Ship & Grow 500k+ User Side Projects [Part 14] - SEO

When it comes to getting traffic, a lot of it comes down to being in the good graces of a single FAANG company. This lesson teaches you:

- What SEO (search engine optimization) is
- The many ways you can waste your time with SEO
- An incredibly simple way to understand how to succeed at SEO
- The most straightforward, highest leverage way you can boost your SEO
- How to organically generate more web pages for your product, explained with an in-depth example

This is the only SEO tool you need: <https://search.google.com/search-console/about>

SWE Internship Survival Guide [Part 15] - AI Tools

With AI tools becoming increasingly embedded in the software development workflow, it’s important for interns to use them wisely without compromising their own growth or credibility. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- Interns should embrace AI tools but avoid over-reliance, as teams are assessing *their* engineering abilities—not the tool’s
- Use of AI must comply with company policies, and interns should always understand and be able to defend the code they submit
- AI is best used for boilerplate and simple tasks, but the intern should remain the core problem solver and decision-maker

"What does your day to day look like?" - 8/19/2022

- *In short, it varies a **lot**.* Startups are extremely unpredictable, and the biggest problem facing the company will change every month or even every week.
- However, there are 2 constants:
  - **Talking with new Taro Premium members** - We chat 30 minutes with every new member to get to know them, make sure they're set up properly within the community, and understand their job and career goals. These meetings add up, and we have a decent amount of them every day.
  - **Talking with Rahul** - There's always a ton going on, and we always have a bunch of ideas on how to evolve Taro, so we need a lot of time to talk each day, usually 45 minutes to 1 hour. According to YC, cofounders falling out is the #1 reason startups fail, so we really want to make sure that doesn't happen.
- We try to get a decent amount of code in every week, but it's hard to find time for it and the company's top priorities are often times not build related.
  - On a side note, the highest build priority for us right now is to really make the Taro web app silky smooth.
- We are fundraising right now, so that's dominating our lives.
- We have a lot of meetings in general as networking is crucial for startups.

Get Hands-On Experience With Frontline And Customers

In addition to data and structured methods, **immersive, first-hand experiences and direct customer research** gave us some of the most impactful input metrics and ideas at Amazon. These approaches helped ground our innovation efforts in real customer needs and operational realities.

### Key Takeaways:

- **We gained critical insight from frontline experience**: During Amazon’s early years, leadership—including Jeff Bezos—regularly worked in fulfillment centers and answered customer service calls during peak seasons. These visceral experiences helped us better understand operational pain points and identify new input metrics.
- **We institutionalized hands-on learning**: The value was so great that we made it a requirement—every Amazon employee spends time in frontline roles each year. This creates empathy, sharpens customer focus, and surfaces measurable opportunities for improvement.
- **We used customer research to drive innovation**: Surveys, focus groups, and third-party data sources gave us clear, actionable feedback. A simple survey on why customers didn’t shop more often revealed four key barriers—shipping cost, delivery speed, selection, and price—which directly shaped the creation of Amazon Prime and our long-term priorities.
- **We traced key customer complaints back to inputs**: From that early research, we began measuring and improving core inputs like in-stock rate, selection breadth, delivery speed, and pricing—cementing them in our flywheel as long-term business drivers.
- **We leveraged sales and customer interactions in B2B contexts**: Especially in business-to-business scenarios, we worked closely with sales teams and met customers in person to gather input-rich feedback, helping us refine offerings and discover metrics specific to client pain points.

Together, these methods reinforce the importance of **direct, empathetic engagement with customers and operations**—not just to build understanding, but to generate input metrics that we can track, improve, and build entire services around.

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/>

Gilad’s Take: Burnt Out and Behind

In Part 3 of the course, we explored how to apply the core lesson from Part 2—creating positive and sustainable change in organizational performance—through four practical exercises. Each scenario challenged us to identify the **"deltas"** we can introduce as managers to increase impact at the individual, team, or systems level.

