Candost's Blog

Candost's Blog

Candost

I used to think that reading would make me wise. One day, ten pages before finishing a book, I realized that I had read that same book before. At that point, my perspective on reading and, therefore, my life had changed. Now, I don’t care how many books I read; I take many notes, connect dots, and share what I’ve found on my blog and newsletter. I’m interested in many things at the same time (I’m a multipotentialite). On this blog, you’ll find me talking to about multiple aspects of life like leadership, software engineering, philosophy, psychology, software architecture & design, urban & industrial design, exercising, finance, Formula1 Racing, eating healthy, and many more. I’m a software engineering manager; that’s my current job. At home, I’m a writer and an avid reader. I rarely watch TV, movies or TV series. I don’t have any social media account (except Mastodon where I have automated posting of my new articles). Hence, I often miss the popular culture references in conversations. That’s alright. I don’t have FOMO; I embrace JOMO. I rarely read fictional books.

Latest Posts

Recently, Ava wrote this post. I've been thinking about something similar for a while. Here are my added thoughts (read Ava’s post first for the complete picture). The personalities we build always have masks, either in real life or...
I wrote this post in May 2022. Now using AI is common, I stand by it more than ever. Product shouldn't be left to product managers. Reply via email | Reply via Mastodon | Comment
As an engineering manager, I have various conversations and make decisions about compensation changes after promotions and annual reviews. People are sometimes satisfied with decisions; sometimes not. Discontent is higher when they...
Most strong emotions, such as fear, are caused by uncertainty and the unknown. Once trained, managing these emotions becomes simple (not easy). Training takes effort and time. Yet the steady one always heads to the chaos, knowing what to...
How the world is a matter of perception. The way to achieving what we want lies on how we look at what's in front of us. A small success may blind us or display the truth with full-blown reality; a tiny problem might cause unnecessarily...
Three simple questions to collect feedback when you don't know what to ask: What should X (I, he/she/they) start doing? Why? What should X (I, he/she/they) stop doing? Why? What should X (I, he/she/they) continue doing? Why? Be aware...
Most of the incidents have mitigation actions and follow-up fixes applied to the system. They focus on addressing the root cause. Do these actions mean the organization/team/systems had learned from the issue? No. If the root cause is...
When you deal with "us vs. them" conflicts, listen to the people but do not trust their judgment. The conflict will create unconscious bias toward the other side. Gather facts and meet with individuals to understand their problems and...
Great engineering managers have strong debugging skills and know how to apply them to non-technical problems. They pursue 'the why' of the problem before jumping to conclusions. They seek the underlying issue and don't stop at half-baked...
Tools differ when you're not managing Individual Contributors anymore Skip-level 1:1s Coaching Mentoring Hand-holding Asking Questions (collect first) Constant feedback Related Note(s): Coaching mindset is even more crucial when managing...
Debugging a dysfunctional team includes seven steps: Form a hypothesis Check the data Observe the team Ask Questions Check The Team Dynamics Jump In To Help Be Curious Related Note(s): You need to ask questions with genuine curiosity...
Easy is the enemy of good. We all opt-in for the easy, all the time. The learning comes from chasing the simple, not easy. Making things simple is difficult. That’s why simple things are almost always great. Reply via email | Reply via...
I consistently receive requests from the team to reduce tech debt. Every time, I say similar things. I want to share them here. As a software engineer, you have more power than you think. When you're coding for a new feature, you have...
Thanks to the growth, productivity, resourcefulness, and innovation of corporations, capitalism creates wealth—a positive-sum game for its owners. Capitalism is a provider for wealth accumulation and the backbone of innovation due to...
Minimizing costs and trading frequency increases the chances of earning a fair share of the market. Similar to gambling's motto of "house always wins," financial intermediaries make a lot of money while others are investing. Reducing...
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