This is a summary of the book: “An Elegant puzzle” written by Will Larson.
The author has a blog that is also a good read. This book is about the discipline of engineering management presented with an engineering driven approach to solving some of the management problems. The emphasis on engineering here is not about formula or theory as much as it is a bias for action, implementation and re-assessment. This approach includes analysis and metrics not necessarily in that order all the time. It proposes fairness in every step of improvement to foster an inclusive environment.
The author presents two common threads that run through every chapter of the book. First, a framework is used to capture the insights presented. This framework can be customized, instrumented, quantitatively evaluated and iterated for continuous improvement in a variety of contexts. Second, the book provides readers with minimal process improvements that do not interfere with their day to day activities. Tools and techniques proposed in this book serve this purpose.
There are seven chapters including Organizations, Tools, Approaches, Culture and Careers.  The chapters are intended for a broad audience.
Organization deals with walking the tightrope between managing risks and sustaining productivity given the winds of change.
Tools is a chapter dedicated to applying systems thinking – a veritable theory that has other books written on this topic. It involves a model-based approach to describing and solving engineering management problems. It benefits the practitioner with incremental progress towards chosen goal.
The Approaches chapter is dedicated to implementing the frameworks described in the Tools chapter. It brings up the differences between the management versus engineering thinking by suggesting that management is in fact a moral profession because it is an opportunity and obligation to the empowerment of those we work with and who work for us. It goes on to suggest that the practice of management has a lasting effect on people.
The chapter on Culture poses it as a double-edged sword where it can vary between mild to extreme indulgence. Some aspects of engineering culture are painstakingly cultivated and preserved such as innovation and accountability. The absence of culture has been brought up as the absence of scaffolding that can result in pitfalls.
The continuous education of workforce is recommended and the representation of diversity in the discipline is sought to be improved with nuanced and results-oriented processes.
The book is careful not to sell any of the proposals as silver bullets and encourages the readers to track the progress of an application over time.
The final chapter on career is about establishing a ladder with continuous replenishment at the base and the opportunity to foster growth by way of change that can be influenced.
As I write this summary, I have to throw in the disclosure that I have never been a manager and have no idea what it brings with formal designation as opposed to practicing without it. The book is guiding and readers can hope to benefit immediately from a results-oriented action plan.