Marian's Newsletter
Engineering leadership notes: 1:1s, communities of practice, hiring, delivery, career pivots. Written from 3,662 1:1 leadership sessions since 2019.
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#069How to Start an AI Transformation: 7 Decisions
How to start an AI transformation in an engineering org: a cut-off team, a permanent core of three, an adoption budget and commit-to-production as KPI.
consultingaidelivery
#068Digital Footprint Check: Hidden Gem or Hard to Ignore?
A free digital footprint check for developers and engineering managers: one number from 0.4 to 1.7 and nine names for it, from Hidden gem to Magnet.
careeraiengineering management
#067AI Business Case: Sell It to Product, Not the Board
Your AI transformation is paid in roadmap capacity. The seven slides, the capacity table and the pre-offsite round that get your Head of Product to cut.
engineering managementaileadership
#066How to Use AI at Work: 5 Levels, Kindergarten to Professor
Five levels of using AI at work, from kindergarten to professor, with examples for developers, helpdesk and admins, and how to move one level up.
consultingailearning
#065An AI Agent Moved engineeringleaders.io from Wix to Astro. My Review Still Found 9 Bugs.
The real numbers from migrating engineeringleaders.io from Wix to Astro: 8 days, 118 commits, LCP 3.8s to 2.4s, and 9 bugs only a human caught.
consultinglearning
#064Stop Sending CVs: How to Get a Job After Graduation
244 applications per job, new-grad hiring down 50%. What I told FIT ČVUT students on 5 November: 12 steps for the last year before the diploma, no CV.
careerhiringlearning
#063How to Use Claude Code to Kill or Launch a Business Idea
How I use Claude Code to kill or launch a business idea: 25 gated steps, the model for each step, and a free skill built from 10 real experiments.
solopreneurconsultingai
#062Platform Team Business Case: 1 Quarter In, 3 Back
A platform engineering business case boards fund: ask for one quarter of roadmap, show it back in three, and pair delivery with product adoption.
engineering managementplatform engineeringcto
#061How Many Direct Reports Is Too Many? Manage 16+ With AI
The 5 to 8 span of control was a routing limit. With a senior engineering manager I mentor, we built an EM Dashboard for 26 direct reports, same hours.
engineering managementaione on ones
#060Spec-Driven Development in SAP: From 19 Days to 5.5
An 18-person SAP team cut median cycle time from 19 to about 5.5 days in five weeks. Its own answer to what helped most: scoring specs before any ABAP.
sapaicto
#059Hire a Leadership Mentor Through Your AI
2 of the last 16 leaders who booked me started with an AI. Both left. What your AI can do before a mentor call, and what it still can't.
careermentoringai
#058How to Talk to Executives: Price It Before You Argue
Engineers lose arguments with executives by being right in the wrong currency. Price both options, bring an 80% number, come back with a recommendation.
engineering managementleadershipcommunication
#057Chief AI Officer Salary: Buy Two Days, Not Five
A Chief AI Officer costs $1.87M at large US firms and about €194K a year to employ in Prague. Five AI leadership seats, four markets, and the full bill.
consultingaicompensation
#056AI Resistance Sorts Your Team. Let the Reds Go
AI resistance sorts a team by behavior, not skill. The green, orange and red semaphore, 10 red signs, and how to let the reds go, fast and in writing.
consultingaileadership
#055AI Transformation Playbook: The Money Isn't in R&D
A 6-month plan for a new Head of AI Transformation: five AI maturity levels with two KPIs each, how to hire for the seat, and where the money is.
careeraileadership
#054Team Charter Guide for Software Engineering Teams
How to write a team charter for a software engineering team: 18 Confluence pages, from North Star and customer-area KPIs to Done, each with a worked example.
engineering managementteam leadleadership
#053AI Engineering Manager: The 2027 Career Fork
The engineering manager job is splitting in two by 2027: AI engineering manager, or staff AI engineer. The dead zone is the shape most EMs hold today.
careerengineering managementai
#052Should You Take the VP of Engineering Job?
44 engineering directors have brought me this decision. What the VP seat costs, the five things to negotiate before you say yes, and who should decline it.
careerengineering managementleadership
#051Why Is Coaching So Expensive? My 8/10 Rule
Rate a mentoring session under 8 out of 10 and it's free. Why I built that guarantee, and why being financially retired makes it real, not marketing.
trustpricingmentoring
#050Your CTO Is Happy. You Still Feel Like a Fraud.
