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Newsletter archive
AI agents and the missing link in DevOps
AI agents aren’t just assistants anymore – they’re making decisions. Are engineers ready for the shift or are they just too skeptical?
Carving out time for large-scale engineering chores
Determine what to prioritize, set out a path, and be prepared for some hiccups along the way.
Encouraging a passion for productivity
In this edition of DirectorPlus, Neha Batra, VP of Engineering at GitHub, explains how she creates a culture of productivity.
Framing AI rollouts in the right light
How can you introduce AI into teams in a way that doesn’t invite unrest within your org? It starts with presenting it in the right light.
Latest
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Are smart machines making us dumber?
Without a well-thought AI adoption strategy, you could be leading your team into an automation paradox trap.
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OpenAI report: Enterprise AI is still in the “early innings”
Insights into AI usage from 1 million business customers.
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Testing is a skill. Quality is a discipline.
As quality assurance makes way for quality engineering, how do you change mindsets?
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The great engineer hiring paradox
“The story isn’t that jobs are vanishing, it’s that the bar for skills is rising.”
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Why Zig is moving on from GitHub
A scathing review has broader implications for AI use by major platforms.
London • June 2 & 3, 2026
Rands, Nicole Forsgren,
& Matej Pfajfar confirmed
Essential reading
What is a Director of Engineering? The glue keeping engineering together
A director of engineering is responsible for keeping an entire engineering function humming. Find out what skills you need to climb the ladder to this vital position.
On our DirectorPlus playlist
Strategies to hone commercial awareness and drive business outcomes
Learn effective strategies for enhancing commercial awareness in tech teams, turning engineering into a business driver through alignment, impactful initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.
The path from Director to CTO: How to follow it, or how to mentor it
This talk is aimed at both aspiring Chief Technology Officers and those who are in a position to mentor future CTOs. Explore the journey from a Director of Engineering role to a CTO, focusing on the skills and experiences needed for this transition and how experienced leaders can guide others on this path.
Making the manager of manager’s mindset
Suzan Bond covers the difference between the two roles and the key mindset shifts leaders need to make to manage managers.
The festival for modern engineering leadership
London • June 2 & 3, 2026
More for managers of managers
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What is diff authoring time? The developer metric taking Meta by storm
Why has Meta fallen in love with it?
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Meta and the great DEI rollback
Once an emblem of inclusivity, Meta has officially joined tech’s anti-DEI bandwagon.
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Do managers still need to be hands on?
While remaining hands-on is naturally tempting for engineers, it’s not always the most effective way to lead.
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11 red flags to watch out for during interviews
How to spot warning signs whether you’re a candidate or hiring manager.
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Gut-based engineering leadership is failing
Why instinct isn’t enough for stakeholders who need clear, actionable answers.
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Is IaC broken?
Complex rollouts and rigid procedures have taken the shine off of Infrastructure as Code. Can it be fixed?
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What engineering managers need to know for 2025
Here are 9 things you need to know as we move into 2025.
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6 engineering hiring trends to look out for in 2025
There are signs of life in the hiring market for software engineers, but can candidates handle the recruitment process?
Videos for managers of managers
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Debugging self-doubt: A framework for building confidence
Explore a practical framework for tackling self-doubt with a debugging mindset to build lasting confidence and stronger teams.
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The twin mandate: What leaders still don’t get about observability
Learn why many teams miss observability’s full potential and how leaders can unlock exceptional engineering performance through it.
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The joy of being wrong
Discover how rethinking assumptions drives better decisions, strengthens leadership, and builds more adaptive, collaborative teams.
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Target architecture – Align. Execute. Deliver.
Explore how defining a clear target architecture boosts alignment, speeds up execution, and scales teams through better decision-making.
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Machine learning in production. The hidden effort
Uncover the hidden engineering work behind real-world ML products, from scaling and orchestration to cost control and team alignment.
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Couple’s therapy for product and tech
Learn how to build a strong, lasting partnership between product and tech through alignment, trust, and intentional collaboration.
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Journeys in diversity – what difference really means
Discover what true inclusion means by exploring practical ways to support neurodivergent colleagues and create genuinely diverse teams.
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We brought AI into our sprints, here’s what changed
Explore how integrating AI into product sprints changed team habits, improved delivery, and revealed what works and what breaks in practice.
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Rethinking interviewing in an AI era
Explore how to redesign technical interviews for an AI era by focusing on real-world thinking, communication, and human-centered evaluation.
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Migrations done right: Success stories and lessons learned
Learn proven strategies for executing large-scale system migrations safely, using incremental rollouts, clear planning, and strong stakeholder communication.
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Latency, load, and leadership: Building a team nervous system
Discover how to build feedback systems that detect early stress signals, enabling healthier, more resilient, and productive teams.
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Building AI into critical systems: Lessons learned
Learn how the Financial Times built AI into paywalls and retention systems, navigating trade-offs, risks, and real-world complexity at scale.