3 ms·

I'll see your rant and raise you one. I posit that there are two kinds of people: Those who are good at what they do, and those who are not. Granted, it's far

I'll see your rant and raise you one. I posit that there are two kinds of people: Those who are good at what they do, and those who are not. Granted, it's far easier to find people who are good at some tasks than others, but the list of "difficult to find" skillsets isn't as focused in the tech industry as you might believe. Case in point. My father has run his own lawn & landscape company for the last 15 years or so. In that time, he's discovered that it's actually really difficult to find people who are good at that job. That job being running a lawn mower, weed-whacker, and hedge trimmer. I'm a determined individual. I consider myself up to any challenge, but on my best day, one of his crewmen is worth two and a half of me in the field. After the Florida hurricanes in 2005, I worked with my father's business for about a week in an effort to help them catch up. Two Guatemalan men on the crew called me "el burro", because while I wasn't much good at anything else, I'd pick up and drag tarp after tarp full of debris back to the trailer without question. They were half making-fun, and half serious. I ended up gaining their respect, but I'd have received my pink slip after three days if I were a hired hand. I've taken the long way around to get to my point. From the businessman's perspective, most programmers we deal with suck pretty hard too. Care to know how many developers I've wasted time on, only to find out that they didn't know what they were doing, or were incapable of meeting me half-way in understanding a project? Some will be quick to point the finger at me for having a loose spec, or allowing scope creep, or failing to understand the technical challenges. I'll be quick to point to the fact that I have a great network of talented, motivated programmers who jump at the chance to work with me. I'm not asking you to talk to bullshit entrepreneurs who can't walk the walk, but I am asking you to set aside that chip on your shoulder until you take the time to know the difference.

jhermsmeyer 15y ago
You make some solid points. My net-net or tl;dr of it all is this: For anyone you work with to respect you, you must show that you at least have tried to do they work you hired them to do, and done it competently. The longer version: As a CEO of a software company it means you've at least developed in a couple languages (even if its only php, ruby and some Obj. C) and actually built something. As CEO you need to also be good at (or at least had some success at) sales to be able to attract talented and well connected sales execs. If you can do both things at an above average level, you are irreplaceable. Again, both dev and sales positions are crucial. It's very hard to find someone even marginally good at both. Great salespeople and devs should be paid and treated like the rockstars that they are. That's the easy part. The hard part is actually being the guy who can bridge both worlds. You're not worth the paper your business card is printed on if you can't attract talent, raise capital, sling a little code, sell, and ultimately be the product manager for your company/product on any given day. It's a hard effin' job, and if done well will earn you the rockstar hires that will make your company zoom.
- tomjen3 15y ago
  I am not sure I buy that. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that it would be enough for that person to respect me and the work I do. In fact I would prefer somebody who didn't know that much about computers, since he is properly happy enough letting me do my job with little to no useless interference.
  - bartonfink 15y ago
    The problem is how that somebody finds you instead of one of the hundreds of other developers in the pile who can't develop.
  - jhermsmeyer 15y ago
    Interference can be a problem, to be sure. But you can't create a successful business without feedback of all kinds, including technical. It's just that it has to be done thoughtfully, with respect for your talent and opinions. You could be right, and it may well be that someone with zero technical knowledge can lead a team to success by being completely hands off. I just have to believe that success is more probable when the boss can sit down and brainstorm solutions to problems with the dev team when needed. And perhaps more importantly, I know I appreciate it when my previous bosses understood when they were asking for something hairy, and appreciated the level of effort and skill that went into crafting a solution.

jhermsmeyer 15y ago

You make some solid points. My net-net or tl;dr of it all is this: For anyone you work with to respect you, you must show that you at least have tried to do they work you hired them to do, and done it competently. The longer version: As a CEO of a software company it means you've at least developed in a couple languages (even if its only php, ruby and some Obj. C) and actually built something. As CEO you need to also be good at (or at least had some success at) sales to be able to attract talented and well connected sales execs. If you can do both things at an above average level, you are irreplaceable. Again, both dev and sales positions are crucial. It's very hard to find someone even marginally good at both. Great salespeople and devs should be paid and treated like the rockstars that they are. That's the easy part. The hard part is actually being the guy who can bridge both worlds. You're not worth the paper your business card is printed on if you can't attract talent, raise capital, sling a little code, sell, and ultimately be the product manager for your company/product on any given day. It's a hard effin' job, and if done well will earn you the rockstar hires that will make your company zoom.

tomjen3 15y ago
I am not sure I buy that. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that it would be enough for that person to respect me and the work I do. In fact I would prefer somebody who didn't know that much about computers, since he is properly happy enough letting me do my job with little to no useless interference.
- bartonfink 15y ago
  The problem is how that somebody finds you instead of one of the hundreds of other developers in the pile who can't develop.
- jhermsmeyer 15y ago
  Interference can be a problem, to be sure. But you can't create a successful business without feedback of all kinds, including technical. It's just that it has to be done thoughtfully, with respect for your talent and opinions. You could be right, and it may well be that someone with zero technical knowledge can lead a team to success by being completely hands off. I just have to believe that success is more probable when the boss can sit down and brainstorm solutions to problems with the dev team when needed. And perhaps more importantly, I know I appreciate it when my previous bosses understood when they were asking for something hairy, and appreciated the level of effort and skill that went into crafting a solution.