The hardest business problem has a soft solution. Scientists and engineers display a (well-deserved) skepticism toward touchy-feely ideas such as leadership. In this talk, Fred will show that there's a very technical way to understand why most organizations, from couples to multinational corporations, die a premature death... and what can be done to extend their lifespan.

While you don't jump out of bed excited about it, you know how powerful it is for morale when you make the choice to tackle technical debt. Learn a framework for how to do the same thing with organizational debt, and unlock untapped energy, creativity and connection on your team in the process.

What do managing creative teams and Quantum Mechanics have in common? More than you’d think. The principles of Quantum Mechanics make the unpredictable understandable, and many of them can be applied to help find solutions to your team’s seemingly unsolvable problems. Conventional management techniques invented during the industrial revolution dealt mostly with assembly line optimization, today's creative projects require different techniques. Join James Everingham as he explores Quantum Mechanic's principles as a management metaphor to achieve unimaginable results from unpredictable parts.

What should be the role of engineering leaders in recruiting? What levers do they have at their disposal? In this fireside chat, you'll hear the perspectives of two recruiting heavy-hitters, Aditya Agarwal & Dan Portillo, on how engineering leaders can optimize for successful hiring outcomes.

Difficult conversations for engineering leaders range from telling someone they have lettuce in their teeth to delivering life-changing bad news. Learn to level-up your ability to handle difficult conversations with a few techniques, practice and hopefully a little humor from Sarah Clatterbuck's personal experiences.