Smart & Gets Things Done
by Joel Spolsky · first published 2007
29% recommend66% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide to hiring technical people, built on looking for candidates who are smart enough to solve problems and actually deliver. Suits managers and founders who like Spolsky's style and want interview advice.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
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Smart & Gets Things Done, as Joel Spolsky would say. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing... http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Gets-Things-Done-Technical/dp/15...
on “Dear Startups: stop asking me math puzzles to figure out if I can code” ↗Read "Smart & Gets Things Done" by Joel Spolsky: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/05.html
on “Keeping and Recruiting Hackers as a Non-Hacker” ↗If you like this, you may want to get a copy of the book this evolved in to: "Smart and Gets Things Done" http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/05.html http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Gets-Things-Done-Technical/dp/15... $3 used, $11.61 new Not sure if there's an ebook version, searching for a PDF brings…
on “The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing (version 3.0)” ↗It always depends on bargain and deal conditions. And KPIs. When swe work conditions discussion reaches this point I always remember Spolsky's brilliant "Smart and Gets Things Done" book. He writes about KPIs a bit, just enough to not treating it too seriously.
on “Why is U.S. labor supply so low?” ↗I'd say almost anything by Joel Spolsky[0]. Smart and Gets Things Done[1] was one that I enjoyed. [0] https://www.joelonsoftware.com [1] https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/06/05/smart-and-gets-thi...
on “Ask HN: Books to read when you transform from SWE into SWE Management?” ↗Also the guy who wrote the follow up to Joel Spolsky's brilliant "Smart and Gets Things Done" article with one entitled "Done, Gets Things Smart" which is nearly a tome and also brilliant. Check it here: http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/06/done-and-gets-things...
on “Steve Yegge Joins as Head of Engineering of Sourcegraph” ↗High on both sounds like Spolsky's "Smart and Gets Things Done", and not surprisingly your conclusions rather agree :-) https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/10/25/the-guerrilla-guid...
on “How to hire low experience, high potential people” ↗I haven't been super thrilled with a lot of stuff, but I have found that I've enjoyed Joel Spolky's stuff[0], in general. I don't think he's that popular, hereabouts. For example, his book Smart and Gets Things Done[1] is great. Although not management, per se, Steve McConnell's stuff[2] has been of invaluable assistance, in my career. He talks about Quality Process, and that's the kind of stuff that managers should…
on “Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?” ↗Smart and gets things done, by Joel Spolsky: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/10/25/the-guerrilla-guid... Still a great read. Base idea is that they're smart enough to solve problems and they get things done and don't just…
on “Ask HN: What were interviews like before Leetcode?” ↗…it's amazing how contemporary it feels. Programmers at Work by Susan Lammers: interviews of lots of famous computer pioneers. Very interesting to think about the remarks that appear again and again. Smart and Gets Things Done by Joel Spolsky will make you feel good about yourself. :-) The Mac is Not a Typewriter by Robin Williams is a nice bite-sized lesson on type. The original Human Interface Guidelines by Apple is a pretty…
on “Ask HN: What are some good, lightweight reads on computing?” ↗Spolsky's "smart and gets things done" still sounds like wise advice to me.
on “Mistakes That Kill Startups (2006)” ↗…experience hiring when there are thousands of programmers who would die to work on your stuff than when you're an upcoming startup that nobody's heard of. That's not to say that their advice is wrong - Smart and Gets Things Done has lots of great advice. Keep in mind when reading these books/blogs that people aren't going to launch websites, Twitter campaigns, or rearrange their lives to get your attention like they do for 37signals…
on “Calling out Jason Fried for bad business advice” ↗…Spolsky's book on hiring tech folks. He mentions several methods and, although i"m only on page 30, (1) I like Joel's style/approach to most things, and (2) the first 30 pages made sense to me. it's called "Smart and Gets Things Done"
on “Ask YC: Where do you post ads for programmers?” ↗…great job of telling me whether a candidate has been studying to pass interview questions on HackerRank and TripleByte. They do very little to tell me whether, in the words of Joel Spolsky, they are "smart and gets things done."
on “Why Linked Lists Are an Interview Staple” ↗…about. He's concerned we're not "smarter" in the sense of not reading more books, and not knowing about history like The 30 Years War, etc. In contrast, when another writer like Joel Spolsky talks about "Smart and Gets Things Done"[1], he's emphasizing the 1st definition (aptitude). So yes, IQ and knowledge are decoupled from each other and can increase at different rates. E.g. there are a lot of high-IQ physicists out there that…
on “Our IQs have never been higher – but it hasn’t made us smart” ↗