Hartley's Handbook

Hartley's Handbook

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The Visibility Paradox: How to Advocate for Engineers Without Turning Into a Hype Machine
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you become an engineering manager: your job isn’t just helping your team do great work.
 • John Hartley
2026-01-05 Not Everyone Wants Your Feedback
In a previous role, I worked with a manager who approached their weekly ceremonies inefficiently.
 • John Hartley
Put Down the AI: Write Your Reviews Like a Human Again
Break the cycle.
 • John Hartley
The Secret to Seamless Onboarding: Steal It From Waffle House
I love working on systems; it’s why I keep working on the internal tooling side of engineering orgs.
 • John Hartley
2025-10-06 Do The Detective Work
I had a chance to play around with Sora 2 last week and the results are pretty crazy.
 • John Hartley
2025-08-11 [Insert Fantastical GPT-5 Headline Here]
ChatGPT-5 released this weekend (though I’m sure you already know this) and it’s highlighted an interesting divide in the world of AI users.
 • John Hartley
2025-06-09 On Perceived Complexity
Welcome back to the weekly newsletter!
 • John Hartley
2025-06-02 - Bandages on Broken Bones
I think a lot about technical debt, technical financing, and how to move fast without putting future state at risk.
 • John Hartley
45:03
#8 Documentation and the Council of Elders
Featuring Michael Yotive
 • John Hartley
28:37
#7 Balancing Code & Leadership + The Power of Sponsorship & Recognition
Welcome back to Ask Hartley Anything, the podcast where I tackle your questions and share lessons from my journey as an engineering leader.
 • John Hartley
2/10/25 - This Meeting Could Have Been a Fistfight
As the title says, this week, I’m thinking about meetings and constructive conflict.
 • John Hartley
29:38
The Balance Between Ambition and Self-Compassion
Welcome back to Ask Hartley Anything, episode six.
 • John Hartley
22:34
The Art of Goal Setting: For You, Your Team, and Your Company
SMART Goals, OKRs, and more!
 • John Hartley
1/20/25 - No Take, Only Throw: The Plight of Junior Engineers
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Junior Engineering ecosystem lately and how sad the landscape has become.
 • John Hartley
Hartley's Handbook
Hartley's Handbook
Weekly tactical advice for managers and leaders about building effective teams, finding your management style, and frameworks and templates to use. No vapid quotes and no B.S. here, just tactical advice that you can implement immediately.
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