Ron Lichty joins Melinda Byerley to share stories about his time in Silicon Valley as a programmer, then a team and product manager. They talk about his instrumental role in the development of Apple's game-changing personal computer, the Macintosh. This is only one highlight of his distinguished career that also includes three patents, several books, and recognition as a thought leader in agile methodology. Even if you aren't a techie you will enjoy listening to Ron because if you use a computer he has probably touched your life.

ARTICLES AND BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Ron's book: Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams, published by Addison Wesley
• The periodic Study of Product Team Performance, an endeavor that continuously improves our understanding of why some product teams excel while others struggle.
• "Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love" by Richard Sheridan (Amazon)
• About Google's Project Aristotle: From The New York Times Magazine "What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team" Feb. 25, 2016
• PB Works, first online Wiki by David Weekly (Wikipedia)

MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY:

"Fixing a Hole" by The Beatles

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley; and the founder of Timeshare CMO, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco.

We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And check out our Spotify playlist for a playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show.