The Tie That Binds

Read these two articles yesterday. On the surface they’re about different topics, but there’s a common thread: both call out an aspect of technical work that is often ignored, especially by the less-experienced.

The first tale, Our Company Fired the Best Developer and Project Manager, reminds us that “Getting your tasks done is half of the job. The other half is how you do it.” I’d go even further and say getting your tasks done is only a quarter of your job. The rest is how you do them, when you do them by, and most importantly, ensuring you understand why those are your tasks in the first place, and if perhaps you should be doing other tasks instead. Don’t climb the ladder only to find you leaned it against the wrong wall.

Coding Won’t Exist In 5 Years is yet another ChatGPT article, whose crux is the following: “Programming is the process of solving problems using a computer. Writing code is just one aspect of this process. It’s a necessary part, but it’s not the whole picture.” Yes, learn to write code well, but be aware you’re more valuable as an editor than as a drafter, and that’s only going to get more true as AI gets better.