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My Comments on “Hitting the High Notes” (2005)
- redis_mlc 6y agoIt's a bad article. Eric pushes the choir metaphor too far. And companies don't interview for "choir members."
- lmilcin 6y agoTLDR: excellent developers produce something else, not more of the same thing other developers do.
- amelius 6y agoBut perhaps it would help to hire some software architects as well?
- lmilcin 6y agoExactly. When developers get experience they start to cover other areas that less experienced developers can't. This means things like team management, project management, architecture, etc. It is interesting that the more experience the less time I spend actually writing code.
- jkaptur 6y agoNo... I’d reread.
- musicale 6y agoI like this metaphor as well. A team (or choir) full of solid if not exceptional performers can do great things if directed well. In music at least you can usually hire additional soloists as needed and let the choral ensemble handle the ensemble parts.
- ridaj 6y agoI recently heard a fighter pilot describe two essential skills within high performance air force teams: leadership and followership. Leadership is of course needed for innovation, and we hear a lot about it. Followership, we don't hear a lot about, but is actually a critical skill as well. In some ways, it can be harder than leading, because you have to pay very close attention to what the leader does and support them without getting in their way, and they might not be able to spell everything out for you. In software, perhaps B talent can thrive in an A team, and even be essential to them, because they bring firepower that the A players can aim efficiently. I would venture that it requires developing that followership attitude, of paying attention to the environment, identifying gaps, and covering them for the team.
- redis_mlc 6y agoGen. Chuck Yeager had 20/10 vision, was a mechanic, and was lucky enough to survive being a test pilot in the X-plane program (about half didn't make it.) Those are qualities beyond "leadership and followership."
- gumby 6y agoThis is an important factor in Scouting too: you cannot be a good leader if you have not first learned now to follow.