Home / Topics / Business, Startups & Economics
Management, leadership & organizations: videos Hacker News recommends
Management: leadership, team building, company culture, flat organizations, hiring, remote work, meetings, organizational design, negotiation, decision making in companies. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (36 talks, 11 interviews, 6 commentarys), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- HN treats it as the standard short summary of how power and political incentives work, applied to governments, companies and workplaces.
- HN people cite it constantly as the clearest explanation of normalization of deviance and how complex systems drift toward failure.
- Stanford Graduate School of Business talk recommended in 10 different months by 9 HN users, 2010–2017Repeatedly called one of the most useful talks on building organizations and managing creative teams.
- HN uses it in discussions of pay, management, and motivation as the standard short explanation of autonomy, mastery and purpose.
- HN treats it as the definitive explanation of Conway's Law and links it in almost any thread about org structure shaping software.
- HN recommends it constantly in work-from-home, burnout and procrastination threads as practical advice for separating work from life at home.
- HN treats it as a classic, must-watch talk for any discussion of company values, and especially for its takedown of Amazon's leadership principles.
- Commenters point to it whenever Artemis, SLS or Starship refueling comes up, as a candid and critical engineering assessment delivered directly to NASA.
- HN cites it as evidence of Musk's hands-on engineering depth and for his advice to question requirements and not optimize things that should not exist.
- Recommended as a quick way to get the core of 'Start with Why' for pitches and communication, though some note small companies are not Apple.
- HN regulars recommend it as a career-shaping talk on code review, humility and collaborative development.
- David Crossman interview recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2017–2018HN commenters recommend it for its take on managing young employees and on how technology and approval-seeking affect behavior.
- HN commenters cite it to explain why customers buy into a company's beliefs rather than its specs, especially in threads about Apple, marketing and product messaging.
- Strongly recommended as a gripping case study whose lessons carry over to engineering management and safety.
- Stuart Walker talk recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2018–2022HN commenters cite it whenever a thread involves ignored warnings, shortcuts or routine risk, as the clearest introduction to the concept.
- Strongly recommended as a gripping hour on K2 and on leadership and summit fever in extreme conditions.
- bert hubert talk recommended in 3 different months by 2 HN users, 2022–2024HN points to it as a sharper explanation of why outsourcing and specialization erode deep expertise, in threads on Intel, Boeing and software decline.
- Etsy Eng (Etsy Engineering) talk recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2016–2025Linked often in hiring-process threads for the anecdote about Google's committee refusing to hire itself, as evidence interviews are noisy.
- HN commenters point to it in discussions of shorter workweeks and productivity, arguing that rest and energy matter more than hours.
- UC Berkeley Events lecture recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2018–2024Used in hiring and management debates as an analysis of fast evaluation, quick dismissal without stigma, and the cost of keeping underperformers.
- HN recommends it whenever 'why don't you just...' comes up as an example of arrogant, dismissive advice.
- Steven Brant talk recommended in 3 different months by 2 HN users, 2020–2025HN favors it as a compact, quotable management and systems-thinking talk, often cited for doing the right thing versus doing the wrong thing right.
- 99U talk recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2014–2017HN commenters point to it as a quick way to get the key concepts of the book and as an introduction to leadership thinking.
- Arrested DevOps podcast episode recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2017–2023HN recommends Cantrill's integrity rant when discussing corporate ethics and companies that act on principles.
- The BigTime Group video recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2019–2022HN points to it as a model for firing or laying off people clearly and respectfully.
- Max Joseph commentary recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2018–2020HN recommends it as a thoughtful critique of the great-leader-as-jerk myth in threads on difficult bosses.
- Recommended to understand what the 37signals founders stand for and DHH's contrarian takes on tech business.
- Bo Manton interview recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2021–2026Quoted whenever HN discusses process-heavy management and companies losing their product focus.
- HN cites it whenever money as an incentive comes up, as evidence that rewards can backfire for creative white-collar work.
- Entrepreneurship.org talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2017–2022HN recommends it as the classic counterpoint to Silicon Valley growth-at-all-costs startup thinking.
- Allen Holub talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2019–2025Recommended in estimation and sprint debates as a well-reasoned account of where waste is and isn't in agile.
- blogphilofilms talk recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2015–2025Pointed to as an in-depth view of how Valve is run and how Newell thinks about workers, management and customers.
- Derek Sivers explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2016–2026A go-to short explanation of how movements start and why early followers matter.
- 52 Living Ideas lecture recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2021–2025HN readers recommend it as the way to learn what Boyd actually meant by OODA, straight from a collaborator, rather than from the popularized loop diagram.
- Often brought up as an honest account of microservice sprawl, including the fact that nobody at Uber knew exactly how many services existed.
- HN recommends it as a well-done history of Skunk Works, popping up in SR-71 threads.
- Recommended as well-researched, interview-based coverage of the Valve model and its failures, often linked in threads about Valve and flat organizations.
- HN cites it as a firsthand account of how dysfunctional large IT projects can be, with about 50 contractors and no one in charge.
- modplanman lecture recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2014–2017HN recommends it as an amazing, clear explanation of why incumbents move upmarket and lose to low-end challengers.
