The things engineers are desperate for PMs to understand | Camille Fournier (“The Manager’s Path”)

Camille Fournier is the author of The Manager’s Path, which many consider the definitive guide for navigating one’s career path in tech. Camille was previously the CTO of Rent the Runway, VP of Technology at Goldman Sachs, Head of Platform Engineering at Two Sigma, and Global Head of Engineering and Architecture at JPMorgan Chase. She is about to release new newest book, Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders. In our conversation, we discuss: • What product managers do that annoys engineers • Why major rewrites are a trap • Why you should have fewer one-on-ones • Strategies for organizing and working with platform teams • Tips for new managers • Advice for transitioning from individual contributor to manager • Much more — Brought to you by: • DX—A platform for measuring and improving developer productivity: https://getdx.com/lenny • CommandBar—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users: https://www.commandbar.com/lenny • Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace: https://coda.io/lenny Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/engineering-leadership-camille-fournier Where to find Camille Fournier: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-fournier-9011812/ • Website: https://skamille.medium.com/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Camille’s background (02:17) Common annoyances between PMs and engineers (07:09) Avoiding the telephone game (08:05) Hoarding ideas and over-engineering (09:55) The importance of involving engineers in ideation (11:37) The middle-person dilemma (14:21) Rewriting systems: a big trap? (20:40) Engineering leadership lessons (36:02) Moving from IC to management (40:32) One-on-one meetings (45:10) Pushing beyond comfort zones (45:27) Building a balanced work culture (48:01) Effective time management strategies (54:15) Advice for platform team success (01:02:42) Platform team responsibilities (01:04:43) When to form a platform team (01:07:02) Thriving on a platform team (01:12:48) AI corner (01:17:03) Lightning round and final thoughts Referenced: • Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders: https://www.amazon.com/Platform-Engineering-Technical-Product-Leaders/dp/1098153642/ • The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change: https://www.amazon.com/Managers-Path-Leaders-Navigating-Growth/dp/1491973897 • 97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts:…