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Focus on how you build not just on what you build

The document emphasizes the importance of engineering culture in product development, highlighting that how you build is just as critical as what you build. A strong culture promotes faster and smoother progress, while neglecting it can lead to breakdowns and increased challenges. Establishing and maintaining a positive organizational culture from the start is vital for scaling and sustaining growth.

Engineering◦Business◦Technology◦

Focus on how you build not just on what you build

1.
Kevin Goldsmith Director ofEngineering Focus on how you build, not just what you build
2.
Hej!
3.
3Introduction When building aproduct, it is easy to be focused what you are building, but you also need to be mindful of how you build. Your product vision is where you are going, your steering wheel; but your engineering culture is your engine. It is what is going to get you there faster, without breakdowns and without having to stop for gas too often.
4.
4Introduction Build a strongengineering culture and things are easier and faster
5.
5Introduction Ignore your culture,and you may still get there; but you may also have a lot of breakdowns, and stops for gas. You may even need to replace pieces along the way.
6.
6 Culture is themanifestation of the shared values of the organization as represented by the actions of its members What is culture?
7.
7 Culture is themanifestation of the shared values of the organization as represented by the actions of its members What is culture?
8.
8 Henrik Kniberg (Agileguru) Culture is the stuff people do without noticing it What is culture?
9.
9What is culture? Values Culture ArtifactsProcessesRituals Beliefs
10.
10Spotify’s Values photo credit:© Leigh Ann Shaffner, used with permission
11.
11Spotify’s Values Continuous improvement SharedResponsibility Transparency Trust ServantLeadership Learn from failure Innovation at every level Iterative development Embrace Change Data-driven AutonomousTeams photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaffner, used with permission
12.
12 Tim O'Reilly Apply thesame level of deep thinking about building a culture as you would about building a product Why is culture important?
13.
13When? The best timeto start thinking about this is before you start to grow, right at the beginning
14.
14When? Put in thetime to focus and maintain your culture as you build the product and grow, it will help you scale.
15.
15 Cory Ondrejka, Facebook /Linden Lab Crucial steps like laying the foundation for great management or shaping a sustainable culture get shifted to the back burner [as you grow], creating management debt just as real and damaging as the technical debt startups strive to avoid. Protecting yYour Culture
16.
16Spotify’s Values Continuous improvement SharedResponsibility Transparency Trust ServantLeadership Learn from failure Innovation at every level Iterative development Embrace Change Data-driven AutonomousTeams photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaffner, used with permission
17.
17What is culture? Values Culture ArtifactsProcessesRituals Beliefs From Spotify’s values comes our culture, and from that comes…
18.
18 Our agile processes
19.
19 Our organizational model
20.
20 Once you havethe culture that you want, you still need to work to maintain it.
21.
21 At Spotify, wesurvey ourselves all the time to make sure we are living up to our values.
22.
22 If you feelthat you are getting off track, fix the problems instead of ignoring them. They will only get worse.
23.
23 Talk about yourculture, not only with the leadership, but with the rest of the organization as well. Every member is a steward of the culture and has ownership over it.
24.
24 Focusing on yourculture early means building a culture that will grow as your product grows and maintain or even increase speed as you mature instead of having to constantly regroup and battle.
25.
25 Your culture leads,everything else follows.
26.
Tack!

