It's a surprisingly cool Saturday morning, and I am huddled in the living room, trying to focus on writing amidst the background noise of “Minions - The Rise of Gru”, playing on repeat for the fourth time this month. As tempting as it is to get involved, I will replicate my approach to work the past few days.
This week, I've deliberately kept out of my team's hair, burying myself in research and upgrades for some vital platform systems. Aside from the fact that this needed to be done anyway, I've always believed that sometimes, the best thing managers can do is to step back and let their team get on. As I watch from afar, I can't help but notice how smoothly they're progressing on a feature they've been wrestling with for a while. It's fascinating how removing yourself from the picture can produce excellent signals about your team's capabilities.
This week, I want to discuss how we measure team productivity and success in the tech world. Our industry is obsessed with metrics—story point…
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