[Masterclass] How To Stop Writing Messy Code As A Software Engineer

It's 10x easier to write messy code instead of good, clean code. The hard part is that unless you have good role models, it's extremely difficult to learn how to write quality code. If you're a software engineer going through this struggle, this masterclass is for you.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **There's no such thing as objectively "clean" code** - A lot of engineers treat code quality as something to "solve" where after they learn the best tech stack/database/framework, they can just plug that in everywhere and win. That's simply not how software works. The reason why writing truly great code is hard is because it's all about the context and nuance. Code that's good in one codebase can be horrible in another.
- **It's all about the user experience (UX)** - At the end of the day, the end-user doesn't care about your code quality. Most end-users have never read a single line of code in their life. The end-user simply wants a good UX, which means that if you need to write code that's a little messy to uphold good UX, you should do that.
- **Feel the pain of your bad code** - True learning comes from struggle, and if you really want to stop writing messy code, you need to see your own code break and struggle. Go outside of the happy flow and dogfood your own products and features aggressively. Read your old code every once in a while and see how horrible it was - If you groan then, that's a good sign of growth.
- **Break down your tasks** - A marquee trait of bad software engineers is that they jump straight into the coding, write a gigantic messy commit, and get demolished in code review. To prevent that, proactively decompose your tasks into smaller ones where each one is ideally 1-3 commits or a few days of work. This lets you come up with an actual plan for the task and invite your teammates' feedback at an earlier stage in development (i.e. before you write much or any code). For an in-depth guide on software decomposition, check out the discussion here: ["How do I make software less overwhelming?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/YseMPDw538jhyS1MWlTs/how-do-i-make-software-less-overwhelming/)
- **Write clean pull requests (PRs)** - It doesn't matter if the code in your PR is bad as long as it's "dressed" well and optimized for your teammates to leave good feedback (which will make your code good!). Write atomic commits, have a real PR title, attach a thorough context section + test plan, and proactively call out tricky areas. Learn how to do all that with the following video and its related resources: [One Diff, One Thesis - What Every Code Review Should Be Like](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/3NAbmgiaY3IpvayNIoVl/one-diff-one-thesis-what-every-code-review-should-be-like/)

Related resources:
- ["How to Learn/Practice Clean Code, particularly by oneself?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/6DcTkiS9UJhDkQz1HIAL/how-to-learnpractice-clean-code-particularly-by-oneself/)
- ["How to upskill effectively, especially with the software design aspect?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/JALOyWIOCo7UXIMLlUz3/how-to-upskill-effectively-especially-with-the-software-design-aspect/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Write Better Code Faster As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/iYpRj8XfyzCSaTYnce3y/masterclass-how-to-write-better-code-faster-as-a-software-engineer/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Do Amazing Code Review](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/rhRFh49oouaUDhWUvkQb/masterclass-how-to-do-amazing-code-review/)
- [Presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/106NsN9Z9QNvZR_-LMaiVu2rT8Kro_4YwXS44j-rNLXk/edit?usp=sharing)

How One Of FAANG's Biggest Upsides Becomes A Terrible Downside - Peer Pressure

A big reason engineers go to FAANG is to learn from the brilliant talent there. However, this benefit is very much a double-edged sword.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **Big Tech is very competitive** - You will be compared to your peers, many of whom will be better and more productive than you are. Most Big Tech companies make this competition explicit by having stack ranking where the bottom 5-15% of engineers are fired or PIPed every performance cycle. This means that if you're not superior to enough of your peers, your job is in danger.
- There are many side effects to this environment:
  - **Imposter syndrome** - Imposter syndrome is rampant at Big Tech where everyone is so insanely smart and hard-working.
  - **Anxiety and fear** - Being a low performer at Big Tech sucks and is almost always extremely stressful. A lot of engineers here spend a ton of time worrying about being at the bottom.
  - **Poor work-life balance** - You will be pushed by your peers to excel. Many of them will also be overachievers who work late, pushing you to do the same.

