# Shani Raba's Manager Readme **VP R&D at Miggo** # # Motivation for this document It’s a bit weird, I get it. We will get to know each other - if we haven’t already. This is a quick way to introduce myself, my way of thinking, my style, my expectations. You are going to hear my mantra a lot. So I decided to summarize them here. Over the years, The creation of this document helped me identify and refine my thoughts and values. # # Disclaimer This is a live document, it keeps evolving, as I learn new tricks, or when I prefer to emphasize one thing over the other. Like any other rules/amendment or constitution there might be contradictions, Feel free to ask/clarify or offer changes. Over the years, I’ve changed this document based on new things I’ve experienced, don’t be afraid of challenging the wheel. # # My role As a VP R&D / Engineering: - Setting context - Connecting the strategy to your day-to-day details - I am reflecting & Managing Up and to the Side - Telling the story to our friends outside the team (CEO, CTO, Product, HR, Sales, etc.) - sharing our needs, expectations, pains, and successes. - Building Scalable Machine - to help us continuously grow - either when we recruit talent or improve our tools and processes. - Mentor / Coach and Challenge you - If you are here, it means you are amazing in what you are doing. my role is to get you out of your comfort zone. I am here to help you grow. > **Inspiration:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhXVCfM0H74](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhXVCfM0H74) > > I love to watch this, as inspiration - Coach Gregg Popovich is getting feedback about his style. He took a bunch of talented individuals and won the championship. [![Inspiration](https://s3.amazonaws.com/managerreadme/images/Screenshot 2024-06-16 at 1.28.44.png "Inspiration")](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhXVCfM0H74) _Gregg Popovich took a bunch of talented individuals and won the championship_ # What do I value most? - **Experts vs. Generalists** - I believe in a “whatever it takes” mindset, In our current size (10-25 engineers). Each engineer is an expert in a domain or technology, but we must also work and act as generalists. In the current stage (seed, pre-seed, A) the business is changing fast, and we must be able to shift our focus faster. We would like to build a team of Entrepreneurs who eager to solve business and product solution - **Open Source Mindset** - we have different domains, components, and technologies. I expect people to feel comfortable committing to all code bases. building an open-source mindset is not only about engineering aspects, it is mostly about **ownership** and the ability to **contribute** and **consume** someone else’s code/domain. - **Reduce Hand-offs (hops)** - The two mentioned above, helps us build a self-managed team, with strong individuals, who can close a feature from the concept to production while minimizing hand-offs and communication. - **Uber transparency // Provide Context** - (aka. **“write once, read by many”** ) - while trying to reduce hand-offs, and while having everyone do everything, doesn’t mean we are working alone, we should be able to differentiate between our ownership and responsibility to communicate and be transparent on our decisions, be able to get feedback, while still being the owners and make the deadlines. - **Disagree and Commit** - While we expect for “Uber transparency” we also want to **avoid the consensus trap**. there is a sole owner for each feature/customer - he is responsible for asking for feedback collecting the feedback and digesting it. but he is also the only one who will decide how to deliver. He will be held responsible for not making the customer or the feature on time or with the right quality. - **Customer \> Product \> Technology -** Working on early-stage startup, we have to win our customers, while building a coherent product, all of it with maintaining a reasonable tech debt. - **ETAs and ETA for ETA** - Each task, should have both an estimation or guesstimation of its size, and ETA (estimated time of arrival). - **Engineering team** - Is all about building a machine that has: - **Yes \> No**  - Our default should be “yes” This is a cultural thing, we are enablers, and the organization needs us. We are getting paid to do the unbelievable. this is not to say that there might be times when it will be hard for us to say Yes. For those cases please ask questions and provide alternatives. - **Visibility \> Progress -** > Food four thought (the opposite of what I wrote above) - > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdvEGPt4s0Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdvEGPt4s0Y) [![Food four thought](https://s3.amazonaws.com/managerreadme/images/Screenshot 2024-06-16 at 0.36.19.png "Food four thought")](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdvEGPt4s0Y) _The complete opposite of what I wrote above_ # # GTD - Weekly Plan & DSM **Motivation** I firmly believe in creating and refining plans through documentation as we execute them together. Requesting a weekly plan encourages us to step back from daily chaos and focus on upcoming priorities. You manage your time, not me. If you need assistance, please let me know so we can collaborate on effective time management practices. It's crucial for me to ensure you're focused on the right tasks. These weekly plans provide a high-level overview of your priorities and help identify any potential conflicts early on. **How do we do it? ** **Begin each week** with **well-defined goals** and **break them down into daily tasks**. This structured approach is essential for continuous improvement over time. The **Daily Stand-Up Meeting** (DSM) serves precisely this purpose: to share your daily deliverables and maintain accountability. **Tips** Schedule a dedicated time on your calendar (typically Thursday night, Saturday night, or Sunday morning). Planning the entire week should take no more than 30 minutes. Review your calendar, upcoming meetings, and focus times to organize your plan effectively. Organize your tasks in a linear manner, both your team's tasks and your own, to ensure clarity and organization. Consider other daily challenges and prioritize fixes accordingly. # Personality quirks - **I value speed ** - **Never let someone else fix our own mess** - I believe in getting things done and taking full ownership of our deliveries. Above all, we never let someone else deal with the mess we own. Shit happens, and when it does, we'll fix it. This is what builds trust in the organization.  - **Learning through experience** - Move Fast, Experiment, and LEARN. instead of staying on the theoretical side, and arguing about fears. CAN DO ATTITUDE will help you to get me on board. Baby Steps \> Giant Leaps. (or in practice 2 x 1sp \> 2sp) - **I value the “Boy Scout Rule”** - Always Leave the code better than you found it - **Be Loyal, No Finger Pointing** - Who’s Guilty \< What Went Wrong \< What we should do differently # # 1:1s Bi-weekly, 30-45 minutes, Your growth, Your time, You should set the agenda. I will be there to listen, challenge, and hold you accountable for your growth. This is not only for people who report to me, I also do [skip-level 1:1s](https://www.businessinsider.com/skip-level-meetings-2012-6), I talk with your reports, I am getting feedback from peers. # # My Calendar  Feel entirely free to put time on my calendar to talk whenever you want # # Inspiration  Inspired By:  - [Mike Hostetler](https://managerreadme.com/readme/mikehostetler)  - [Toms Leadership](https://medium.com/redbubble/toms-leadership-manager-handbook-fc816d98f6db)  - [Randsinrepose](https://randsinrepose.com/archives/how-to-rands/) - [Roy Rapoport](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bQt-9ROFBxtQ9njEyq-HrbdDQDy2BwZ6rpU0yiiO--4/edit#slide=id.g118e70ebdd_0_88) Good Read: - [Pragmatic-Programmer-Journeyman-Master](https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-Journeyman-Master/dp/020161622X)  - [Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs](https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250183863) - [Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership](https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756) - [Leadership-Rudolph-W-Giuliani](https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Rudolph-W-Giuliani/dp/0786868414/)