Tech Lead / Founder Playlist

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Tech Lead / Founder Playlist

Suggested music for whatever today brings.

Last night one of my family members mentioned “it’s the final countdown” - one of my new favourite hobbies in this digital world is being able to beam a song to almost any sound system. I also love puns. Playing songs as a subtle audio pun sparks joy for me.

So, on went “It’s the final countdown” by Europe. The reason this song is top of mind for me is that I have used it as therapy / humour / irony / “no it’s the actual final countdown” in various different business units over the years. A flood of other situational songs came to mind - I thought I would share them incase any of the following is helpful to you.

Sometimes the task of building a company and/or technical product needs a good soundtrack. If you’ve ever been a tech lead and/or founder of a company - this playlist is for you.

By all means, if you have suggestions, please add them in the comments.
Disclaimer: Many of these songs are not safe for work.

The Final Countdown

Suggested uses:

  • You need to make a big sale to hit your numbers this week/month/quarter/year

  • You’re out of ideas and need a “Hail Mary” pass to pivot the company

  • You’re literally counting down the days of cashflow that you have available

  • Your boss says something to the effect of “we need to review your numbers from last quarter”

  • Ditto if it’s an investor/board member

Eye of the Tiger

Suggested uses:

  • You’re getting ready for a big pitch

  • “I’ll see you in court”

  • “Let’s gather every department head and see if we can hammer out a consensus”

S.O.B.

  • Suggested uses:

  • “Your company made a great pitch, but you were the runner up”

  • “We forgot to accrue some expenses and defer some revenue, so the year end statements might look a LITTLE different than what you were expecting to see.”

  • Senior leadership wants to put out a Friday release

  • “Technical debt isn’t a real thing”

Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)

Suggested uses:

  • “Can we make the logo bigger?”

  • “We need more pop in the design….”

  • “I know what the data says but I like the old design better.”

  • Getting ready for your meeting to discuss Friday releases

Lose Yourself

Suggested uses:

  • Making the big pitch (bonus marks if you eat spaghetti before)

  • You’re the developer and your boss makes you present

  • You get caught in an unexpected rap battle

I’ve no more f***ks to give

Suggested uses:

  • You make the logo bigger

  • You make the pop

  • You agree to a Friday release

  • You want to listen to a NSFW song at work.

  • Plan A doesn’t work.

    • Plan B doesn’t work.

      • Plan C doesn’t work.

        • Plan D doesn’t work.

          • Plan E doesn’t work.

            • … maybe we should try Plan A again

All I do is Win

Suggested uses:

  • All you do is win

  • You lost but have a heightened appreciation of irony

  • You managed to NOT release on Friday

  • Your first draft of code compiled with no errors

  • QA department reviews your ticket and doesn’t have any feedback

  • You work with Jon Clemens and want to drive him crazy.

PS - In my opinion, the Emma Stone version of this song on Jimmy Fallon’s show is one of the best videos on YouTube.

What did I miss?

David BillsonComment