choose a different four but the idea is solid Also totally behind the rating on a five point scale.

> might choose a different four but the idea is solid The goal is to personalize these parts so they're your own. By all means I encourage people to pick their own but boil them down to succinct things you can describe in an elevator pitch. They're very powerful when you talk to a manager or a potential employer about what makes you happy as an employee. It can be hard for a manager when you ramble on about what you…

I think mine are :

- Autonomy - Collegiate - Purpose - Family - Money

Thanks for making me think it through !

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