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by aaronbrethorst 4535 days ago
Try "Peopleware" from DeMarco and Lister: http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-3...
2 comments

Yes! This one should be required reading for anyone managing people or projects. It's a bit like "The Design of Everyday Things" - it isn't necessarily the material in the book, but rather the patterns of questioning and thoughtfulness produced by the book that will stick with you. Peopleware is beyond being a "software" book - it's really about how to create an environment where professionals can thrive.
3rd edition is out! Great news! Time to re-read.

Now instead of looking for my second edition, I'll spend tonight debating if I should get paper, or Kindle version, or both. :)

Speaking of influential books, Peopleware and Mythical Man-month are the most influential software books for me.

Agreed. The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks is another great book. It is famous for Brooks's law: "adding people to a late project makes it later".

But for me, even better with that book was one page at the end of chapter one, entitled The Joys of the Craft. There, Brooks described what's so great about programming. I really loved that part, and wrote a blog post about it: http://henrikwarne.com/2012/06/02/why-i-love-coding/