Building Software That Survives • Michael Nygard & Charles Humble
GOTO - The Brightest Minds in Tech
Influencing culture without reorgs
Michael explains cultural levers: what leaders celebrate, reward signals, and modeling desired behaviors to drive change.
This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
https://gotopia.tech
Read the full transcription of this interview here:
https://gotopia.tech/articles/408
Michael Nygard - Chief Architect at Nubank & Author of "Release It!"
Charles Humble - Freelance Techie, Podcaster, Editor, Author & Consultant
FULL TALK TITLE
Building Software That Survives: Autonomy, Architecture & Alignment at Scale
RESOURCES
Michael
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtnygard
https://twitter.com/mtnygard
http://www.michaelnygard.com
Charles
https://bsky.app/profile/charleshumble.bsky.social
https://linkedin.com/in/charleshumble
https://mastodon.social/@charleshumble
https://conissaunce.com
DESCRIPTION
Michael Nygard, author of the influential "Release It!" and Chief Architect at Nuank, discusses his journey from programmer to technical leader.
In this conversation, he shares insights from major transformation projects at Sabre and Nubank, exploring the nuances of centralization versus autonomy, the often-misunderstood implications of Conway's Law, and how architectural boundaries can reduce the need for constant organizational alignment.
He emphasizes that effective technical leadership involves more than reorganizations - it requires understanding communication structures, celebrating the right behaviors, and creating systems that enable teams to operate independently within well-defined boundaries.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Michael Nygard • Release It! 2nd Edition • https://amzn.to/3WJeKV8
Michael Nygard • Release It! 1st Edition • https://amzn.to/3XCkiRf
Richard Monson-Haefel • 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know • https://amzn.to/3JdRYU2
Charles Humble • Professional Skills for Software Engineers • https://www.conissaunce.com/professional-skills-shortcut
Patterson, Grenny, McMillan & Switzler • Crucial Conversations • https://amzn.to/3LhGHTa
Yevgeniy Brikman • Fundamentals of DevOps and Software Delivery • https://amzn.to/3WMPMFU
Tod Golding • Building Multi-Tenant SaaS Architectures • https://amzn.to/3YfM49o
Jacqui Read • Communication Patterns • https://amzn.to/3E37lvv
Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team Topologies • http://amzn.to/3sVLyLQ
James Stanier • Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager • https://amzn.to/3vHrx1E
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