Managing Humans

Name: Managing Humans
Author: Michael Lopp

Michael Lopp

Read hilarious stories with serious lessons that Michael Lopp extracts from his varied and sometimes bizarre experiences as a manager at Apple, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, Symantec, Slack, and Borland.

27.5 score

#56 overall

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Score based on developer article recommendations — not sales data or reviews.

Career & Growth Backendmanagementcareerleadership

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🟢 Developer Verdict

Practical lessons on tech leadership and team dynamics are delivered through engaging, humorous stories from a veteran manager's diverse career.

Read this if

✓ You are navigating the challenges of tech management.
✓ You prefer learning management lessons via humorous anecdotes.
✓ You want insights from a manager with diverse big-tech experience.

Skip this for now if

✗ You seek a theoretical framework for management principles.
✗ You need hands-on technical guidance for coding tasks.
✗ You prefer a dry, academic textbook on organizational behavior.

Developer signal: Overwhelming Consensus · 88% 9 analyzed mentions PracticalWell WrittenUnique Perspective

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📊 Why Developers Recommend

It develops engineering leadership and management skills.

Cited by 11 different developers, each bringing their own experience and perspective.

Valued for its practical approach — concepts connect directly to real-world engineering decisions and daily work.

Top signals: PracticalWell WrittenUnique Perspective

💬 What Developers Say

"This book belongs on your bookshelf and will have you referring back time and time again, even if it’s just for the wit and wisdom packed within the pages."
— rogerjin12 · Top 10 Books Every CTO Should Read · Aug 17, 2017

"No matter where you are in your career, read this book."
— karllhughes · The Best Software Engineering Books · Apr 29, 2021

"I recently finished reading Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager by Michael Lopp and found it both entertaining and useful enough that I wanted to share it with all of you."
— rachelsoderberg · Book Review: Managing Humans by Michael Lopp · Jul 12, 2019

Based on 9 developer article mentions