Engineering Leadership Survival Kit Newsletter

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2024 strategy of a solopreneur solo founder - Marian
blog
Marian Kamenistak

My 2024 Solopreneur Strategy: 5 Key Objectives to Outperform as a Fractional Advisor and Coach in the Tech Industry

No strategy → no focus → no improvements → no differentiators → no happiness in what I do → back to employee mode. Having no strategy in mind leaves the door open for competitors and partners to swiftly outpace me. In just a single year, I could find myself back in employee mode, overshadowed by those who planned more strategically.

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image 8
blog
Marian Kamenistak

🎓 What a Staff Engineer role is all about?

Are you grappling with uncertainty when it comes to introducing a Staff Engineer role within your organization? Do you wonder about their work’s scope and how they can truly amplify talent? Perhaps you’re even pondering questions like their programming involvement and how to harness their abilities from day one. If these thoughts resonate with you, this pamphlet offers guidance and sheds light on these topics.

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Mews series c investment
blog
Marian Kamenistak

VP of Engineering @ Mews – A look back on my 1st year

Life is fun! Joining a new company in April 2020 couldn’t have been easier: The Prague HQ office got closed due to the virus whose name we shall not mention. That said, all my individual introductions with engineers, team leads, my peers, and the leadership board were done remotely, video only. How can I build a relationship with my folks in such a situation? Is it going to work? I was doubtful, as I knew building trust was going to be essential.

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How to beat OKRs
blog
Marian Kamenistak

How to Make Your Teams Beat OKRs

Practically speaking, after the OKR system is introduced to the company, most people have the impression of being on a runaway train. The Q3 goals have barely started and in two months we come to the end. We push goals over the finish line while, in parallel, we are supposed to start preparing the new Q4 objectives. Initiatives seem to have neither beginning nor end.

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How to Excel in Engineering management
blog
Marian Kamenistak

How to Excel in Engineering management

Stay focused and invest your time into improvements of a bigger scale. Don’t stay at the level of resolving small daily issues, which results in hundreds of items in your Trello to-do list.

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Work estimation how to
blog
Marian Kamenistak

Estimates: The Art of Guessing Badly

Oftentimes I hear stakeholders or PMs complaining that the engineering team repeatedly fails to complete their work on time. They would push even harder on deadlines assuming that that would help. In reality, it only creates additional tension that helps no one. They would also try adding artificial buffers, further complicating the problem.

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