Enrique López Mañas - Living by the Code

Living by the Code

by Enrique Lpez Maas

Copyright 2019 Razeware LLC.

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book or corresponding materials (such as text, images, or source code) may be reproduced or distributed by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Cover font: DDC Hardware Aaron James Draplin via Font Seed | fontseed.com

Cover design: Luke Freeman and Victoria Wenderlich

Interior layout: Olivia M. Croom

Notice of Liability

This book and all corresponding materials (such as source code) are provided on an as is basis, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other liability, whether in action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use of other dealing in the software.

Trademarks

All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing in this book are the property of their own respective owners.

ISBN: 978-1-942878-82-7

Contents

i

v

Section I:

Further Reading:

Further Reading:

Further Reading:

Section ii:

Further Reading:

Further Reading: 7

Further Reading: 3

Further Reading: 9

Further Reading: 71

section iii: 377

Further Reading: Answer These 10 Questions to Understand
if Youre a Good Manager423

Further Reading: 493

FOREWORD

Dan Kim
Basecamp

A career in tech is filled with tremendous promise and potential. There are opportunities abound all over the world, in every industry, for every interest. The possibilities of where your choices can lead you are endless, exciting, and insanely intimidating!

If youve ever found yourself wondering if youre on the right path, I can assure you that youre not alone. And its not just a handful of us whove thought the same thingevery single one of us has pondered these important questions, none of which have easy answers.

What does my career path look like? Where am I going to be in one, five, or even ten years?

Is management the right direction for me? If so, how do I develop those new skills? If not, how do I continue to improve as a developer and leader?

Why is being part of my developer community important? How can I get involved?

I can relate because Ive lived with that uncertainty, too. Ive been in the industry for 20 years, and I had no idea what I was doing when I was starting out. Even today, while Im more confident in my direction and choices than I have ever been, Im under no illusion that I have it completely figured out.

That journey from constant doubt to relative confidence takes time and can be a difficult pathone thats made easier by a chorus of wonderful colleagues, friends, and mentors. Through the course of a career, many people will lift you up, point you in the right direction, and course correct you when you need it.

Cherish these folks.

And while theres no doubt these personal connections will be your deepest, most valuable resources, it takes a bunch of time and energy to develop them. It can take many years, many jobs, and many life experiences to build relationships with the people who will serve as your guiding lights.

Surely there must be a way to learn from a broad base of successful folks more quickly?

There is, and youve found it! Enrique has pulled together a wonderful collection of experiences from a diverse group of people within our industry. He asks unique, personalized questions to each individual, helping us to understand how they got to where they are todaytheir philosophies on life and work, the resources that help them move forward, and the tactics they apply to be successful. If youve ever wondered how people have handled their fear of public speaking, starting a business, losing a job, work life balance, tough career transitions, toxic work environments, or remote work, youve come to the right place.

What makes these stories truly valuable is that these people are your peers. They are business owners, developer advocates, conference speakers, freelancers, managers, and developers of all levels, just like you. They arent living in ivory towers, expounding generic self-help advice. I know many of the people in this book, and theyre as real as it gets. No glamorized stories. No overnight successes. Just real stories of regular people making their way, building careers, and landing on their feet. I know these stories can help you because many of them have already helped me.

Theres really only one guarantee about your career in tech, and its this: Its going to be full of twists and turns. I never could have guessed that I would end up where I am today. You cant predict or fully control where youll end up, but you can start laying the foundation for where you want to go. The diverse experiences of everyone in this book will help you do that.

My advice: Read through all the stories once and make note of the passages that mean the most to you. Consider them and begin integrating these ideas into your life and work. Then come back after a bit and evaluate. Whats changed? What worked? What didnt?

Wherever you land, remember that the landscape is constantly shifting. So dont fret. Rather, embrace where youre at. Make adjustments that feel right to you. Keep writing your story. Share what youve learned. Mentor and lift up others. And most of all, keep your head up and take time to appreciate the good stuff.

Good luck on your journey. Its sure going to be challenging, but more than anything, its going to be a ton of fun!

Dan Kim

@dankim

Prologue

Enrique Lpez Maas

A few years ago, a copy of Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss fell into my hands. I devoured it. It was different from the books that I usually read; it was neither narrative, nor fiction, nor an essay. Tim had interviewed several reputed folks from different fields, such as the literature, sports, or the film industry. The common denominator among all of them is that they were role models in their fields. They all had a story to contribute about their routines, beliefs or success stories.

When I finished the book (a book that you can get value from reading every few months) I thought: I would love to have a similar manuscript interviewing people in tech. After making a living developing software professionally for around 12 years, there were a few things I was still struggling to understandthings that were not clearly available to me.

How can we make our daily routine as productive as possible? What do the daily routines of the titans of the tech industry look like?

How does a permanent job compare with contracting? How do we switch from one paradigm to the other? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

How can the transition between technical and management positions be done? Do we strictly need to become managers to make our career progress?

What is good leadership? How can one achieve those traits?

How can we effecitvely work remotely effectively? Are companies willing to accept this? What do they expect?

It is not easy to get a unique answer to those topics. There might be multiple answers. There is no formal education about it; you need to try by yourself, sometimes fail, and take your lesson. The problem is that we only have a limited number of decades in our professional career. So, in order to be successful, we need to observe what others are doing. We need mentorship. We need to hear the opinions of others that have walked that path.