"The cost of never asking why"
There was a senior developer who’d worked on the same system for years. They were seen as a star, fast, reliable, always getting things done. Then a fresh pair of eyes looked at the system and started asking questions. Why was it so complicated? Why did the users work around parts of the UI instead of through it? It turned out the users had developed their own map of how to get the job done, clicking through certain screens in a specific order, ignoring large chunks of the system. When the full analysis was done, the whole thing could be reduced to a tenth of its size and complexity. The senior engineer had never paused to question what was being asked of them. They just kept banging that square peg into a round hole. Productive, yes. But productive at building the wrong thing. True seniority isn’t just speed. It’s having the courage to stop, to question, and sometimes to slow down so that everyone moves in the right direction. Are you creating a culture of curiosity encouraging your developers to look deeper than surface-level productivity? ✉️ Enjoying The Messy Middle? If someone sent this email your way and you’d like to get it direct, you can sign up here. |