In partnership with
Find out why 100K+ engineers read The Code twice a week
Staying behind on tech trends can be a career killer.
But let’s face it, no one has hours to spare every week trying to stay updated.
That’s why over 100,000 engineers at companies like Google, Meta, and Apple read The Code twice a week.
Here’s why it works:
No fluff, just signal – Learn the most important tech news delivered in just two short emails.
Supercharge your skills – Get access to top research papers and resources that give you an edge in the industry.
See the future first – Discover what’s next before it hits the mainstream, so you can lead, not follow.
Hey there,
What happens when risk stops living in a spreadsheet and starts sitting at the strategy table? This piece shows how clear frameworks turn scattered risk lists into focused conversations about impact, velocity, and where you actually place bets.
Take a moment to see how building a steady rhythm around risk reviews can protect the growth you are working so hard to create.
In this issue:
Playbook of the Day
How to Run a 20-Minute Weekly Customer Reality Check
Goal: Keep leadership anchored in real customer signals, not opinions.
Who: COO/Head of Ops, Head of CS/Support, and one leader from Sales and Product. Same time every week.
Before the meeting (5 mins):
CS/Support pulls 3–5 fresh tickets or call snippets that show recurring themes.
Sales adds three recent “why we won” or “why we lost” notes in a shared doc.
During the 20 minutes:
Signals (5 mins): CS/Support walks through the top patterns from tickets and calls. No problem-solving.
Stories (5 mins): Sales and CS each share one short story from a real customer week.
Fixes and Experiments (7 mins): As a group, pick one or two small changes to test this week and assign the owner plus due date.
Broadcast (3 mins): Decide what to share with the wider team and where to post it.
Rules: Real examples only, no long debates, every experiment has one clear owner, and a check-in next week.
Latest News
🧭 Strategic Risk Frameworks That Keep Growth On Track
Read the full article here »
Published: 12/08/25
Strategic risk is moving from a compliance box to a core growth driver. This piece shows how clear frameworks turn scattered risk lists into focused decisions and resilient momentum. Leaders get a roadmap that links threats, opportunities, and long-term business value.
Upside: You can use these frameworks to move past fire drills and build rhythm into risk reviews. For example, you might map top strategic risks by impact and velocity, then assign owners. That structure keeps teams aligned, speeds tough calls, and protects growth investments from nasty surprises.
Impact: The real win is shifting from fear of risk to using it as a competitive edge. Companies that treat risk strategically spot pattern breaks earlier and adapt faster when markets lurch. Over time, that discipline compounds into stronger resilience, steadier earnings, and more confident stakeholders.
When Work Stops Working, Fulfillment Becomes the Real KPI 💼
Read the full article here »
Published: 12/09/25
Only 20% of knowledge workers now have a healthy relationship with work, and leaders feel it most. HP’s latest Work Relationship Index shows fulfillment at a historic low as expectations climb and support systems lag. The message is blunt: productivity gains that ignore human well-being are starting to break the people who deliver them.
Upside: You can treat this data as a checklist for your own team. Start by asking managers to identify where work feels like a pressure cooker, then remove one stress driver, such as unclear priorities or always-on communication. Add one enabler at the same time, like better tools to cut repetitive tasks, so people spend more time on meaningful work.
Impact: Companies that treat fulfillment as a core metric, not a soft perk, will keep talent and adapt faster. High EQ leadership, real listening, and innovative use of technology create employees who feel trusted, connected, and willing to go the extra mile. In tight economies like South Africa and Nigeria, that shift is the difference between burned-out staff and resilient teams that can sustain performance.
Supervisors Get a Mandatory Performance Tune-Up 📚
Read the full article here »
Published: 12/05/25
OPM has rolled out a new mandatory “Performance Management for Supervisors” training for current and newly appointed federal supervisors. Agencies must announce the on-demand module and ensure supervisors complete it by February 9, with new supervisors finishing within a year of appointment. The course zeroes in on setting clear expectations, giving quality feedback, documenting fairly, recognizing excellence, and taking timely action when performance falls short.
Upside: If you manage people, this gives you a structured playbook instead of scattered guidance and folklore. You can fold the module into existing performance plans, then use it to reset expectations in your next one-on-ones. HR leaders can plug the content into learning systems, track completion, and finally align awards, ratings, and discipline with a common standard.
Impact: This training is part of a broader push to raise the floor on supervisory skills across government, not a one-off compliance box. It supports new leadership programs for SES and GS-14/15 staff and mirrors a House proposal to require ongoing supervisory training every three years. If agencies take it seriously, supervisors should be better equipped to build engaged, accountable teams and reduce avoidable performance problems before they reach the grievance stage.
Prompt of the Day
The COO Daily Alignment Prompt
Trigger Event | Action | Use Case Example |
|---|---|---|
Start of the day. | Today’s calendar + top 3 company/quarter goals. | A reshuffled day that matches time to true priorities. |
Before leadership meetings. | Agenda + who’s attending. | 2–3 alignment questions to keep leaders focused on outcomes. |
When new “urgent” work hits. | Short description of the request and your current priorities. | Clear guidance: take it, delegate it, or park it. |
Midday reset. | What you’ve done so far vs. what still matters. | A trimmed list of must-dos for the rest of the day. |
End-of-day review. | Wins, misses, and unexpected issues from the day. | A trimmed list of must-dos for the rest of the day. |
Prompt
“Act as my daily alignment coach. Based on this quick rundown of our goals, today’s meetings, and any fires on my plate, (1) show me where my time is misaligned with our top 3 company priorities, (2) suggest how to re-block my day, and (3) give me 2 simple check-in questions to keep my team focused.”
Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
One last Thing
When you treat strategic risk as a growth tool, you stop reacting to crises and start spotting pattern breaks early enough to adjust. Mapping threats and opportunities with owners, timeframes, and tradeoffs gives teams a shared view of what really matters and what can wait.
Over time, that discipline becomes a quiet edge, keeping your plans on track while less prepared competitors get knocked sideways.
Until next edition,
Chloe Rivers
Editor-in-Chief
COO Intelligence
P.S. Interested in sponsoring a future issue? Just reply to this email and I’ll send packages!