Transforming technology management? Yes_or_No

Abstract: In fact, for programmers, there are many transformation development directions, and in each development direction, there are many successful people. Among these many career development options, the most suitable development direction must be technical management. Whether it is a project manager, an architect or a CTO, compared with the underlying technical personnel, their ability to influence the project is often greater. The things that can be changed will be more, and often more fulfilling.

The previous article talked a lot about the need for programmers to reconsider their career development direction in their thirties. In fact, for programmers, there are many transformation and development directions, such as transformation into technical management, or into operation and maintenance. You can start your own business, and in every development direction, there are many successful people. Among these many career development options, the most suitable development direction must be technical management, which is also the most hopeful development direction for most students who start as programmers, whether they are project managers, architects or CTOs. For the bottom-level technicians, they tend to have a greater impact on the project, and they can change more things. Of course, their income will be higher than that of general technicians, and they often have a greater sense of accomplishment.

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But it is not so simple to grow from a programmer to a technical manager. First of all, for programmers, their work is simpler. Most of the content is only dealing with machines, and at most, communicating with team members or testers. , you only need to focus on your own work, without considering the overall situation. When you become a technical manager, you not only need to have relatively strong technical ability to convince the members of the team to your leadership, but also need to have good communication skills and leadership wisdom, and you need to have the ability to control the overall situation. Ability, the technical manager may not know any part of the project very well, but he will know who is competent for what kind of work in the team, how the team cooperates to be the most efficient, and the overall progress of each project is What kind of power, but also greater responsibility. Maybe technically you can't change the way people do things unless you have that ability, power and opportunity. With these conditions, and finding the right position to develop, you will be able to reach the stars and the moon. Secondly, if you want to become an architect or a project manager from a programmer, you often need to work harder than others, write business code every day, and it is difficult to get enough nutrients from your work. You need to take advantage of all available opportunities to Learn and grow. Of course, this does not mean that it is not a good career development path to insist on in-depth research on technology in the front line to become a technical expert, and not all programmers are suitable to be technical managers. This article will share with you the thoughts on the transformation of technology management. .



First of all, I would like to share with you a story of "one child is wrong, and everything is lost". The protagonist of this story has been a programmer for 35 years, but finally realizes that the power of programmers is too small. No matter how good you are at programming, it is very difficult for you to have the power to actually change some failed products, failed projects. Especially when he saw that Mike Slade, who was on the same show with him to develop software, finally stepped into management, founded a large number of companies including ESPN, and became a good friend of Steve Jobs. The loss is even more inexplicable. strong. To this day, I am still annoyed by my covetousness and not being in management. Is this a question of whether to pursue technical management or continue to be a programmer?

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following is the content of the story:

About 20 years ago, I faced a crossroads in my life. My second company was going downhill at the time, and our five-year-old Deltagraph software project for a publisher client was terminated because the other party wanted to move to the burgeoning Internet world. At that time, I worked as a programmer for 13 years, of which I also participated in the management of the company for about 9 years.



I don't want to juggle both jobs anymore. Previously, between '85 and '87, my first company not only developed a new electronic report-making software, but also distributed the software itself. I lead the company, do interviews with the media, maintain relationships with investors, and do basic company affairs. At the same time, I am one of the 3 programmers and UI designers in the company. By the time the product was finally successfully released in early '87, I was so nervous that I ended up in the hospital. Trying to lead and program well at the same time is a lot of work.



By 1994, when I had the opportunity to choose a career direction, I could be technical management or continue to be a programmer. I chose to be a programmer because the job is easier. I just realized today how wrong I was, even though I've worked on many great projects in my 20 years as a programmer. It would have been a much better decision if it had gone the route of CTO, CIO, VP of Engineering.



Around 1995, I worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for a year, the second half of which was at Apple. Apple looked like it was going out of business, and I didn't want to see my favorite company fall apart, so I left and went back to Texas. I was too young and naive at the time, and even terribly wrong. Apple made a comeback after Steve Jobs returned a year later, and the Internet storm began sweeping the world around that time.



As an experienced programmer and leader, I fully understand what it is like to develop a product. We've done nine major releases of the app, and I wrote the core of all the software and didn't need any follow-up fixes - patches were hard to write anyway. I was gearing up, thinking how much those companies needed people like me. Once I get the chance to sit high, I'll be on my way. My sister also started her career as a programmer 30 years ago, but she jumped to a management role in her first year on the job, then worked as a VP at a large company for 15 years. I worked for a travel agency a few years ago, and the CEO of its parent company started out as a programmer 15 years ago. Of course these kinds of management jobs can be difficult and uninteresting, but they pay much better. My sister's assets are about 10 times my size.