Most advice says the imposter feeling is your brain lying to you. Sometimes it is an accurate reading of a real gap, and the gap is not your ability.
careerengineering managementleadership
#049Should I Become a Team Lead? A 6-Dimension Answer
Six dimensions predict whether the team lead role will fit you, drawn from 3,662 1:1 leadership sessions. Take the 3-minute test, get a straight verdict.
careerengineering managementleadership
#048How to Find a Great Mentor: 10 Criteria to Score
How to find a mentor worth paying for: 10 criteria, each scored 0-10, with red flags and the questions to ask. Works on coaches too. Run it on me.
careermentoring
#047What Are You Worth? 2026 Engineering Salary Bands
2026 salary bands for engineers and engineering managers in Western Europe, and the 5-pillar skill model that tells you which band is yours.
compensationcareerleadership
#046Product Builder: Why the Best Product Engineers Own Marketing, Adoption, and ROI Too
The product builder owns a feature end to end: evaluation, implementation, marketing, activation, adoption. Why this role earns Google money in CEE.
leadershipproductcareer
#045I Turned 3,662 1:1 Leadership Sessions Into MCP Tools Your AI Can Call
Why I shipped an MCP server for engineering leadership, what the 8 tools do, and what it changes when your AI assistant can query a mentor's data.
leadershipaimcp
#044How to Find an AI Mentor, Not Another Course
AI courses go stale in months. How engineering leaders learn AI ultra fast with a 1:1 mentor who ships with you, plus five questions to vet one.
leadershipai
#043How to Convince Your Manager to Pay for Coaching
The ROI formula, three worked examples in EUR, the 3 to 6 month KPI contract, and a forwardable email your manager can approve in one read.
leadership
#042How to Become a VP of Engineering: The Three Gaps
A VP of Engineering wrote me about his stuck senior EM. The email defines the EM-to-VPE gap better than any career guide. Three gaps, with fixes.
leadershipcareer
#041AI Agents Don't Shrink Engineering Teams. They Expose Weak Managers.
What AI coding agents change about the first-line engineering manager job: not headcount first, but feedback loops, spans, and what the role is for.
leadershipaiengineering management
#040How Much Does Executive Coaching Cost in 2026? US, Europe and CEE Rates
Executive coaching costs 200 to 600 USD per hour in the US, 120 to 330 EUR in Central Europe. Full 2026 rate breakdown, plus one public mentoring price list.
coachingmentoringpricing
#039Fractional CTO for Startups: What It Is, What It Costs, When You Need One
What a fractional CTO for a startup does, real market rates, and the 6 signals you need one. Written by a fractional CTO who has run the model since 2023.
fractional ctoleadershipconsulting
#038From -$75k to +$500k Venture in 3 Years: Live Business Lessons, Raw Numbers
My engineering leadership business hit $537k revenue in 2025, from $0 in 3 years. The lessons, the mistakes, and the raw numbers, stream by stream.
consultingleadership
#037How I Grew a $200k Mentoring Business from Scratch
I turned a 6-month mentoring test into 161+ mentees, 1000+ sessions, and a $200k/year mentoring business. 10 no-BS steps to start and scale.
learningtrust
#03611 Red Flags It’s Time to Fire Your Consultant
Too many consultants linger without results. Spot the 11 red flags that signal it’s time to fire your consultant, end dependency, and reclaim control.
compensationconsultingleadership
#035How I Built Leadership Courses That Work
Most leadership courses overpromise and underdeliver. Here’s how I built a practical, results-driven program that truly transforms leaders at scale.
leadershipone on ones
#03410x Your Market Value: The Tech Leader’s 8-Step Playbook
Learn how to 10x your market value as a tech leader with 8 proven steps to boost your impact and become an irreplaceable asset in any company.
careercompensationleadership
#033ELC 2025: A Tech Leadership Revolution in Central Europe
ELC 2025 brought 300+ tech leaders to Prague to reshape engineering leadership in Central Europe. Here's what made it a turning point and what's next.
conferenceleadership
#03210 Questions to Find the Right Engineering Management Role
Feeling stuck or burned out? Use these 10 questions to realign your engineering management role and find a path that truly fits your goals and strengths.
engineering management
#0316 proven strategies to hit a 90% candidate conversion rate and build a top startup team
Boost your candidate conversion rate to 90%+ with these 6 proven hiring strategies. Learn how to attract, engage, and secure top engineering talent.
hiringlearning
#030Fire, fix, or invest? The 3 performance criteria every leader needs.
Fire or invest? Learn 3 key criteria for tough performance decisions before it's too late. Avoid common mistakes and take action to protect your team.
engineering managementleadership
#029Time to fire your Scrum Master? 10 questions to expose whether your Agile still delivers value.
Discover how continuous improvement, value flow, and strategic alignment can transform your Agile practices and lead your teams to real results.
leadershipmetrics
#028Stop leading in isolation: build a community of practice for engineering managers
Bi-weekly rituals, 6 discussion areas, the tiger-team model, and the exact tools to run a CoP that genlly changes how EMs work. Real playbook, not theory.
engineering managementcommunityplaybook
#027Learn or die: 11 steps to transform your ‘learning culture’ from buzzword to reality
Without a real learning culture, your top talent will leave. This guide shows you how to build high-performing teams that thrive through continuous learning.
compensationlearning
#026CTO exit strategy: 10 proven steps to successfully complete your mission and secure your next role
My CTO exit strategy is grounded in years of experience working with some of the largest software companies in the Czech Republic and mentoring engineering
compensationhiringleadership
#02530-60-90-day guide to leading your new dev team like a pro
“In three months, I'll embrace the new dev team, complete an internal audit, and present my battle plan.” The 30-60-90 day guide, step by step.
engineering managementleadership
#024Creating the perfect compensation model for your software development team
Every CTO has faced the challenge: “What’s the best compensation model for my R&D team?” With so many options, it can feel overwhelming.
compensationlearning
#023Loving My New Porsche? A Provocative Review of Year Three on My $300k Rollercoaster Business.
