Preface

The software, and knowledge industry in general, has been on a blazing growth path in the last few decades and especially so in India. As the size of organizations grew rapidly, so did the need for managers to manage a growing business and growing teams. As a result, most managers in the software industry today started out as techies, including me. I was lucky to have learned from some of the best managers, but also some not so great ones. Regardless, there is a lot of catching up that new managers need to do.

This book attempts to capture some of those elements, which can help a new manager or soon-to-be manager build a framework of understanding around what managing is in the knowledge industry, how to deal with the transition from an individual contributor to a manager, and how to understand the behaviors that make a successful and respected manager.

Managing people in the knowledge industry has its own unique challenges since it's highly people-dependant. This book discusses various aspects of managing that a manager deals with on a daily basis, such as team building, hiring, motivating your team, planning, and many more. It also attempts to build some thoughts around aspects, such as work-life balance, diversity, Gen Y, and how one can grow as a manager.

The book is primarily based on learning, insights, and experiences and in a few sections, it also brings in some theoretical frameworks applied to the knowledge industry.

Finally, this book is by no means a 'right way' of doing things and neither does it attempt to be complete in anyway. At best, it's a beginning.