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.
—
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
—
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: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippekahn/
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/
- Slack: https://slack.com
- Stewart Butterfield: https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield/
- Tom Paquin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-paquin-240b4b2/
—
Where to find Michael Lopp:
- Blog: https://randsinrepose.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellopp/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/rands
—
Where to find Brett Berson:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson
—
Where to find First Round Capital:
- Website: https://firstround.com/
- First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstround
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital
- This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast
—
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:20) Beginning career at Borland
(05:41) The difficulty with shipping software at scale
(07:52) Why it’s harder to ship today than ever before
(09:42) What makes a startup operationally sound
(11:23) Why engineers should have concrete time to invent
(19:42) How PMs can improve engineering culture
(21:35) An engineer’s perspective on good product management
(23:36) The role of product compared to design and engineering
(26:38) How micromanagement kills creativity
(29:35) Fostering a debate culture in an org
(31:26) Declarative versus prescriptive leadership
(36:09) 3 ideas on leadership from Lopp’s upcoming book
(38:29) Understanding employee motivation
(42:28) Advice on discovering what motivates people
(46:06) Why teams should reorg every 6 months
(48:32) One thing all successful leaders do
(52:22) Why sound judgment is crucial for decision-making
(53:45) Crystallized lessons from working at software giants
(56:19) Why Lopp is afraid of becoming irrelevant
(57:58) The number one leadership lesson from Lopp’s career
(59:32) What Lopp has changed his mind on over time
(61:12) People who had an outsized impact on Lopp