203: Set a Clear Direction and Define Milestones

Marketing for programmers, avoiding fake user stories to deliver value and setting purposeful roadmaps for cross-functional alignment

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Unrelated: How to Market Yourself as a Programmer

Instead of focusing solely on finding the perfect job, focus on working diligently. A successful career often results from a complex process that goes beyond just following your passion. The most content and enthusiastic employees have spent ample time honing their skills. I keep track of the hours spent each month on research to help improve my performance. No matter how you feel about your job, adopting a craftsman mindset will be the foundation for a successful career. According to basic economic theory, if you want something valuable, you must have something equally useful to offer. Why do we continue to follow other people's paths to success? Hard work won't help you improve your performance beyond a certain point. It's essential to identify the type of capital market you're in, your capital type, and your definition of "good." Stretching and challenging yourself is crucial for growth, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone. The deliberate practice may only sometimes be enjoyable, as it often requires doing things we're not already good at.

Individuals need more autonomy in their work to experience greater satisfaction, involvement, and purpose. It's important to acknowledge that money alone isn't the only indicator of value. To discover your true calling, seek cutting-edge opportunities with unique missions and pursue them with conviction. Keep searching until you find what you're looking for.

As a programmer, open-source software is the most effective way to market yourself. It's crucial to construct a career that is fulfilling and enjoyable. Acquiring rare and valuable skills is the first step to building career capital, which can be exchanged for attributes that define successful careers, such as a strong sense of mission. Pursuing greater autonomy in your work without offering rare and valuable skills is misguided. More than hard work is needed for long-term success in any profession.

Keep track of the hours spent each month dedicated to researching research problems. Adopting the craftsman mindset is essential to build a compelling career, regardless of how you feel about your job. Why should we settle for living up to other people's models of success? Deliberate practice requires focus and concentration, unlike the enjoyable activities we already know how to do well. With career capital, control is sustainable. You must improve your skills before expecting quality work. Instead of solely aiming to make money, strive to be valuable.

To advance in your career, you may need more than just a 9-to-5 job for a few reasons. Firstly, such jobs offer a fixed salary and limited chances for progression. Secondly, the business world is highly competitive and fast-paced, which demands going beyond the regular 9-to-5 workday to keep up and stay ahead. This can entail starting a side business, freelancing, or developing a new product or service. Although a 9-to-5 job provides stability and a steady income, you may require additional efforts to advance your career.

Off Topic: How to Write User Stories That Deliver Business Value

User stories are important functionalities necessary for a specific group of customers. They establish the guidelines for business operations. User stories serve as talking points for delivering business value. Fake User Stories create a potential disconnect between what the team pushes out and what the business sponsors care about. Fake User stories don’t produce any significant outcome for the business. 

The value of software is a vague and esoteric concept in the domain of business users. Still, task size is controlled by a delivery team, so many teams choose size over value. Small user stories are used to confirm what the outcome might look like. Small user stories can help product managers discover what needs to be built. The opposite is to rush forward under unvalidated assumptions. Short User Stories help to divide the problem into smaller slices that can be measured. Short User Stories help business sponsors manage their investment in software and get the most out of it. A standard description for stories is small chunks of work that can be implemented within an iteration yet still have value. Teams aim to create something small instead of something valuable. Many small stories need to be more connected to what businesses care about. The cross-functional team should be capable of dealing with any work based on the business functionality the team supports. 

Current Work: Set a Clear Direction and Define Milestones

The default assumption is that you can do anything unless a specific policy or agreement prohibits it. We're starting from a position of trust. More freedom leads to more learning, and more understanding leads to better performance. By focusing on execution, we limit the system's growth potential. By making ourselves indispensable, we make our teams and organizations less resilient. Once a decision has been made, it should be shared along with the rationale and perspectives that shaped it so that others can learn too. Consensus is impossible at scale and needs to reflect how adaptive systems work. Recognize that freedom and autonomy feed motivation. Create an environment where it is safe to try and fail, and teams will learn and grow in extraordinary ways.

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