My biggest fear of AI is that we will lose the ability to learn how to do our work. We will go ask someone what’s next, what do I do here, and remove the “why” from the equation. When I used to look at Junior Developers, I would measure their value by their questions – if they would ask for the first step, and then not come back until stuck on Step 8, there was…
I recently explained this to someone… We’re all standing around looking at a hole and a pile of dirt, trying to figure out the best way to fill it up, what materials to use, what techniques to apply, what books to read, etc, etc. When all we need to do is start putting dirt in the hole. Sometimes, you just need to start.
The weird thing about getting to the bottom of your work pile is figuring out what to do next. It’s great to get there, but there is always a moment when you pick up the last item and go – “huh, this is it, now what?” And that’s where most of us get stuck, because you’ve been focused on this pile for so long, tunnel visioned to what you are doing, that it’s impossible to…
We tell our kids to do their best all the time. So when did we stop doing ours? Do your best, and if your best isn’t up to par, look at what someone else’s best is and use that as your yardstick. We have enough slop floating around, and more growing by the minute. Doing your best isn’t a destination; it’s an ongoing journey.
Many years ago, we had a sign for who broke the last build. It was the earliest days of accountability, code reviews, and unit tests. Did you break it? Fix it. Did you break it? Your code must be running well. It was the earliest form of accountability in software development. As we progressed into the hype of the startup world, it also became a badge of honour that you were pushing the envelope, trying…