Related resources:
- ["How does Stack Ranking work (at FAANG) and how can I be proactive at a base level?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/lScy3l2NPIrWvRuHOjcF/how-does-stack-ranking-work-at-faang-and-how-can-i-be-proactive-at-a-base-level/)
- ["How do you deal with zero-sum situations where one's success comes at the expense of another?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/wDZ2LC0AzujhbOOBs43m/how-do-you-deal-with-zero-sum-situations-where-ones-success-comes-at-the-expense-of-another/)
- ["How do you push back against a PIP when it doesn't feel fully justified?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/4fLz0VmshEouTzQl2Iuc/how-do-you-push-back-against-a-pip-when-it-doesnt-feel-fully-justified/)

How To Find A Tech Company That's Less Likely To Do Layoffs

In a bull market like the one from 2014 - 2021, everyone's a genius. While you could work more or less anywhere before and get a couple solid years of career growth, that's not the case anymore. This video covers how you can choose a company that's less likely to do a mass layoff.

Here are the core points:
- **Prioritize profitable companies** - If the company is publicly traded, this is shared in every earnings reports and is easily Googled (i.e. "Is company X profitable?"). A good business needs more money coming in than going out, and companies with fundamentals like these will always be rewarded.
- **Make sure the company is hiring carefully** - The easiest way for a tech company to take on too many costs is by hiring people it doesn't need. If the interview process is too easy or the company is trying to 10x its headcount every year, that's generally a bad sign.
- **Leverage your network** - We all have people who are much smarter than we are within our network, and this is very prevalent in the tech industry. If the best and brightest in your network (i.e. those who really do their homework before accepting an offer) are going to specific companies, there's a good chance those companies have real legs.

Related resources:
- ["Insensitive to talk about applying to a company which has suffered from layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/LH6CCgWMUAVEAHKDDUWc/insensitive-to-talk-about-applying-to-a-company-which-has-suffered-from-layoffs/)
- ["Staying motivated among lay-offs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/EEMkoCSNPzdRToTHjuSb/staying-motivated-among-lay-offs/)

Having The Proper Mentality To Minimize Your Chances Of Getting Laid Off

It's way too easy to start panicking and living in an anxiety-ridden world in this current layoff-rich tech economy. However, this is a very counterproductive mentality to have as a software engineer - This video covers the mindset shift you should make to actually set yourself for success against layoffs.

Here are the core points:
- **Stop freaking out** - It is not healthy to be constantly checking the news for layoffs and having it always take up prime real estate within your mind. *This will ironically make you more likely to get laid off as your performance will suffer.*
- **Your behavior shouldn't change** - The optimal things to do to insulate yourself against layoffs are things you should always be doing anyways. [Building relationships](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/), [optimizing your performance review](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/b0B8uqIAUnBLE10jJHJG/masterclass-how-to-navigate-your-performance-review-in-tech/), and [working on a high-impact team](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/9OwPRwFFSMvEoVj6Zt5Q/how-to-figure-out-if-a-team-is-important-to-a-company/) are all necessary for fast career growth in general.
- **Focus on what you can control** - It sucks, but if you're already working a job that you like, it's simply not possible for you to directly control your destiny when it comes to layoffs. Just do your best as you normally should be and hope for the best. Continue treating those around you with kindness, shipping great projects, and improving your skills.

Related resources:
- ["Staying motivated among lay-offs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/EEMkoCSNPzdRToTHjuSb/staying-motivated-among-lay-offs/)
- ["How to survive potential layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/ydZFpJz0x8wKUIfd8E1r/how-to-survive-potential-layoffs/)

Taro at YC's Demo Day (Summer 2022)

Demo Day is an event where Y Combinator-funded companies present to a room full of specially selected investors and press. This is our presentation about Taro. 

Since the presentations are only 1 minute long, the goal is not to cover everything (that'd be impossible), but instead to say enough such that investors want to learn more.

We launched Taro Premium earlier in the summer, so a lot of our pitch focused on the traction we found in a short time.

Thank you all for being on this rocket ship with us. If you want to support what we do even more, [consider joining Taro Premium](https://app.jointaro.com/membership). Right now, we're pretty early so, so we can be very hands-on with each new member!

