Hartley's Handbook

Middle Management is Cooked, The Great Flattening Is Upon Us

Tremble all ye in middle management, the end is nigh!

Jun 2 • John Hartley

1

February 2026

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.

Feb 16 • John Hartley

January 2026

2026-01-05 Not Everyone Wants Your Feedback

In a previous role, I worked with a manager who approached their weekly ceremonies inefficiently.

Jan 6 • John Hartley

3

October 2025

Put Down the AI: Write Your Reviews Like a Human Again

Break the cycle.

Oct 28, 2025 • John Hartley

1

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.

Oct 20, 2025 • John Hartley

1

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.

Oct 7, 2025 • John Hartley

August 2025

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.

Aug 11, 2025 • John Hartley

1

June 2025

2025-06-09 On Perceived Complexity

Welcome back to the weekly newsletter!

Jun 9, 2025 • John Hartley

1

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.

Jun 2, 2025 • John Hartley

2

February 2025

#8 Documentation and the Council of Elders

Featuring Michael Yotive

Feb 26, 2025 • John Hartley

45:03

#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.

Feb 12, 2025 • John Hartley

28:37

2/10/25 - This Meeting Could Have Been a Fistfight

As the title says, this week, I’m thinking about meetings and constructive conflict.

Feb 10, 2025 • John Hartley

1