- **We learned to recognize that not all growth is credited to us**, and we must focus on the growth that happens *because* of our involvement—not despite it.
- **We explored supporting high performers** by making their growth more efficient (faster) and effective (more aligned with goals), rather than just letting it happen passively.
- **We tackled underperformance** by identifying root causes, offering tailored support, and protecting teammates from negative ripple effects.
- **We addressed silent group dynamics** by recognizing the power of culture and investing in small, consistent changes to build psychological safety and lasting team habits.
- **We emphasized ruthless prioritization** as a powerful delta: helping teams focus on what truly matters, not just work harder—transforming effort into sustainable outcomes.

Now, we’re ready to take this impact to the next level in Part 4.

If you want to learn more from Gilad, he shares free leadership advice daily on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/giladnaor/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta) and weekly on the[ δeltas newsletter](https://posts.managementdeltas.com/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta)

Successful Disagreements for Software Engineers

[**Ryan Alexander Wiens**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-wiens/) is an experienced English communication coach who has worked with more than 70 SWEs. In this workshop, he shares the nuances of expressing disagreement in a constructive and respectful manner. With years of coaching under his belt, Ryan understands the challenges faced by engineers when English is not their first language.

**Key Takeaways:**

- Understand the phases of a diplomatic disagreement.
- Interactive exercises including breakout rooms and real-time Q&A.
- A phrase bank for participants to use in their daily communications.
- Practice scenarios on common workplace topics for SWEs.

Ryan discussed the importance of including the right words and phrases, clear thinking, defined outcomes, and effective communication frameworks. He underscored the need for skills such as active listening, presenting new ideas, building rapport, and confidence in practical application. Ryan also led a discussion on the topic of successful disagreement at work, suggesting that the level of comfort with disagreement might depend on the situation and culture of the workplace.

**Disagreement's Importance in the Workplace**

Ryan emphasized the importance of expressing disagreement in the workplace, as it leads to better decision making, avoids useless work, and creates opportunities for learning and growth. They stressed the need for disagreement to be done respectfully, keeping it impersonal and listening to others before forming a response. Additionally, they suggested picking battles wisely and staying calm and respectful. 

**Constructive Disagreement Framework**

Ryan introduced a framework for constructive disagreement that emphasized respect, evidence-based opinions, and softening disagreements. He encouraged attendees to suggest phrases to use when expressing disagreements respectfully. Instead of using the word "but" in conversations, Ryan suggests alternatives to soften disagreements. At the same time, you should own your disagreements and remove bias from the message. In situations of imbalanced authority, Ryan advised picking battles carefully and being strategic about which battles to pursue.

Ryan led a group activity aimed at fostering disagreement resolution skills. Find the [worksheet here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G0As8QS7MZ4O0PTCeDEPeSborW9ahU_m/view?usp=sharing).

Additional resources: 

- [\[Masterclass\] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/)
- [\[Masterclass\] How To Work Better With Your Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/2PbJb2fuqF3iMHy57eEg/masterclass-how-to-work-better-with-your-engineering-manager/)

Weekly Business Review

###### In this lesson, we introduce the **Weekly Business Review (WBR)** as Amazon’s core mechanism for consistently analyzing, improving, and controlling business performance. This structured, weekly ritual helped us align leadership around metrics, dive deep into customer experience, and create a culture of truth-seeking and operational rigor.

### Key Takeaways:

- **We used the WBR to bridge strategy and detail**: Contrary to conventional advice, we didn’t choose between high-level strategy and operational detail—we embraced both. The WBR let senior leaders dive deep while still steering big-picture strategy.
- **We built the WBR around the customer journey**: Our report flowed from financials to marketing, browsing, shopping, fulfillment, and customer support. Each department leader owned and explained their metrics—not analysts—ensuring accountability and depth.
- **We started before everything was perfect**: We launched the WBR even before our metrics were fully refined. By including many metrics upfront, we learned over time which ones provided signal and which were noise.
- **We continuously refined our metrics**: In each WBR meeting, we didn’t just review results—we asked whether we were measuring the right things and how to improve clarity and relevance of our metrics.
- **We made it a disciplined habit**: Reports were automated and delivered every Monday by 7 a.m., enabling prep ahead of the all-company WBR. This rhythm created organizational focus, enabled early issue detection, and aligned everyone around the brutal facts of performance.

The WBR was not just a meeting—it was a **weekly dose of operational truth** that made Amazon more customer-obsessed, data-informed, and execution-focused.