If you're thinking of doing your own startup someday, here's some resources to help with that:
- ["How did you decide to quit your job and make a startup?"](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/beZzIkLUP28WinNQctlP/how-did-you-decide-to-quit-your-job-and-make-a-startup-9132022/) - In this video, Rahul's cofounder Alex walks through his decision-making process behind starting Taro
- ["Career advancement or building a startup? Which one is harder?" ](https://www.jointaro.com/question/EquWmWjZhqiiujyltreJ/career-advancement-or-building-a-startup-which-one-is-harder/)

360 Feedback: The BEST Performance Review System Top Companies Use

- The goal of 360 feedback is to generate as holistic and fair a picture of employee performance as possible.
- It does this by getting feedback from all directions:
  - Within (yourself)
  - Above (your manager)
  - Below (your reports if you are a manager)
  - Laterally (your teammates)
- This system prevents employee performance from reducing down to sucking up to the manager, which is the case in more traditional companies that aren't using this system.
- 360 feedback also makes the power dynamic between manager and report more equal. A manager will have a bad feedback packet if their reports all share bad feedback about them. This holds bad managers accountable.

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 24] - Go Deeper: Follow Through

Start a career discussion in Taro: <https://www.jointaro.com/questions/create/>

Join Taro events: <https://www.jointaro.com/events/>

Come to Alex's Group Office Hours: <https://www.jointaro.com/p/alex-chiou/>

Related courses:

- [Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/)
- [Managing Up: Build Effective Relationships With Your Boss](https://www.jointaro.com/course/managing-up-build-effective-relationships-with-your-boss/)
- [Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)
- [Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)
- [Frontend System Design Masterclass - Building Playlists](https://www.jointaro.com/course/frontend-system-design-masterclass-building-playlists/)

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 7] - The #1 Behavioral Interview Question

In life, many things follow a power law where a specific group of things are far more important than all the others. This applies to behavioral interviews as well. This lesson teaches you:

- The most important behavioral interview question you absolutely must know and the many forms it can take on
- How to answer it properly, especially if the true meaning is hidden
- What a great project to talk about during a behavioral interview looks like

Go through the "Project Credit And Scope" section of the [promotion course here](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/): <https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/its-not-just-about-impact/>

Becoming A Staff Engineer In Big Tech (Panel Discussion)

The journey to Staff Engineer is unique for everybody. Let’s talk about all the ways we got there! Senior Engineer is a terminal level at most tech companies.

Staff Engineer is the next level up. This is referred to as Staff at Meta/Google, or Principal Engineer at Amazon/Microsoft. ([Rahul's promotion story](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/qvp2quodqAEWSkN7sayt/case-study-building-a-meta-internal-tool-to-empower-an-entire-org-staff-promotion-story/).)

Partial list of questions discussed:

- How do you know which problems are worth solving?
- How do you communicate to your manager that you want Staff promo? And what do you look for in a manager?
- What type of teams do you think best support growth into the Staff level?

Panelists:

- [**Zach Wilson** - Airbnb](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eczachly/)
- [**Rahul Pandey - Meta**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rpandey1234/)
- [**Carly Taylor - Activision**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-taylor-data/)
- [**Lee McKeeman - Google**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmckeeman/)
- [**Ryan Peterman - Meta**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/)

See discussions about Staff Engineers on Taro: <https://www.jointaro.com/topic/staff-engineer/>

Watch the full [Senior to Staff course on Taro](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/NE3J4vWP7BoWlNgbRtCw/becoming-a-staff-engineer-in-big-tech-panel-discussion/).

Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer [Part 19] - Code Review Feedback

If you want to grow lightning fast as a software engineer, you need code quality feedback. This is the primary goal the entire "Pull Requests" section of this course is building up towards. This lesson will teach you:

- The algorithm for leveling up incredibly quickly as an engineer, especially for junior and mid-level engineers
- How NOT to respond to code review feedback
- How to gracefully respond to code review feedback to maximize your learning and deepen relationships with your teammates by going through an in-depth example

If you want to dive even deeper into code review, check out our masterclass: [\[Masterclass\] How To Do Amazing Code Review](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/rhRFh49oouaUDhWUvkQb/masterclass-how-to-do-amazing-code-review/)

How To Decide To Leave A Company: Generalist to Specialist shift

Philip spent many years at Microsoft, followed by many years at Facebook (Meta). What led him to finally decide to leave each company? 

