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Newsletter archive
AI agents and the missing link in DevOps
AI agents aren’t just assistants anymore – they’re making decisions. Are engineers ready for the shift or are they just too skeptical?
Carving out time for large-scale engineering chores
Determine what to prioritize, set out a path, and be prepared for some hiccups along the way.
Encouraging a passion for productivity
In this edition of DirectorPlus, Neha Batra, VP of Engineering at GitHub, explains how she creates a culture of productivity.
Framing AI rollouts in the right light
How can you introduce AI into teams in a way that doesn’t invite unrest within your org? It starts with presenting it in the right light.
Latest
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Why AI economics are fundamentally broken
Making money from software is not the same equation in the AI era.
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If 95% of generative AI pilots fail, what’s going wrong?
Learning the right lessons from that MIT study
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New study suggests major productivity boost when using Cursor’s coding agent
Is this the massive productivity benefit we’ve been waiting for?
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How to go back to being a technical engineering manager
A guide for getting back to hands-on management.
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Shadow AI is leaving software teams dangerously exposed
Two thirds of organizations report exploits involving vulnerable LLM code.
Deadline: January 4, 2026
Call for Proposals for London 2026 is open!
Essential reading
What is a Director of Engineering? The glue keeping engineering together
A director of engineering is responsible for keeping an entire engineering function humming. Find out what skills you need to climb the ladder to this vital position.
On our DirectorPlus playlist
Strategies to hone commercial awareness and drive business outcomes
Learn effective strategies for enhancing commercial awareness in tech teams, turning engineering into a business driver through alignment, impactful initiatives, and stakeholder engagement.
The path from Director to CTO: How to follow it, or how to mentor it
This talk is aimed at both aspiring Chief Technology Officers and those who are in a position to mentor future CTOs. Explore the journey from a Director of Engineering role to a CTO, focusing on the skills and experiences needed for this transition and how experienced leaders can guide others on this path.
Making the manager of manager’s mindset
Suzan Bond covers the difference between the two roles and the key mindset shifts leaders need to make to manage managers.
The festival for modern engineering leadership
London • June 2 & 3, 2026
More for managers of managers
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5 AI agent frameworks for developer teams
If you’re thinking of dipping your toes into the agentic pool, here are some frameworks you could explore.
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Your go-to professional growth model
When you’re an engineering leader, finding the time to upskill is almost impossible. Following the S-curve model might keep you on track.
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The right way to make AI part of your tech strategy
With everyone scrambling to bake AI into their technical strategy, leaders may be resorting to unreliable and unscalable methods.
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The unions are (finally) coming for big tech
After decades of taking a back seat, the rise of AI, layoffs, and industry-wide burnout has led to a call for more prominent tech unions.
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Is AI code sabotaging its own ROI case?
Charity Majors, CTO at Honeycomb, argues that the biggest value from AI is from rethinking how teams operate.
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How the right workflow can catapult productivity
Do you find that your team constantly misses deadlines and feels miserable in the process? It might be a workflow problem.
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Tech CEOs reckon with the impact of AI on junior developers
CEOs are concerned that the rise of AI tools like Copilot and GPT is causing junior developers to lose touch with core coding skills.
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AI-first hiring is everywhere and it’s not slowing down
Engineers might start being penalized for not using AI in technical interviews.
Videos for managers of managers
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What does innovation really mean? And how did Games Engineering navigate through it as a “startup” within Netflix
Learn how embracing paradoxes, discovery-driven learning, and integrative decisions enabled collaboration and unlocked innovation at Netflix.
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Hold on, let me prompt that
Explore how to lead with clarity and conviction in the GenAI era, balancing powerful tools with authentic, independent thinking.
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LLMs: An operator’s view
Explore a pragmatic approach to using LLMs to boost team productivity, enhance products, and evolve your leadership strategy.
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Leveling up engineers in an AI-driven world
Learn how to mentor junior engineers in an AI-driven world by reinforcing core skills and balancing AI-assisted workflows.
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Painless compliance, and a thousand audits a day
Turn compliance into code: automate audits, integrate with CI/CD, and achieve painless, continuous, zero-drama compliance.
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What if I don’t want to climb?
Rethink career growth by exploring how non-linear paths, flexible frameworks, and exploration-first mindsets create stronger, more inclusive teams.
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In partnership with EppoFrom evals to experiments: How to ship successful AI initiatives by failing cheaply
Discover practical ways to blend qualitative evals with quantitative experiments to reduce risk, improve learning speed, and deliver impactful AI projects.
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In partnership with HoneycombMeasuring system performance in 2026
Insights from the inaugural LeadDev Engineering Performance Report, with Honeycomb.
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High-performance tech talent: Build, don’t buy!
Learn how CodeYourFuture develops diverse, high-potential individuals into advanced engineering roles while helping companies build exceptional, sustainable tech talent.
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Leading leaders: Why your greatest strengths are your next blind spots
This talk challenges common assumptions and shares what it really takes to move from doing the work to enabling others to do it even better.
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In partnership with CloudflareDetect malicious attacks at 84M RPS with ML under 500us
A deep dive into the high-performance, distributed architecture and machine learning optimizations Cloudflare uses to detect malicious attacks at a global scale with sub-millisecond latencies.
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Engineering leadership in 2025: Thriving when budgets shrink
Find practical strategies for leading engineering teams through budget pressure by aligning decisions with impact, focus, and value.