The hard power of management and the soft power of senior ICs | Josh Wills
Release Date: 03/19/2024
Podcast update and news!
Software Misadventures
Some reflections on running the podcast and Ronak has some eggciting news to share :) Music: Vlad Gluschenko — Forest License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
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info_outlineAs a self-described “gainfully unemployed data person”, Josh Wills is an angel investor and has worked on and led data teams at Slack, Cloudera, WeaveGrid and Google. We discuss:
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How to get started with angel investing without a ton of $$
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Attributes that define great engineering managers
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What’s it like transitioning from management back to IC
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Challenges in Climate Tech from a software perspective
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And more
Segments:
[0:01:35] Transitioning from management to individual contributor (IC).
[0:10:19] Emotional intelligence and its role in engineering management.
[0:25:21] Contrasting the hard power of management with the soft power of senior individual contributors.
[0:37:18] Addressing challenges in climate technology.
[0:51:34] The importance of practicality and how to assess it in interviews.
[0:56:01] Josh's journey into angel investing.
[1:12:59] Criteria used by Josh to evaluate whether to invest in a startup.
Show Notes:
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Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/josh_wills
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The “Touchy Feely” course at Stanford: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/learning/leadership/interpersonal-dynamics
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Jason Calacanis’s book on angel investing: https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Invest-Technology-Startups-Timeless-Investor/dp/0062560700
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