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/>

Burnt Out and Behind

In this final exercise, we confront a situation where a team is putting in extra hours but still failing to meet deadlines. This signals systemic issues that go beyond individual effort—and calls for thoughtful intervention.

- We recognize that **unsustainable effort without results is a red flag**—it shows that working harder isn't the solution.
- We can introduce deltas by **investigating root causes**: Are goals unrealistic? Are priorities misaligned? Is there a process breakdown?
- It’s our responsibility to **shift focus from intensity to effectiveness**—fixing the system so performance improves without burnout.
- We look at **team norms, project planning habits, and cross-functional dependencies** to identify leverage points for change.
- Our role is to help the team **recover sustainably**, improving delivery while preserving morale and long-term capacity.

If you want to learn more from Gilad, he shares free leadership advice daily on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/giladnaor/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta) and weekly on the[ δeltas newsletter](https://posts.managementdeltas.com/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta)

SWE Internship Survival Guide [Part 11] - Code Velocity

Your success as a software engineering intern hinges on one key metric: your ability to ship code consistently. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- Code velocity is the primary way interns are evaluated, so focus your time on writing and shipping impactful code
- Every company has a different pace, but you should ask your manager for benchmarks and observe full-time engineers to calibrate your own output
- Structure your day around long blocks of uninterrupted coding time, and avoid distractions like intern socials or long-term architecture meetings
- Make small, frequent code changes instead of large ones to make code review easier, allow quicker course correction, and prevent painful merge conflicts
- Communicate your approach with your team so they understand your intent to seek faster feedback through smaller pull requests

Learning From Mistakes

In this section, we reflect on how **mistakes and operational defects** became valuable sources of new input metrics at Amazon. Through a disciplined **Correction of Errors (CoE)** process, we turned setbacks into opportunities for learning, system improvement, and metric discovery.

### Key Takeaways:

- **We embraced mistakes as learning opportunities**: We openly discussed errors and failures—not to assign blame, but to understand what went wrong and how to prevent it next time.
- **We asked predictive questions**: For every defect, we asked: *What metric could have predicted or prevented this?* Often, the answer revealed a missing input metric that we needed to start tracking.
- **We built systems to measure what we were missing**: Once we identified a critical input metric, we prioritized building the tools and infrastructure to capture it—and ensured it was reviewed in our Weekly Business Review (WBR).
- **We used a structured CoE process**: The CoE included five steps—identifying the error, documenting and responding, root cause analysis (often using the “Five Whys”), developing corrective actions, and then implementing and monitoring those changes.
- **We integrated input metrics into operational reviews**: Many of the metrics that emerged from the CoE process became part of our regular metric reviews, helping us catch future problems early and improve reliability across systems.

This practice helped us create a culture where **defects became a trigger for innovation and deeper operational control**, not just patchwork fixes.

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/>

Onboarding Strategies For Engineers [Lightning Lesson]

As a new hire, onboarding is your responsibility, not your manager's.

The first few months in your job are crucial for creating first impressions and relationships that can either accelerate your success or limit your potential.

This is one of the concepts we cover in the Senior to Staff cohort-based course in June: <https://maven.com/taro/senior-to-staff>

30% of tech workers leave their jobs within 90 days -- don't be one of them! What you'll learn:

### **My Talk & Observe framework**

Build respect with your new manager and team.

### **4 key questions to ask your colleagues**

Learn crucial context and history from colleagues on your team or adjacent teams.

### **How to prevent failure modes**

Too many engineers are surprised with negative feedback in their first performance review -- we'll discuss why.

Career Priorities List

We walk through the many different priorities that can shape which company and team are truly right for us, and why this makes the choice so hard.

Here are the core points from the lesson:

- We list 14+ possible priorities—compensation, work-life balance, company prestige, supportive team, growth opportunities, stability, maximum outcome (upside), remote work, product space, company ethics, technical space, title, benefits (like parental leave), and location—showing how many different axes there are to optimize for.
- We explain nuances within each priority: for example, early-stage startups can offer huge upside but high risk, big tech often offers more stability but lower ceiling, and team makeup/scope can make or break growth even inside a good company.
- We emphasize that the macro environment (economy, industry turbulence, company-specific churn) must be considered alongside our personal priorities when evaluating offers and career moves.
- We share that we have strong opinions and heuristics, but the goal is for each of us to examine and “stack-rank” our own priorities, test our assumptions, and disagree deliberately rather than blindly following default paths like “just go to FAANG.”

