Sam Newman's talk on breaking down monolithic applications is required viewing for any backend developer. His practical approach cuts through the hype and focuses on the real challenges.

• Start with the business domain, not the technology
• Microservices solve organizational problems, not just technical ones
• The distributed monolith is worse than a regular monolith
• Conway's Law is real and unavoidable

Before you decide to "go microservices." Newman doesn't just advocate for the pattern—he honestly discusses when NOT to use it. Refreshing in a world of silver-bullet solutions.

This talk saved me from making costly architectural mistakes on several projects.