Exposing my 2024 financial data: every revenue stream, what earned, what flopped, and the plan for 2025. Year three of the $300k rollercoaster.
compensationconsultingsolopreneur
#022Why isn't my manager listening to me? Mastering six levels of influence to push your ideas.
Don't just bring up problems. Tell your manager what they get in return. Six levels of influence that get your ideas heard, funded, and shipped.
#021Earn Six Figures in 6 Months: Your Guide to Landing 30+ Clients and Growing Your Business
Currently, I’m guiding two extra mentees with a different mission: They want to follow my path as a solopreneur.
engineering managementsolopreneur
#02011 Keys to Mastering Performance Reviews: The Good, The Bad, The Successful Elements of Career Frameworks
Have you ever considered performance reviews your team looks forward to? Build a system that brings value to both you and your team.
careerperformance review
#019Hiring A Software Engineering Manager? 10 Interview Questions to Help You Make the Right Bet.
How do I onboard an Engineering/Tech Manager ace ♣️ in just 3 months? Do this: 1️⃣ Decide how much of Technical/Delivery, Leadership and Process scope you…
compensationengineering managementhiring
#018Want to get promoted? The software developer’s secret weapon for advancing in your career.
Developers think about technical skills when they want a career promotion. But managers care equally about a broader set of qualities.
career
#017Engineering Manager Team Leader Training Course - Part One - Foundation
Engineering Manager Course: Confidently lead engineering teams that ship and scale using techniques and lessons acquired through real-world experience.
engineering managementleadership
#016My 2024 Solopreneur Strategy: 5 Key Objectives to Outperform as a Fractional Advisor and Coach in the Tech Industry
No strategy → no focus → no improvements → no differentiators → no happiness in what I do → back to employee mode.
compensationsolopreneur
#015Don't Do DORA Metrics First: Rethinking Team Performance Indicators
What's the purpose of having expensive highly performing teams if they don't work on things that matter the most, having 60% off-roadmap contribution?
deliverymetrics
#014How my unconventional solopreneur strategy and tips put me in an unbeatable spot
A well-crafted battle plan is your strategic compass for handling the competitive space of client engagement.
solopreneur
#013How to Succeed as a Consultant on a Client's Site: 10 Steps to Dominate.
Becoming a successful consultant is not guesswork, it's a battle plan. 10 steps to earn trust and dominate on a client's site from day one.
consulting
#012From VPE to solo mentor: 317 billed sessions in year one
The full story of leaving a €230k VPE seat to build a mentoring venture. Y1 numbers, the strategy that worked, and the mistakes I made.
solopreneurmentoringfounder story
#011Is there a better way to do 1:1s? Let's find out.
The 60-min slot, the 4-session foundation to build trust, the core agenda, and the async pattern. The full playbook I use with every new mentee running 1:1s.
one on onesengineering managementplaybook
#0109 Solid Tips To Grow Your Team’s Talent in a Year
“I have no time to grow my teammates. We have to deliver.” 9 practical moves to grow your team's talent in a year without dropping delivery.
compensationengineering managementleadership
#009VP of Engineering @ Mews - A look back on my 1st year
Life is fun! Joining a new company in April 2020 couldn’t have been easier: The Prague HQ office got closed due to the virus whose name we shall not mentio…
compensationengineering managementleadership
#008How to Make Your Teams Beat OKRs
OKRs for engineering teams that ship: how to set them, wire them to delivery, and make your teams beat them quarter after quarter.
compensationdelivery
#007Learn or Die - My Daily Learning Habit to Beat the Sleepers
At work, do you need to be a stronger weightlifter to outdo more senior guys? Not necessarily. The difference lies in learning.
learning
#006Great people are active in self-learning
Top picks of engineering management and leadership: the books, blogs, and podcasts I keep recommending to my mentees, and why each earns its slot.
engineering managementleadershiplearning
#005How to Excel in Engineering management
Stay focused and invest your time into improvements of a bigger scale. Don’t stay at the level of resolving small daily issues, which results in hundreds o…
careercompensationengineering management
#004Estimates: The Art of Guessing Badly
Oftentimes I hear stakeholders or PMs complaining that the engineering team repeatedly fails to complete their work on time.
compensation
#003Innovation Days: Helping Employee Creativity for Enhanced Company Operation
How Innovatrics runs Innovation Days: giving staff room to pitch ideas beyond the roadmap that end up shaping how the company and product work.
compensationmetrics
#002How to Build Trust with Engineering Teams
In engineering management, my vision is to create a productive software delivery environment that developers are proud to work in, with a focus on tangible…
compensationdeliveryengineering management
#001What makes a Great Software Company
The topmost indicators that define great software companies: how they ship, hire, decide, and learn. A checklist to grade your own company against.
compensationtrust