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High Output Software Engineering: Mental Models for Value Creation, Decision Making, Communication, and Success in Product Organizations
Code is being commoditized by AI. Stay relevant by focusing on value creation skills.
- Learn powerful decision-making and communication mental models for increasing your value to organizations.
- "High Output Management" for software engineers working on product teams.
A content-packed quick read where you will learn:
- How to evaluate trade-offs systematically
- How to be recognized and valued by peers, managers, and the market
- How to become a genuine problem solver, not just someone who's always chasing the latest stack
And the three pillars of value creation:
- Mental models for decision-making and prioritization - Feel confident making the really hard calls related to architecture trade-offs, when (and how much) to test, feature scoping, planning vs. execution.
- Mental models for being an excellent communicator - Become the person teammates trust, rely on, and actually enjoy working with
- Mental models for navigating people & organization dynamics - How to get things done if you feel blocked by bureaucracy in bigger organizations
And a bonus! Learn to capture part of the value you are creating
-> Strategies for getting a high-paying job and interesting fun projects
-> Strategies for stopping feeling unproductive at the end of the day
What people are saying about it:
- "Specially in the startup world, this is a must read" - Gabriel Arakaki, Principal Software Engineer
- "Got a lot of great nuggets from the book! Thanks for writing it!" - Rick Wong, Product Engineering Leadership
- "I want everybody that works with me to have the same mental models" - Leonardo Papais, Tech Lead
- Learn powerful decision-making and communication mental models for increasing your value to organizations.
- "High Output Management" for software engineers working on product teams.
A content-packed quick read where you will learn:
- How to evaluate trade-offs systematically
- How to be recognized and valued by peers, managers, and the market
- How to become a genuine problem solver, not just someone who's always chasing the latest stack
And the three pillars of value creation:
- Mental models for decision-making and prioritization - Feel confident making the really hard calls related to architecture trade-offs, when (and how much) to test, feature scoping, planning vs. execution.
- Mental models for being an excellent communicator - Become the person teammates trust, rely on, and actually enjoy working with
- Mental models for navigating people & organization dynamics - How to get things done if you feel blocked by bureaucracy in bigger organizations
And a bonus! Learn to capture part of the value you are creating
-> Strategies for getting a high-paying job and interesting fun projects
-> Strategies for stopping feeling unproductive at the end of the day
What people are saying about it:
- "Specially in the startup world, this is a must read" - Gabriel Arakaki, Principal Software Engineer
- "Got a lot of great nuggets from the book! Thanks for writing it!" - Rick Wong, Product Engineering Leadership
- "I want everybody that works with me to have the same mental models" - Leonardo Papais, Tech Lead
127 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 11, 2026
1 person is currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 17, 2026
Really useful book for engineers who still believe "leetcoding" is still a good proxy for performance and output.
In this new AI era, it is essential to understand the fundamentals of software engineering and why coding is just a small part of the whole process of building software.
This book helped me remember that even though AI is taking over most of the coding away, the problems that we are trying to solve are still there, and only great engineers will know how to solve those.
10/10
In this new AI era, it is essential to understand the fundamentals of software engineering and why coding is just a small part of the whole process of building software.
This book helped me remember that even though AI is taking over most of the coding away, the problems that we are trying to solve are still there, and only great engineers will know how to solve those.
10/10
March 17, 2026
Hi there!
I wrote High Output Software Engineering!
The title is a reference to High Output Management, by Andrew Grove, because the skills and mental models laid out in the book enhance "Output" (value being created), not necessarily "activity" (code being produced).
I've been religiously logging the books I read here on Goodreads since 2013. It's pretty amazing to now get an Author badge!
Get in touch! leomaxfyi@gmail.com
I wrote High Output Software Engineering!
The title is a reference to High Output Management, by Andrew Grove, because the skills and mental models laid out in the book enhance "Output" (value being created), not necessarily "activity" (code being produced).
I've been religiously logging the books I read here on Goodreads since 2013. It's pretty amazing to now get an Author badge!
Get in touch! leomaxfyi@gmail.com
March 18, 2026
Really good mental models. If you work with projects and technology, please read.
It shifted the way I think about my role and how I create impact. Since reading it, I’ve been more intentional in my decisions and have seen a significant improvement in my results.
It shifted the way I think about my role and how I create impact. Since reading it, I’ve been more intentional in my decisions and have seen a significant improvement in my results.
March 23, 2026
An excellent read for anyone working in tech who wants to truly understand how to create value for their team, their organization, and themselves. The mental models are incredibly valuable — highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews