I used to worry about "keeping up" as a software engineer... Things move so fast. I remember the founder of the first company I worked full-time for. We had recently built the "V2" of his SaaS product in PHP (he'd written the original in Classic ASP). He'd often joke that "when they start calling the language you use "Classic" it's time to hire younger people". He was a great programmer, could solve anything with code... ...but we'd often take things he wrote and re-write them "better". Fast forward, and I've come full circle. I built a POC, then an MVP for a company that has since hired a few full-time engineers to take over the bulk of the development. I'm still involved on a fractional basis. A couple weeks ago one of them walked me through a total rewrite he did of a major piece of the back end. And he did it better. Like... way better. This was the moment I feared! Except I LOVED it. I kept telling him "this is so cool!" and asking "wait, how did you do that?" His solution wasn't just well written, it was clever and impressive. He'd even implemented a feature - in a couple days - that I had ruled out as unfeasible. I left that call with the biggest smile on my face. I'm not out of the coding game yet! - That POC was still good enough to land us a major partnership and the initial revenue to hire those other devs. - I enjoy programming too much to settle into only managing/developing others. - And I've still got my niche's where I'm the expert. But I can tell that I'm starting to pass the torch... ...and it turns out I'm cool with that. Can't wait to see what y'all do next! 🔥
It is tough getting old, but watching others take a seed and grow is incredible and exciting to watch!!!
You da man Cody!
Global Communications @ Materion | Global Brand Strategy Expert | Data Analytics Enthusiast | AI Solutions Explorer | Professional Efoiler
5moI stumbled upon one of my childhood essays on the topic of leadership. I was 16, and the focus of my writing was to discuss the most important aspect of a leader. You know what I wrote at that young age? The most important attribute of leadership is knowing when it is time to step away and let someone else take over -- someone with a different perspective. I had forgotten all about this essay, and here I am years later, learning something profound from my little 16-year-old self. :)