Editor's Notes

#3 ENERGY!!!Who am I? - 9 years Adobe - 8 years Microsoft - startups - SGI, IBMWhat is this talk about? - building a strong engineering culture - why this is important for everyone, not just the leaders - how spotify solves this problem
#4 When building a product, it is easy to get focused on the what, but you also need to be mindful of the howVision is the direction that you are going, but your engineering culture is what is going to get you there faster and without breakdowns or without having to stop for gas too often.
#5 Build a strong engineering culture and things are easier and faster
#6 Ignore your culture, and you may still get there, but you’ll have a lot of breakdowns, stops for gas and you may need to replace pieces along the way
#7 Shared values = Shared Basic AssumptionsShared values = Things people do without thinking aboutShared Values define the cultureActions are what comes from the culture
#8 Shared values = Shared Basic AssumptionsShared values = Things people do without thinking aboutShared Values define the cultureActions are what comes from the culture
#9 This is simple and clear, would argue that these are the Shared Basic Assumptions from Edgar Schein, internalizedENERGY!!!
#12 TALK ABOUT THESE, WILL GO INTO HOW THESE VALUES GET TURNED INTO ACTION LATER
#14 The best time to start thinking about this is before you start to grow, right at the beginning
#15 Put in the time to focus and maintain your culture as you build the product and grow
#16 Suddenly, attention is focused on keeping ahead of the competition. Crucial steps like laying the foundation for great management or shaping a sustainable culture get shifted to the back burner, creating management debt just as real and damaging as the technical debt startups strive to avoid.The demands of building an initial product can make it easy for founders and CEOs to postpone non-product decisions. Worse, the nature of small companies hides existing and emerging problems.
#17 From Spotify’s core values come these aspects of our culture which leads to us having
#18 The decisions on culture will determine a lot of other things: development process, organizational structure, who you hire.Determine what your existing shared values are. Those are the core of your culture.
#19 Agile teams
#20 We didn’t create our Matrix Organization and then tried to create a culture. The organization is a reflection of our culture. It was the best way we could figure out to enable our cultural values. We have continued to change our organization without destroying the culture because the culture leads, everything else follows.
#21 Once you have the culture that you want, you still need to work to maintain it.
#22 Measure your culture not only in the happiness, attraction and retention metrics, but also in the velocity and work getting done. Tweak things along the way
#23 If you feel that you are getting off track, fix the problems instead of ignoring them
#24 Talk about your culture, not only with the leadership, but with the organization as well. Everyone is stewards of the culture and has ownership over it.
#25 Focusing on your culture early means building a culture that will grow as your product grows and maintain or even increase speed as you mature instead of having to constantly regroup and battle.
#26 So remember, your culture leads, everything else follows

Focus on how you build not just on what you build

1.
Kevin Goldsmith Director ofEngineering Focus on how you build, not just what you build
2.
Hej!
3.
3Introduction When building aproduct, it is easy to be focused what you are building, but you also need to be mindful of how you build. Your product vision is where you are going, your steering wheel; but your engineering culture is your engine. It is what is going to get you there faster, without breakdowns and without having to stop for gas too often.
4.
4Introduction Build a strongengineering culture and things are easier and faster
5.
5Introduction Ignore your culture,and you may still get there; but you may also have a lot of breakdowns, and stops for gas. You may even need to replace pieces along the way.
6.
6 Culture is themanifestation of the shared values of the organization as represented by the actions of its members What is culture?
7.
7 Culture is themanifestation of the shared values of the organization as represented by the actions of its members What is culture?
8.
8 Henrik Kniberg (Agileguru) Culture is the stuff people do without noticing it What is culture?
9.
9What is culture? Values Culture ArtifactsProcessesRituals Beliefs
11.
11Spotify’s Values Continuous improvement SharedResponsibility Transparency Trust ServantLeadership Learn from failure Innovation at every level Iterative development Embrace Change Data-driven AutonomousTeams photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaffner, used with permission
12.
12 Tim O'Reilly Apply thesame level of deep thinking about building a culture as you would about building a product Why is culture important?
13.
13When? The best timeto start thinking about this is before you start to grow, right at the beginning
14.
14When? Put in thetime to focus and maintain your culture as you build the product and grow, it will help you scale.
15.
15 Cory Ondrejka, Facebook /Linden Lab Crucial steps like laying the foundation for great management or shaping a sustainable culture get shifted to the back burner [as you grow], creating management debt just as real and damaging as the technical debt startups strive to avoid. Protecting yYour Culture
16.
16Spotify’s Values Continuous improvement SharedResponsibility Transparency Trust ServantLeadership Learn from failure Innovation at every level Iterative development Embrace Change Data-driven AutonomousTeams photo credit: © Leigh Ann Shaffner, used with permission
17.
17What is culture? Values Culture ArtifactsProcessesRituals Beliefs From Spotify’s values comes our culture, and from that comes…
18.
18 Our agile processes
19.
19 Our organizational model
20.
20 Once you havethe culture that you want, you still need to work to maintain it.
21.
21 At Spotify, wesurvey ourselves all the time to make sure we are living up to our values.
22.
22 If you feelthat you are getting off track, fix the problems instead of ignoring them. They will only get worse.
23.
23 Talk about yourculture, not only with the leadership, but with the rest of the organization as well. Every member is a steward of the culture and has ownership over it.
24.
24 Focusing on yourculture early means building a culture that will grow as your product grows and maintain or even increase speed as you mature instead of having to constantly regroup and battle.
25.
25 Your culture leads,everything else follows.
26.
Tack!

