https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/wh...
Consider Code reviews and other ways of making feedback a regular part of the process. If you have to wait a year to get feedback that is way too long, particularly in a startup.
I like the approach to leadership that Jim Collins talks about in this book
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
in particular he talks about the value of having an organization where everybody from top to bottom understands the business case for the business and the futility of painting on "alignment" when the fundamentals are not in place. If you address the fundamentals that Collins talks about some of the barriers to feedback working will melt away.
DOM Enlightenment - https://www.amazon.com/DOM-Scripting-Design-JavaScript-Docum...
Definitive XML Schema - https://www.amazon.com/Definitive-XML-Schema-Charles-Goldfar...
I am a better developer because of building my thinking about software around a deeper appreciation of data structures setting goals by focusing on personal considerations of ethics.
Books that have improved me but not my career:
Principles - https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Ray-Dalio-audiobook/dp/B07...
Lots and lots of fiction.
Even if you get a lot of pleasure out of puzzle solving and other technical aspects of your work, you will experience moral injury if you are working on a product that you think is harmful.
I defer to subject matter experts where I work, I am very much a specialist in the details of the system, but I know the product I work on makes some people happy and it gets mentioned on the news (in a positive way) almost every day.
That adds to the satisfaction of my work.
This book
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
says that a good corporate culture has a mission that is obvious to everyone who works there and that everybody can understand how what they do relates to that mission.
It might not be "I am pumped to work on this product" but it is "having a story that makes sense", which is absent in many workplaces.
An example of a great concept from this book that has shaped the way I approach things: You've heard of the concept of closing, where you ask the customer to buy the product. Spin selling extends that concept in the realm of a longer sales cycle that involves many steps such as demos, consulting sessions and so on. Every interaction you have with the customer has some desired outcome that eventually leads to the final sale. For example, your initial contacts with the prospect, the goal of those initial interactions is to get the demo scheduled. Or perhaps it's to introduce you to someone closer to the decision maker. In each interaction, you keep a goal in mind and close towards that goal.
Three other books that were amazing and formative for me are below. These aren't about sales in particular but about making your own business in general, which includes sales in various degrees: 2. Good to Great 3. Crossing the Chasm 4. The E Myth
Also an honorable mention goes to this book, which is more about marketing than sales: Winning Through Intimidation. The book isn't actually about intimidating people, but it's about branding, image, and approach. Despite the evil sounding title, it's an amazing resource.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Spin-Selling-Neil-Rackham/dp/05660768... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstr... [4] https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About... [5] https://www.amazon.com/Winning-through-Intimidation-Victor-B...
I learned the value of utility from Nicomachean Ethics in that it establishes a value hierarchy starting from the fragment: that which exists for its own sake.
I liked this book for establishing ethics as the basis for rapid growth in business: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
A lot of people struggle with CSS. It’s not hard but it take some solid practice to master. This is the best book: https://www.amazon.com/CSS-Pocket-Reference-Visual-Presentat...
Honesty is important. Brutal honesty forces changes to culture and everybody wins. It forces you to act with ethics for the welfare of the group: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/150...
Fear of innovation is a form of hecklers veto, more so when popularity or a majority is threatened. Originality, even when wrong, is always more important: On Liberty.
* https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
* https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/150...
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
when it comes to "mission statements", "alignment" and similar things. Briefly, Collins says if you are for real and walking the walk, you will be aligned. If you are bogus, you won't be aligned and you can't paint alignment on.
First, very rarely does a manager regret a hire even though it's very common for a hire not to work out. Hiring and interviewing are in terrible shape right now, and more often then not lead to terrible hiring/job acceptance choices.
Second, you regret hiring PEOPLE, not developers because regrettable hires aren't specific to developers. When they are, it's because an engineer was given too much access to something they should not have been and a theft/breach occurs.
Examples of these concepts in play: The NSA probably regrets hiring Edward Snowden. I don't regret hiring the last JS dev I hired even though it didn't work out and he moved to a different company.
Lack of technical expertise is a problem sometimes, but it can be nurtured. Lack of personal skills is a huge problem in an office environment, and is much, much harder to nurture. But neither of these are regrettable in-and-of themselves.
The thing to remember is that you have to weigh the urgency of hiring against the long term impacts of hiring the wrong person. In other words, be careful and set up controls, but don't allow decision paralysis.
Good luck with your project, keep your head up, and expect failure. Great employees are rare, so just keep at it.
post mobile edit:
Go read:
Good To Great: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/How-win-friends-influence-people-eboo...
Emotional Intelligence: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JMKVCG/
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0...
In short a manager's job is smooth out the bumps, make all the little things go right. A leader sets the direction, inspires people, etc.