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Michael Lopp
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Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager 3rd Edition, Kindle Edition

by Michael Lopp (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 517 ratings

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Read hilarious stories with serious lessons that Michael Lopp extracts from his varied and sometimes bizarre experiences as a manager at Apple, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, Symantec, Slack, and Borland. Many of the stories first appeared in primitive form in Lopp’s perennially popular blog, Rands in Repose. The Third Edition of Managing Humans contains a whole new season of episodes from the ongoing saga of Lopp's adventures in Silicon Valley, together with classic episodes remastered for high fidelity and freshness.

Whether you're an aspiring manager, a current manager, or just wondering what the heck a manager does all day, there is a story in this book that will speak to you—and help you survive and prosper amid the general craziness of dysfunctional bright people caught up in the chase of riches and power. Scattered in repose among these manic misfits are managers, an even stranger breed of people who, through a mystical organizational ritual, have been given power over the futures and the bank accounts of many others.

Lopp's straight-from-the-hip style is unlike that of any other writer on management and leadership. He pulls no punches and tells stories he probably shouldn't. But they are magically instructive and yield Lopp’s trenchant insights on leadership that cut to the heart of the matter—whether it's dealing with your boss, handling a slacker, hiring top guns, or seeing a knotty project through to completion.

Writing code is easy. Managing humans is not. You need a book to help you do it, and this is it.

What You'll Learn
  • Lead engineers
  • Handle conflict
  • Hire well
  • Motivate employees
  • Manage your boss
  • Discover how to say no
  • Understand different engineering personalities
  • Build effective teams
  • Run a meeting well
  • Scale teams

Who This Book Is For
Managers and would-be managers staring at the role of a manager wondering why they would ever leave the safe world of bits and bytes for the messy world of managing humans. The book covers handling conflict, managing wildly differing personality types, infusing innovation into insane product schedules, and figuring out how to build a lasting and useful engineering culture.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1484221570
  2. Edition
    3rd
  3. Publisher
    Apress
  4. Publication date
    July 26, 2016
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    816 KB
  7. See all details
Next slide of product details

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01J53IE1O
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Apress; 3rd edition (July 26, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 26, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 816 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 350 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 517 ratings

About the author

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Michael Lopp

Michael Lopp

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Michael Lopp is a veteran Silicon Valley-based engineering leader who builds both people and product at historic companies such as Borland, Netscape, Palantir, Pinterest, Slack, and Apple. While he's not deeply worrying about staying relevant, he writes about backpacks, bridges, people, leadership, and werewolves at the popular weblog Rands in Repose. He currently works at Apple on "things."

Michael has three books. His first book "Managing Humans, 4th Edition" is a popular guide to the art of engineering leadership and clearly explains that while you will be rewarded for what you build, you will only be successful because of your people. His second book, "Being Geek" is a career handbook for geeks and nerds alike. Michael's third book, "The Art of Leadership: Small Things, Done Well" was published in June of 2020.

Michael rides bikes in the mountains, splits wood, and drinks red wine amongst the redwoods of Northern California because staying sane is more important than staying busy.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
517 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and interesting. They appreciate the author's direct writing style and formalized advice. The book provides valuable information and helps new managers as a new team leader.

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ReadabilityPacingAdvice
10 customers mention "Readability"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it's a must-read for first-time managers. The content is good, but some feel there is too much content. Overall, customers consider it a reasonable management book that is worth reading.

"This is an amazing book, and i wonder what would happen if employers, and managers, followed even half of the information it contains...." Read more

"...It has many examples and scenarios for first time managers. Very interesting read. Again, must read for first time managers." Read more

"...the new one has several new chapters - including one that was very much worth it. No matter where you are in your career, read this book...." Read more

"It's been a good book. I've recommended it to a few people now" Read more

5 customers mention "Pacing"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and a must-read for first-time managers. They appreciate the author's direct and uncensored writing style. The book is easy to read with eye-opening moments and examples for first-time managers, making it a realistic guide on management.

"Highly recommended for first time managers. It has many examples and scenarios for first time managers. Very interesting read...." Read more

"...Overall, Rands (the author) is a gifted writer with a fresh writing style mixing frankness and humor in a delightful way." Read more

"...I also enjoyed the author’s direct and uncensored style of writing...." Read more

"Interesting, helped me as a new team leader. The author succeeded in formalizing things that I never sought could be formalized." Read more

4 customers mention "Advice"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the advice helpful and interesting. They say it helps them as new team leaders and provides a wealth of information about engineers. The book also helps when work disasters occur.