Your Happiness Comes First

We wrap up the discussion on working in Big Tech and end with an important philosophical reminder about career and life priorities.

- **Happiness &gt; Hype**: At the end of the day, *it's not worth it if you're not happy*. Your career is a means to a fulfilling life—not the purpose of your life. Prioritize what genuinely brings you joy and purpose.
- **Software Has Many Paths**: There isn’t just one archetype of success in tech. Whether you're a master debugger, a product-savvy tech lead, or a great communicator, there’s a path that fits your strengths and passions.
- **Find Work That Feels Effortless**: If there’s something you enjoy doing so much that it doesn’t feel like work—chase that. Use it as a compass for your long-term career direction.
- **Ignore Peer Pressure**: Just because working at Big Tech is glorified doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for everyone. Many engineers thrive and find faster growth at smaller startups or hyper-growth companies.
- **Be True to Yourself**: Use the information provided as tools—not mandates. The goal is to make **informed, authentic decisions** based on your own values, priorities, and vision for your life and career.

The main idea is to *reflect intentionally*, embrace your individuality, and chart a career path that aligns with your unique definition of success.

SWE Internship Survival Guide [Part 9] - Build In Public

It’s not enough to quietly ship code during your internship—sharing your progress publicly is a key strategy for visibility and success. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- By default, no one except your mentor may know what you’re working on, so it’s your job to build in public and generate awareness
- Visibility leads to stronger relationships, more feedback, and more people who can advocate for you when return offer decisions are made
- Intern projects often aren’t on the critical path, making it even more important to market your work through demos, updates, and conversations
- Reusing assets like screenshots or videos from your pull requests is a great way to showcase progress
- Use team standups, Slack channels, emails, and meetings to share what you’ve built and invite feedback, always including links and tagging collaborators to maximize engagement

Ship & Grow 500k+ User Side Projects [Part 12] - 1 Star Reviews Are The Best

Everyone looks having good things said about them. However, this often isn't too useful when it comes to your side project. This lesson teaches you:

- Why negative reviews can be far more valuable than positive reviews a lot of the time
- The mindset you should have with negative reviews of your side project
- How responding to negative reviews properly can massively increase the reputation of your side project

Become An Engineer Influencer [Part 6] - LinkedIn and Twitter

Assembling The Feedback "Avengers" For Your Promotion Case

Gilad’s Take: Missed Estimates

In this exercise, we explore how to manage an individual contributor who is consistently underperforming—missing estimates or failing in execution. This presents a valuable opportunity for us to create both individual and team-wide impact.

- We help the individual grow by **improving their estimation and execution skills**—through coaching, targeted training, mentorship, and root cause analysis.
- We aim to **understand the specific failure points** by collecting data and maintaining an open yet high-bar conversation with the individual.
- We don't just focus on the individual; we **expand our lens to the team**, recognizing that underperformance affects teammates who rely on timely outputs.
- To support the broader organization, we look for ways to **minimize the blast radius**, reducing the negative impact on the surrounding team while working toward resolution.
- This is about **maximizing delta**: helping one person improve while also protecting and enabling the rest of the group to thrive.

If you want to learn more from Gilad, he shares free leadership advice daily on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/giladnaor/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta) and weekly on the[ δeltas newsletter](https://posts.managementdeltas.com/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta)

You listened. But not to what mattered.

It’s possible to replay the entire meeting in your head and still miss the thing they needed you to hear.

This isn’t about listening better.\
It’s about listening for something else entirely.

**Want to go deeper?**

- Explore more tools and courses at [**Taha’s Method**](https://www.tahasmethod.com/) — from interview prep to leadership development.

- Follow me on [**LinkedIn**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahahussain/) and subscribe to my weekly newsletter, [**The Conscious Leader**](https://tahahussain.substack.com/), for more lessons like these.

- Get 30% off [**Top Tech Leader**](https://bit.ly/tarotopleader) with code **ILOVETARO** (exclusive for Taro members).

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.