The document is a reading list from the Quantum Fax Machine's March 2024 edition of Engineering Leadership. It provides summaries and tags for 11 articles on topics related to engineering leadership, startups, meetings, power dynamics, pacing, venture studios, product prioritization, workplace statistics, and more. Key themes include the importance of transparency, balancing team performance and well-being, leveraging engineering expertise, and addressing employee engagement.

1. Quantum Fax Machine
QFM011: Engineering Leadership
Reading List March 2024
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2. QFM011: Engineering Leadership
Reading List March 2024
Here is everything I found interesting about Engineering Leadership during March 2024.
In the Quantum Fax Machine's March edition of Engineering Leadership Reading List we go from the basics of
conducting effective meetings in Stop Wasting People’s Time to the metaphorical discussion of power dynamics
within teams in You’re always carrying a cannon.
A theme this month is the critical importance of pacing and transparency in startup environments, as underlined in
The Most Important Skill in Startup Engineering Leadership, where the balance between team performance and well-
being is key to sustaining growth without compromising on quality. This is complemented by a deep dive into the
venture studio ecosystem through a series of articles from Focused Chaos, exploring the dynamics, strategies, and
economics of venture studios with an emphasis on vertical specialisation and the ideal founder profile for venture
studios.
For some controversy, we head over to Here’s Why You Should Hand Over Product Prioritization to Engineering
Managers, underscoring a pivotal shift towards leveraging frontline technical expertise for strategic innovation and
exploring the degree to which the CTO and CPO roles are merging into one another.
Sketchplanations is a wonderful site that explains a broad range of topics through sketches and AI startups requiring
new strategies, looks at the distinct challenges and strategic imperatives for startups in the AI revolution.
We finish up this month with a look at some interesting Gallup workplace statistics for 2022 that emphasise the
significance of leadership in addressing employee engagement and well-being in modern work environments.
As always, the Quantum Fax Machine Propellor Hat Key will guide your browsing. Enjoy!
Key:
: Unrelated to technology, management, or leadership
: Suitable for management and leadership novices
: Topics of interest for the new manager or leader
: Technology management and leadership in real-world use cases
: Topics for experienced managers and leaders
: Advanced topics in management and leadership
Source: Photo by rob walsh on Unsplash
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3. Stop Wasting People’s Time — Tips for
Preparing Great Meetings: This article
provides a comprehensive guide on
organising effective and efficient meetings,
emphasising the importance of clear
objectives, questioning the necessity of a
meeting, crafting a detailed agenda, defining
a concise duration, sharing the agenda in
advance, inviting only essential participants,
and ensuring follow-up on decisions made.
#EffectiveMeetings
#MeetingPreparation #TimeManagement
#ProductiveMeetings
#TeamCollaboration
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4. You’re always carrying a cannon: The article
metaphorically discusses how managers
always carry a "cannon" of power over their
reports, emphasising the importance of
being aware of this inherent authority and
its impact on relationships and trust within
a team. It highlights the crucial role of
building trust to mitigate the intimidating
presence of this power.
#Management #Leadership
#TeamBuilding #TrustInTeams
#PowerDynamics
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5. The Most Important Skill in Startup
Engineering Leadership This article
emphasises that pacing is the most crucial
skill for leaders in startup engineering
environments, essential for balancing team
performance without compromising
product quality or employee well-being. It
advocates for honesty, transparency, and
constant measurement to navigate the
challenges and pressures of startup growth
successfully.
#StartupLeadership
#EngineeringExcellence #TeamPacing
#LeadershipSkills #StartupGrowth
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6. Here's a series of articles on the economics and
business models of venture studios. The articles
explore the dynamics, strategies, and economics
behind venture studios, highlighting the importance
of choosing the right studio and the trend towards
vertical specialisation:
- How To Pick the Right Venture Studio
- The Many Flavors of Venture Studios
- The Future of Venture Studios is Vertical
- The Ideal Founder Profile for Venture Studios
- Understanding Venture Studio Math
There is a lot of activity in the studio space right now,
much of which seems to come from studios writing
about how to set up a studio.
#VentureStudios #StartupEcosystem
#Innovation #BusinessStrategy
#Entrepreneurship
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7. Here’s Why You Should Hand Over Product
Prioritization to Engineering Managers: The
article advocates for handing over product
prioritisation to engineering managers,
emphasising the benefits of utilising their
frontline experience and product mindset for
more efficient technical execution and team
velocity. It highlights how this approach allows
product managers to focus on strategic vision,
optimises bandwidth dynamically, encourages
constructive challenge, and promotes a culture of
value alignment, leading to substantial growth
and success.
#EngineeringLeadership
#ProductManagement #TeamVelocity
#StrategicInnovation #TechCulture
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8. Sketchplanations: This site explains a
variety of interesting concepts through the
medium of simple, easy to read and
comprehend sketches. Great for 1-page
explanations of otherwise complex or
obscure topics.
#SketchExplained
#OpticalIllusions
#PsychologyInsights
#LearningThroughArt
#CreativeEducation
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9. AI startups require new strategies: This
time it’s actually different: This article
argues that AI startups face unique
challenges not seen in previous tech
revolutions, necessitating new strategies
to succeed against well-funded
incumbents with vast data, talent, and
innovation capabilities. Unlike before,
incumbents are quickly embracing AI,
making traditional startup advantages less
effective.
#AIStartups #TechInnovation
#DataStrategy #StartupChallenges
#DisruptionTheory
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10. Essential Gallup Workplace Statistics To Help
You Thrive As A Leader In 2022: This article
discusses key Gallup workplace statistics for
2022, highlighting the importance of
addressing employee burnout,
disengagement, and the need for effective
leadership in remote and hybrid work
environments. It emphasises regular one-on-
one meetings, flexible work arrangements,
and fostering employee growth to improve
engagement and well-being.
#GallupWorkplace2022
#EmployeeEngagement #Leadership
#RemoteWork #WorkplaceWellbeing
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11. Thankyou!
hello@matthewsinclair.com
matthewsinclair.com
masto.ai/@matthewsinclair
medium.com/@matthewsinclair
twitter.com/@matthewsinclair
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Image: Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
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