On Hard Skills

Until you become a true Senior Engineer, you need to focus on your “Getting Things Done” skills. Afterwards, it is important to gradually switch your focus to “Getting the Right Things Done”.

Getting Things Done is all about learning and using new programming languages, frameworks, tools, etc. Your skills help get stuff done on time and in good quality.

Getting the Right Things Done is all about learning and applying the fundamentals of Systems Thinking, Risk Assessment, Game Theory, Behavioral Psychology, etc., and also about the fundamentals of the new approaches to solving technical problems (e.g. Machine Learning, Smart Contracts, Domain-Driven Design). It is NOT about learning Kubernetes or Golang. These fundamental concepts lie at the heart of the relatively novel approaches, such as Lean, Agile, DevOps, microservices, decentralized apps, etc. Your “macro thinking” skills help architect the software and the teams properly to help innovate and quickly achieve the Strategic goals of the business. You read it right, it’s also about building teams the right way, not just software. Building great software is more about people than about tools used.

Most senior engineers don’t go beyond “Getting Things Done”, which is mostly about micro thinking. The latter requires macro thinking. You achieve it if you are able to think macro, to learn and apply effective mental models when solving various problems. It makes you stand out, it makes you accomplish great things fast. It is what will help you grow into someone who doesn’t just copy what others do but into someone who constantly comes up with world-class innovative solutions to problems.