Editor's Notes

#3 ENERGY!!!Who am I? - 9 years Adobe - 8 years Microsoft - startups - SGI, IBMWhat is this talk about? - building a strong engineering culture - why this is important for everyone, not just the leaders - how spotify solves this problem
#4 When building a product, it is easy to get focused on the what, but you also need to be mindful of the howVision is the direction that you are going, but your engineering culture is what is going to get you there faster and without breakdowns or without having to stop for gas too often.
#5 Build a strong engineering culture and things are easier and faster
#6 Ignore your culture, and you may still get there, but you’ll have a lot of breakdowns, stops for gas and you may need to replace pieces along the way
#7 Shared values = Shared Basic AssumptionsShared values = Things people do without thinking aboutShared Values define the cultureActions are what comes from the culture
#8 Shared values = Shared Basic AssumptionsShared values = Things people do without thinking aboutShared Values define the cultureActions are what comes from the culture
#9 This is simple and clear, would argue that these are the Shared Basic Assumptions from Edgar Schein, internalizedENERGY!!!
#12 TALK ABOUT THESE, WILL GO INTO HOW THESE VALUES GET TURNED INTO ACTION LATER
#14 The best time to start thinking about this is before you start to grow, right at the beginning
#15 Put in the time to focus and maintain your culture as you build the product and grow
#16 Suddenly, attention is focused on keeping ahead of the competition. Crucial steps like laying the foundation for great management or shaping a sustainable culture get shifted to the back burner, creating management debt just as real and damaging as the technical debt startups strive to avoid.The demands of building an initial product can make it easy for founders and CEOs to postpone non-product decisions. Worse, the nature of small companies hides existing and emerging problems.
#17 From Spotify’s core values come these aspects of our culture which leads to us having
#18 The decisions on culture will determine a lot of other things: development process, organizational structure, who you hire.Determine what your existing shared values are. Those are the core of your culture.
#19 Agile teams
#20 We didn’t create our Matrix Organization and then tried to create a culture. The organization is a reflection of our culture. It was the best way we could figure out to enable our cultural values. We have continued to change our organization without destroying the culture because the culture leads, everything else follows.
#21 Once you have the culture that you want, you still need to work to maintain it.
#22 Measure your culture not only in the happiness, attraction and retention metrics, but also in the velocity and work getting done. Tweak things along the way
#23 If you feel that you are getting off track, fix the problems instead of ignoring them
#24 Talk about your culture, not only with the leadership, but with the organization as well. Everyone is stewards of the culture and has ownership over it.
#25 Focusing on your culture early means building a culture that will grow as your product grows and maintain or even increase speed as you mature instead of having to constantly regroup and battle.
#26 So remember, your culture leads, everything else follows

Focus on how you build not just on what you build

Focus on how you build not just on what you build

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