More to explore: 
- Our masterclass on [How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech-12172022/)
- Connect with [Philip Su](https://www.linkedin.com/in/suphilip/)
- [Why Slack Sucks for Team Communication](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/yurIkW9cyU9lkG3FjYnU/what-gets-communicated-gets-done-why-slack-sucks/)

Make Sure To Get This Resource From Your Manager 1 on 1s

True or false: Your performance review result should not be a surprise, and the manager 1 on 1 is an instrumental mechanism towards ensuring that.

What are some ways to get the feedback flowing in a manager 1 on 1?

True or false: A simple "Do you have any feedback for me?" is a good way to ask for feedback from your manager.

One-on-one meetings are a crucial venue for growth-focused feedback. When approached intentionally, they can drive clarity, alignment, and personal development.

- **Feedback should be mostly positive and constructive**: Many people brace for criticism, but it's just as important to highlight wins. Sharing accomplishments helps managers advocate effectively during reviews or calibrations.
- **Effective solicitation matters**: Instead of vague prompts like “Do you have feedback?”, ask targeted, open-ended questions such as “How could I have handled that project better?” or “What would you have done differently in my place?” This encourages thoughtful responses.
- **Use self-reflection as a feedback tool**: Sharing your own doubts or observations (“I felt X didn’t go well—do you agree?”) helps deepen the conversation and opens the door to more candid advice.
- **Track progress consistently**: Keeping a running one-on-one doc helps you monitor growth, reflect on past feedback, and ensure you're aligned on expectations over time.
- **Avoid surprises in performance reviews**: By using regular one-on-ones to benchmark progress and confirm you're trending toward the right goals, formal review ratings (e.g., “meeting” or “exceeding expectations”) should never come as a shock.

Structuring Your Manager 1 on 1

If you are working in a strong, high-growth tech company, what is a good frequency to meet with your manager?

True or false: Managers are extremely busy, so it is best to have ad-hoc 1 on 1 meetings with them based on whenever they are able to find a sliver of free time.

Weekly one-on-ones with your manager are essential for staying aligned, especially in high-growth tech environments where priorities shift quickly.

- **Weekly cadence is ideal**: Aim to meet with your manager every week; bi-weekly is acceptable at most. Anything less frequent than that is considered a red flag for team communication and alignment.
- **30-minute standard**: A 30-minute weekly meeting strikes the right balance—long enough to discuss key topics, but short enough to stay focused and avoid bloat.
- **Avoid reactive scheduling**: Don’t wait until problems arise to schedule one-on-ones. Recurring meetings prevent misalignment and build a strong, consistent feedback loop.
- **Proactive relationship management**: Regular one-on-ones foster stronger relationships, clearer communication, and better support between you and your manager.

Introduction To The Course

Welcome to our course on Input Metrics, grounded in our experience at Amazon. Our goal is to help you understand and apply the principles that drive consistent business success. This course is designed to transform how we manage performance—shifting from relying solely on output goals to mastering the inputs that lead to great outcomes.

### Key Takeaways:

- **Course Goals**: We’ll learn how to deeply understand input metrics, identify the right ones for our business, measure and analyze them, conduct effective Weekly Business Reviews (WBRs), and implement the WBR reporting tool to visualize data clearly.
- **Real-World Application**: We share Amazon-proven strategies and offer downloadable templates, documents, and tools to support real-world execution of these practices.
- **Amazon’s Shift in Strategy**: We recount Amazon’s turning point in 2000—moving from output-focused goals to a system of input-driven process control, which delivered lasting results.
- **Input vs. Output Mindset**: Instead of telling teams to just hit output targets, we equip them to understand and improve the specific inputs that lead to success—driving better outcomes like increased sales and customer satisfaction.
- **Why It Matters**: Studying input metrics gives us greater control over operations and helps us empathize with customer pain points—fueling continuous improvement and innovation.

To dive deeper into Input Metrics Mastery and learn more from Bill and Colin, follow these links:

- Take the full course at their website: <https://workingbackwards.com/>
- Buy the book: <https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595>
- Bill's LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-carr/>
- Colin's LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinbryar/>

Failure Mode: Fake Learning

*Fake learning* is when an engineer wants feels good by consuming an endless barrage of:

- Tutorials
- Books
- Blogs

These resources (crutches) are addicting because it's easy to monitor progress (40% done with the book!), but they turn out to be terrible for you to retain anything.

