I'm a strong believer that software development is a social profession and not a technical one. And I say that as someone who has read the books on...
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Not only that ideas wouldn't spread. Without the social aspect of a development process, ideas wouldn't be born that much at all. As Isaiah Berlin put it, "ideas are not born in the void. Ideas are to a large extent the products of the social process".
That is very true!
I don't think salary is the only way to motivate a person. Many people (myself included) value things like culture, people, perks, etc higher than salary. I would much rather work at a company with a great culture and a fair salary than a company with horrible culture but fantastic pay.
There is no blanket solution on how to motivate people, but it comes down to getting to know the person and finding out what they personally value. Again, we need to talk about how we feel.
No, she isn't talking about hiring and I think your definition of a leader is a bit narrow. Anyone can know how to manage priorities and resources, that doesn't make somebody a leader. A project manager or "boss", maybe. Leadership has nothing to do with titles, rank or authority. Everyone can be a leader.
I agree that culture means nothing in the context of "We have great culture! Woho!", but if you dig a little deeper you usually find out what that culture consists of. Is it ping pong tables, beer at the office and amazing parties? Not for me.
For me culture is things like a genuine engagement in your colleagues, being able to be your true self and an atmosphere that encourages having the courage to stand up for what you believe in.
I love how you hit the nail in the head with this one.
When I was studying for my CS Associate's Degree, one of the things our teachers insisted on was to always talk a lot with our potential customers to deeply understand what they needed. What was the real problem. What were their worries. One teacher even told us that sometimes, we couldn't fix their problems with our tech... Sometimes, the problem wasn't that simple and our tech wouldn't help.
I didn't understand it a while later when I had my first real gig on the open.
Indeed, at first I chose the CS path to stay away from people (I'm a little bit shy), but I found something honestly better and more rewarding: helping people and making meaningful connections doing so.
I mean... It's pretty much the most straightforward way we can find real solutions.
Thank you! And thanks for sharing that!
Great article - you've managed to articulate so many of the feelings I have about where we might be going wrong in the industry. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Ellen! 🥰
YES to everything in this article. Also superbly written. I felt inspired and am looking forward to bringing loads of joy and love to my team on Monday. 😀
Thank you so much Jaime! That's all that I could have hoped for! 🥰
I have to disagree that Software Development is relatively young. I've been a professional software developer for over 30 years and my father was one before me.
Read some of the older materials. Concepts in software development processes haven't changed since the 60s. Look for the Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming. As true today as when they were created in the 70s.
Stop thinking that today's software development problems are new. They aren't. Look for older materials like the UNIX Philosophy and realize that the newest technology is hiding people problems that have always existed in business for all professions.
Yes, software development have been around since the 60s, but I'd still argue that it's a relatively young industry. Compare it with architecture, gardening, construction or any other industry that builds on knowledge from 1000s of years.
But just like you say, older material might be just as relevant today as it was back then. If anything that should encourage everyone to think more about these issues if we still haven't "solved" them.
Do you have any recommendations to developers struggling with mental conditions that can make it more difficult to socialize? i.e. social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder?
I have been attempting to advocate for developers with such challenges.
I think this very much depends on what you set as your criteria for success. If it's to make some software that's used by a lot of people, then sure, but that's often not the case for us as individuals.
We who only manage the development of software play an essential but unheralded role.
So Oprah would make an 10x developer, is that what are you saying?
EDIT: What is Peoples Advocate? please delete that, you are grown up man.
Hey Anton, I really liked your article, it's spot on with what I believe. I'd love to talk more about the subject, DM me so we can exchange more info. Thanks!
Yeah, stuff like ping-pong tables, TVs and parties might sound nice but without an underlying core that's based on more people focused values, it won't create a culture worth savoring.
Never thought about this way, I really like your point of view 👍
Thank you!
Click bait
Salaries are just an approximate measure. Ultimately if ppl don t like what they r doing, salary won t be enough.
Culture/Community at the office scores a bit higher but genuine passion beats all.