Written for senior engineers, engineering leaders, architects, and curious collaborators, this book walks through a repeatable process for building effective, actionable strategies. With lessons drawn from real-world case studies at companies like Stripe, Uber, and Calm, Larson provides a framework for shaping critical decisions around system migrations, API deprecations, platform investments, and more. Along the way, you'll learn to bridge technical planning with communication, governance, and systems thinking. Whether you're shaping your team's direction or leading a company-wide initiative, this guide will help you make thoughtful decisions that stick.

• Build durable engineering strategies from first principles
• Apply methods like Wardley mapping and systems modeling
• Lead strategy as a staff+ engineer or executive
• Learn from detailed case studies across industry
• Improve your strategic fluency and influence over time

Will Larson is the Chief Technology Officer at Carta, and has held senior engineering leadership roles at Stripe and Uber. He's the author of An Elegant Puzzle, Staff Engineer, The Engineering Executive's Primer, and is a prolific writer on his blog, Irrational Exuberance.