Software engineering is about action, not theory. Your goal is to reduce the amount of time from reading about a concept to putting it into practice in front of the computer. This is usually best done within the company, not on a greenfield project or external book you found. Get your hands on the keyboard, and realize that growth comes from discomfort.

[Case Study] How I Get 500,000+ LinkedIn Post Views Per Week

[Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) is one of the cofounders behind Taro, and he owes a lot of his success building up Taro to his LinkedIn profile. As of September 2023, he:

- Has 66,000+ followers
- Gets 500k - 1M post views per week
- Spends just 10-15 minutes writing each post

Alex covers a lot of ground in this presentation, so here are just the Top 5 core points:

- **LinkedIn is extremely underrated** - When it comes to return on investment for your time, LinkedIn is easily one of the most effective content creation platforms if not *the* most effective. Unlike TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube which are media-based and require lots more effort, you can regularly go viral on LinkedIn with relatively short snippets of text.
- **Consistency is key** - LinkedIn is pretty generous at allowing you to post many times a week without your posts cannibalizing each other. Try to post at least 3-4 times a week with the upper bound being 2 times a day. If you post too frequently, you are leaving views on the table. Also, you are naturally going to have some posts that do terribly and some that do well: By taking more shots on goal, you are evening out your returns. *Variance can be conquered with volume.*
- **Keep it short, don't be too smart** - This is *by far* the most common mistake Alex has seen aspiring LinkedIn creators make. Engineers tend to be very smart people who love to cover all the nuance, which leads to overly long posts that are neither concise nor dense. This type of content does horribly on social media. Alex's style is to have 5-9 sections (each separated by a line break) with each section being just 1-3 lines for a 30-75 second read. Keep it snappy.
- **Write first sentences, not posts** - The entire purpose of the 1st sentence is to convince the reader to read the 2nd. LinkedIn by default hides the vast majority of your post's text behind the "See more..." button. Purely focus on writing a compelling first sentence, and the rest of the post should flow from there.
- **Never forget: It's just social media** - LinkedIn, like every social media platform with 100M+ users, is full of dumb stuff. *Don't let that get to you*. Don't be afraid to disengage from the platform and not read notifications and comments. And never ever couple your emotional state to how well your social media posts are doing.

Related resources:

- ["Why should I bother building a brand or becoming famous on LinkedIn?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/s1NVrO0VlvIufReDKCSl/why-should-i-bother-building-a-brand-or-becoming-famous-on-linkedin/)
- ["How to be brave and post publicly on LinkedIn?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/xUJSnOXQOmJyisZCB0Qa/how-to-be-brave-and-post-publicly-on-linkedin/)
- [\[Case Study\] Building An Engineering Brand - Why And How (LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Substack)](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/t06NajpS2kSCk98IEmQm/case-study-building-an-engineering-brand-why-and-how-linkedin-youtube-twitter-substack/)
- [How Rigid Should You Be With Your Coding / Content Schedule?](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/GaOB5qFLoTbGilp7UokF/how-rigid-should-you-be-with-your-coding-content-schedule/)
- [Presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-_it2buJQ764fQAf5MgXtIKRrYJPI_ayUv5WdU5cslw/edit?usp=sharing)

How To Tell If A Layoff Is Coming At Your Company

Layoffs are scary and are often a complete surprise. This video covers some of the warnings signs you can use to predict if a layoff is coming and start preparing for interviews accordingly.

Here are the core points:
- *For public companies, the most obvious sign is a struggling stock price*
- In general, stagnant growth is bad
- Mass hiring freezes are a common precursor to big layoffs
- Trimmed perks and a more somber, frugal mood among leadership are other signs
- You can also listen through the "grapevine" but be careful
  - Blind in particular is quite flaky. Blind correctly predicted the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 layoffs, but *it also incorrectly predicted 18 other layoffs*
  - In general, treat online rumors with a massive grain of salt, and it's probably best to just stay away from them. There's no need to add a bunch of unnecessary stress to your life