"...There is a wealth of information that will change the way you look at engineers and managers." Read more

"...There are some good points of humor as well as just overall good advice." Read more

"...It has helped me when work disaster strikes." Read more

"Interesting, helped me as a new team leader. The author succeeded in formalizing things that I never sought could be formalized." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • ElCapitanLV
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is an amazing book, and i wonder what would happen if employers, and managers, followed even half of the information it contains. If you are a manager, or have a manager, you should study this book. There is a wealth of information that will change the way you look at engineers and managers.
    Helpful
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  • Wanzi
    4.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable Management Book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Managing Software Engineers has some nuances compared to other fields. This book does a good job of making it easy to digest. There are some good points of humor as well as just overall good advice.
    Helpful
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  • Jianan Chu
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for first time managers
    Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Highly recommended for first time managers. It has many examples and scenarios for first time managers. Very interesting read. Again, must read for first time managers.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Ahmed
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
    Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The book is easily readable and has many eye opening moments. Some chapters were very insightful and made me self-reflect on many practices I do/don't as a team leader, while few chapters were not as good. Overall, Rands (the author) is a gifted writer with a fresh writing style mixing frankness and humor in a delightful way.
    Helpful
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  • Edwin Dalorzo
    3.0 out of 5 stars I was expecting more, given its title
    Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I bought this book mainly because I had read another book from this author that I enjoyed a lot: Being Geek. However, this time I found the title of the book too sublime for the contents of its actual pages.

    The book appears to be a collection of blog posts or small articles from the author’s experience as an engineering manager. There’s a lot of oversimplification and generalizations in its pages and perhaps that’s why I didn’t find it easy to identify with author’s perspective in many of its chapters.

    That being said, it is very obvious the author does have a lot of experience as a manager. The book does contain some sort of raw “street” wisdom and I found a few valuable, or at least, interesting stories, here and there, scattered throughout its pages. I also enjoyed the author’s direct and uncensored style of writing.

    Not among the best books I’ve read this year, but it wasn’t an entire waste of time either. I did learn a thing or two.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Dunlop Family
    5.0 out of 5 stars you'll understand your role a little better and probably pick a few nuggets up
    Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I was re-reading edition 2 of this book and got halfway through. Realized there was a third edition and went back and re-read the new one. There isn't a huge difference and there's a ton of value to be mined with either version but the new one has several new chapters - including one that was very much worth it.

    No matter where you are in your career, read this book. As an employee, you'll understand your boss and other teams. As a leader, you'll understand your role a little better and probably pick a few nuggets up.
    20 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Hunter Dishner
    5.0 out of 5 stars It's worth the read IMO
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    It's been a good book. I've recommended it to a few people now
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Meeple Mountain
    4.0 out of 5 stars Still has good advice
    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2023
    As someone who has just taken over a management position, this book at lots good advice. Although there are some things that I disagree with.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Joss Dute
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lectura ligera e interesante
    Reviewed in Spain on April 10, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    La lectura se hace amena con el storytelling que emplean. Recomendado para nuevos managers. Encontrarás muchas anécdotas y experiencias.
    Report
  • Mauro Z.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo e perfetto a piccole dosi
    Reviewed in Italy on April 6, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Come sviluppatore che inizia a dover coordinare un team di altri sviluppatori, lo trovo un libro molto utile e diretto, divertente e pieno di spunti interessanti. La struttura a piccoli capitoli, ognuno dei quali si concentra su un consiglio diverso (e andando subito al dunque), la trovo perfetta anche per leggere un capitolo al giorno, magari la mattina quei 10-15 minuti prima di iniziare la giornata lavorativa.
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  • Mónica de Vries,
    1.0 out of 5 stars Appalling read for a non-IT manager.
    Reviewed in Canada on January 3, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The book is written from a perspective of a guy meeting you for a coffee in a Starbucks. It does little to provide management advise.
    Report
  • Andrew Austin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, and my go-to for management motivation
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    In this book, Michael Lopp talks about (amongst many other things) the notion of "the scrub" - reading that designed to encourage the mind to be creative, to start thinking about problems, and in doing so build up the motivation to start the tasks that are hanging over you.

    This book is my version of the scrub. The chapters are short and only tangentially related, but reading each one gives me a spark of inspiration about my management style and my team, and often I run away from it to immediately jump back into work.

    I highly recommend for any new software managers or engineers who are making the jump over.
    Report
  • eidimon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than expected
    Reviewed in Germany on January 6, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Influenced by some reviews, I was expecting to read just some stories/anecdotes from the authors past. What I found, was some really concrete advice on many diverse topics, that a manager (and not only) will encounter. A really good book.
    Report

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