Steroids for developers, don’t tell A-Rod

A-Rod, Bonds, and others may have juiced to gain an edge.  I’m not here to judge, I just wanted to share some tips to help developers get an edge:

1. Learn to code, not just hack.  Being a great engineer means knowing the difference, understanding the trade-offs and making sure you’re considering the ramifications of all of your decisions.
2. Understand that their are times to hack.  I know this sounds like I’m going back on my first point but I am not.  There are times to hack and times to “do it right”.  If you’re at the end of a date-driven release and the code is not central to the product, you may be okay to hack away.  If the code is throw-away, feel free to hack.
3. Get organized.  I know a lot of developers who are skilled at their craft.  Too many of them forget meetings, miss non-project deadlines, etc…  Find a system that works for you, something like GTD or Franklin Covey.  Adjust it to work for you and stay organized.  It’s not exciting but it makes you much more productive.
4. Read everything you can.  Our industry moves way too fast and it is hard to keep up.  I am always reading books, RSS feeds, Tweets, etc..  Stay on top of your craft or find another line of work.
5. Learn the business.  Learn about marketing and sales, understand the painpoints of your support team, make life easier for your QA team.  You have to excel at your role and do these things if you want to be the top dog.
6. Don’t be afraid to take risks.  Sign up for a project where you’re in over your head.  If you succeed you will have learned a lot and you will grow.  If you fail, you’ll still learn alot.  Don’t fail.

Do not tell Congress where you got this information.

-John

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