Lessons learned from the smartest Software Engineer I’ve met

For over 10 years, I shared a keyboard with him. Here are the things that stuck with me.

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

He was different, and I was young and eager to learn.

In retrospect, I’ve never grown more. The time I’ve spent in school now seems comically useless in comparison.

Trying to boil a decade down a few points seems impossible, but I have no choice.

Let’s start.

Fast is better than good

Most of the time, “good enough” solutions are all you need to unlock time, money, and attention.

Many people wait too long, think too much. They focus on getting things right from the get-go. This is a mistake.

Focus relentlessly on being first. This will afford you time to be right.

Unlearn what you know about technical debt

Many people hate technical debt.

This is nonsense. They don’t know how to take advantage of it.

When used appropriately, technical debt means working on what truly matters and deferring anything that can wait.