Over the years, I've learned that the power of programmers is too small. No matter how good you are at programming, it is very difficult for you to have the power to actually change some failed products, failed projects. I just didn't understand at the time how little room for advancement as a programmer (or even a position like an architect) is. In such a drudgery position, your power to change things is bound to be minimal. In addition to the financial benefits of management, the more likely to be deeply involved in the company's IPO, and other possible opportunities, choosing to be a programmer means that you must be satisfied with developing a good product, and don't think too much about other things.



The worst businesses I've worked for or consulted with over the years have largely been because of their technical management incompetence, or even downright technical idiots. There are simply too many companies to write about. For example, a bank's VP of engineering once claimed that as a manager he didn't need to know those technical details because he was managing people and still thought he could make technical decisions. The CIO of the same bank never believed what his subordinates told him, instead taking everything from the seller. Of course we all knew he got a cut of it, and even though we were buying things we didn't use at all, he always wrote articles praising how useful those products were for us. He was fired after I left that company for a while, but turned around and found a similar position at another company.



The worst job I've ever had was exactly what I thought would be the best job. At that time, a company that had been in business for a while had achieved a certain position in their field, and they and competitors with different positioning wanted to occupy a larger market, so the competition began to heat up. I was hired as a second programmer. One of the original programmers and managers was tasked with developing a new online store, because the original store website was too inflexible and slowed down as traffic increased. The entire company has no other technical leadership, and the CEO and the other two founders have no technical experience or knowledge. Another programmer has been touting how well-written his backend code is, and management has his back.



I develop a front end, set up tests, and check in code every day. When I thought it was time to integrate my code into the system, I found another programmer doing nothing for 10 months. I told my manager about it and he said to me, "He never checks in code until he's perfect.". However, no one else finds the practice stupid. For the next two months, I've been trying to get the three founders to hire programmers who can actually do things (I know a couple of the right people), but they're too scared to make a change and won't admit to hiring those two people It was the wrong choice from the start. In the end I gave up and left the company.



A year later, the company, still seeing little progress from those two employees, finally decided to fire them. They tried to find a consulting firm, but still found nothing, it was too late. Their competitors have become billion-dollar public companies, and I've seen their commercials on TV. And every time I see their ad on TV, I want to smash a shoe over it. Back then we had everything, just an online store, and a real tech leader. If I had been in management and not just a little programmer, I would have put the whole company on a different path. But I am just a programmer.



There are many more things like that, but technically you can't change the way people do things unless you have that ability and power and opportunity. With these conditions, and finding the right position to develop, you will be able to reach the stars and the moon.



In early 1987, I was presenting my Trapeze software on a TV show, and another presenter on the show was Mike Slade, a product manager at Excel. I was too young at the time to think he was just a nobody. However, he later founded a number of companies, including ESPN, held many leadership roles at Apple, became a good friend of Jobs, and founded his own venture capital firm. However, today I am still a programmer, an unknown technician. I even feel that I will never truly retire one day. Fortunately, my skills are not bad. I was hired by a former manager for this job because he knew my abilities. But I'm still just a little programmer until I'm too old to do it.



Having been a programmer for 35 years, keeping things on time, I still find it fun to launch new products, and I have had the opportunity to develop many good products over the years. However, I can still feel the annoyance that I was covetous and didn't go to management. In a way, being a programmer is an easy job. However, the thought that I was once so close to the center of the Internet storm, so close to the return of Jobs, and that I also had some leadership experience, I can't help but feel annoyed that I may be a different person. So, I really regret not facing the challenge head on. Of course, if I go the other way, I will lose the joy of writing code, and I will not be able to feel the desperation of not being able to write. But at the fork in my life, I chose the one with few pedestrians, and it changed my life. Now I probably understand.

the story is over

After the story is told, as a programmer, are you gearing up to become a technical manager? Don't worry, in fact, not everyone is suitable to be a technical manager. Technology and management are two completely different fields. If the technology is done well, the management may not be able to do it well. For many programmers, it is much simpler to communicate with machines than with people, so whether it is possible to be a good technical management depends on the personality of the individual. Managers look good on the surface. In fact, you have to understand: with great power comes great responsibility (and pressure). Managers have to face a lot of miscellaneous problems every day, it is difficult to focus, and only do what they like. If you are after simple happiness, being a programmer can satisfy you more. The way of thinking needs a big shift. As a manager, your job is to help the team succeed, and your success depends on the team. There is no manager who fails as a team and succeeds as an individual.



In addition, managers who understand technology are very advantageous, but there are many "pits" in the process of transition from technology to management. Technology focuses on the details, while management requires a bigger picture. This is particularly difficult for many people to grasp. For technical managers, don't give up writing code easily. Because in the process of transitioning from technology to management, there is a dangerous period. Don't waste your technology and your management skills are not strong enough. If something goes wrong in the company at this time, it will be difficult for you to find an ideal job. To find a good job, strength is one aspect, but luck is also the key.