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Survive Tech Industry Layoffs](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/axnVXYox5QeOneqcoyuH/masterclass-how-to-survive-tech-industry-layoffs/) - The full video where this clip was taken from
- ["What are the signs of an impending layoff in an organisation that can help an employee prepare themselves better?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/tNOO9FtALQIRrUXSqzV1/what-are-the-signs-of-an-impending-layoff-in-an-organisation-that-can-help-an-employee-prepare-themselves-better/)
- ["How to handle stress at work especially after a company layoff?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/mOjMnHL2Zhke2rSrtVdD/how-to-handle-stress-at-work-especially-after-a-company-layoff/)

Why Chasing Promotion Could Hurt You

Daniel has never gunned for a promotion when choosing teams or projects. In fact, he's actively turned down promotions he was offered at Microsoft and Meta (Philip Su famously down-leveled himself at Meta so he was no longer a Director). 

Here's why chasing a promotion could end up causing more stress and end up hurting your career in the long run. 

- Connect with Daniel Tomko on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltomko/)
- Videos from [Philip Su](https://www.jointaro.com/tagname/Philip%20Su/)

Related video: 
- [Taro Premium Session: Mentoring Meta Engineers From E3 -> E5](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/EX9563YnxcJb62cCmetg/session-5-mentoring-junior-swes-e3-to-senior-e5-in-just-25-years-at-meta/)
- [Rockstar Software Engineer Story: SW2 -> Principal In Just 4 Years](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/Lvf1TDKt1R4ZJSCr9BVv/rockstar-software-engineer-story-sw2-greater-principal-in-just-4-years/)
- ["Is there something as growing too quickly?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/o9oyCcIjWT4Xa6w1Eau5/is-there-something-as-growing-too-quickly/)

[Case Study] Effective Communication: Leading A Multi-Org Re-architecture At Meta

Here are [the presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/184dP9pi41lO5TlME4cn4fRblCPtKFdet7d5WmrpnbGc/edit?usp=sharing) and the [polished chat log](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/tech-career-growth.appspot.com/o/tps_chats%2Ftaro_premium_session_4_chat_notes.txt?alt=media&token=ca1a199d-fe36-42bc-8d2e-fc91371e691f) from the session.

As an IC, you don't have authority over engineers in the way a manager might. So your impact is defined by your ability to have **influence without authority**. Influence comes from consensus + collaboration, which comes down to communication. Said another way: Communication is the foundation for trust. 

Rahul talked about 3 parts to effective communication in this presentation: 
- **Start with the audience**
  - Understand how much context your audience has, and connect the dots for them.
  - Your communication should be as short as possible.
  - Bad news should never be a surprise.
- **Choose the right medium**
  - Do some reflection on what your objective is: build relationships or efficiently communicating some info? Be clear the difference between verbal and written communication.
  - Evaluate the current processes for communication in your org: standups, team meetings, email updates, cross-org communication. 
- **Be consistent**
  - You should have a regular drumbeat of posts for your projects. If you feel like nothing happened, you should explain why nothing happened.
  - For long-running processes like brainstorms or architecture reviews, you should consistently message the timeline and milestones.

Related resources:
- ["How can I come up with big initiatives, especially those at a Staff level?"](https://link.jointaro.com/sm57uikgXJ3RRpTv8)
- [Writing is thinking](https://medium.learningbyshipping.com/writing-is-thinking-an-annotated-twitter-thread-2a75fe07fade) - by Steven Sinofsky (Former President @ Microsoft)
- [Be plainspoken](https://boz.com/articles/be-plainspoken) - by Andrew Bosworth (VP of Eng @ Meta)

Why IN PERSON Meetings Are Important for Building Culture


  How can you build relationships and team culture in a hybrid or remote team? 

Unfortunately, the physical connection you get from being in an office is much harder to emulate online. If you are in a remote environment, having some sort of in-person meetup can create a substantially healthier and bonded team.

Philip also talks about how to best evaluate a company culture: talking to senior individual contributors (ICs). Managers may provide less value since they have something to sell.

More to explore: 
- Our masterclass on [How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://link.jointaro.com/MvHfGDSzxwboGqBB8)
- [Why Slack Sucks for Team Communication](https://link.jointaro.com/JmHCagUPAFPSCtt99)
- Connect with [Philip Su](https://www.linkedin.com/in/suphilip/) 

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.