- Designer's Digest interview recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2020–2026Cited constantly on HN whenever a large company declines, as the canonical explanation of product people being pushed out by sales and marketing.
- Reinventing Organizations talk recommended in 2 different months by 3 HN users, 2014–2020Recommended as the best introduction to self-management and new management paradigms.
- Evan Carmichael commentary recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2017–2025Cited in threads on management, hiring and company culture for Jobs's views on self-managing people and small, self-policing core teams.
- HN commenters share it as an inspiring reflection on what to optimize in life beyond career, especially in threads on burnout and meaning.
- Tom Raftery talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2014–2023Cited as the go-to evidence that rudeness drives contributors away and that toxic people must be removed from projects.
- David Mitchell's Soapbox comedy video recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2014–2017HN people share it as a funny and apt take whenever job postings or recruiters demand passion.
- Recommended as a clear description of how Kanban works and a practical alternative to sprints.
- MindSpring explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2017–2019HN commenters cite it as a compact illustration of empowered, decentralized leadership, for founders and for managers who try to control everything.
- HN commenters point to it as a general overview of the cognitive science of insight and focus that is useful for developers and knowledge workers.
- GV (Google Ventures) talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2015–2018HN recommends it as an interesting look at the psychology research behind bias in hiring and performance reviews.
- The LBJ School talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2013–2017HN cites it for how Valve works: hiring unconventional talent, paying by value, firing as aggressively as hiring, and why open offices fail.
- Kumar Saurav commentary recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2024HN cites it as the standard explanation of how finance and sales take over a company, applied to Boeing and other declining firms.
- Benjamin Staffin comedy video recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2021–2026Used as a shorthand joke for Google-scale bureaucracy and the difficulty of simple tasks at large companies.
- vsrr83 interview recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2016–2025HN cites it for Feynman's insights on NASA risk reasoning, blame and engineering culture, and the contrast between Apollo and the Shuttle.
- AllAboutLean.com documentary recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2018–2022HN finds it fascinating and suggests the technique for keeping operators like test drivers attentive.
- Cited as a source for Boeing's post-merger cultural decline and the undermining of its engineers.
- HN uses it as a firsthand account from an astronaut who worked with Musk, cited in arguments about Musk's engineering ability and SpaceX culture.
- Think Multiply interview recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2020–2026HN cites it whenever a company stagnates, from Intel to Boeing, to explain what happens when salespeople or finance run the business.
- HN refers to it in career and promotion discussions, including its warning about doing glue work too early in your career.
- HN points to it to explain that Stack Overflow's strict moderation was deliberate design, not accident.
- Steve Jobs interview recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2020–2026Reached for constantly as the explanation for why dominant companies like Intel, Boeing and Blizzard stop innovating.
- Recommended as a short leadership talk that commenters have shown to many people.
- AWS Events talk recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2021–2024HN cites it as the primary source for Amazon's Working Backwards method whenever product-definition approaches come up.
- HN draws on it for practical decision-making and problem-framing techniques that apply well beyond Clojure.
- The Deming Institute demo recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2016–2025HN cites it as a classic illustration of dysfunctional management, gamed targets, and blaming workers for systemic outcomes.
- Greylock interview recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2016–2024Cited as a first-hand source for how Google's leadership thought about hiring, organization and the Alphabet restructuring.
- Linked in threads about YC culture and big tech burnout, as YC partners themselves acknowledging the trend.
- Speakers Spotlight talk recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2016–2022Recommended as a short, illustrated take on empowering teams instead of giving orders.
- Sabbir Ahmed talk cited on HN 3 times, 2021–2023HN mostly cites it in anti-Agile and anti-Scrum threads as a sharp critique, with one commenter noting the tenth man idea.
- Tyler McVicker commentary cited on HN 4 times, 2022–2025HN commenters cite it as a summary of former employees' experience that the flat structure produces informal hierarchy, cliques and stack ranking.
- Linked in threads on pay and compensation as a quick explanation of why talking about salary helps employees.
- Lauris Beinerts comedy video cited on HN 20 times, 2014–2025Shared constantly as a painfully accurate depiction of absurd requirements, clueless management and estimation pressure.
- Investor Talk interview cited on HN 5 times, 2022–2025Used as an anecdote in layoff and cost-cutting debates: the company supposedly never noticed what the fired staff had done.
- psfonseka video cited on HN 4 times, 2019–2025Used as an analogy whenever commenters criticize unqualified people placed in charge of expert fields.
- Adam Staab video cited on HN 3 times, 2016–2023Invoked as shorthand for hiring and investing by gut feel and appearances instead of what actually predicts results.
- Saïd Business School, University of Oxford lecture cited on HN 3 times, 2019–2023HN uses it as a reference for disruption theory when explaining why incumbents like VW or BlackBerry decline.
- Robert Kienzle comedy video cited on HN 3 times, 2022–2023Linked as a joke or reference whenever Robert's Rules or formal meeting procedure comes up.
Questions
What is the most recommended management, leadership & organizations video on Hacker News?
Try to Rule Fairly and You'll Be Overthrown by CGP Grey: HN treats it as the standard short summary of how power and political incentives work, applied to governments, companies and workplaces.
How is this management, leadership & organizations list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.