Do you have an advice for either 1) non-technical people working in a technical environment or 2) technical people (the devs, technical writers, etc) who are looking to branch into the "business side" of tech?
1) non-technical people working in a technical environment
I somewhat touch on this here, but I'll expand a bit. I think that it's easy to fall into the trap of imagining a huge gulf between the technical / non-technical sides of the business. It's frustrating to look at code and feel totally lost, or to let your mind wander as someone explains the technical nitty gritty.
The reality is that you are totally capable of understanding what's going on if try hard, ask thoughtful questions, and have patient and committed teammates. You'll learn more quickly than you had anticipated due to "beginner gains," and then you'll build the capacity to accrete more and more knowledge on your own. You might not be committing code, but it won't take long to notice that you're a lot more informed and effective when communicating with technical members of the team.
2) technical people (the devs, technical writers, etc) who are looking to branch into the "business side" of tech?
I think that it's easier to "bike shed" on the business side — after all, everyone can have an opinion on pricing or roll-out strategy, whereas not everyone can have an opinion on which Javascript framework to use and why.
I've found that the bigger blocker going in this direction is a sense of reticence about "staying in one's lane." I've noticed that programmers I've worked with in the past sometimes had tremendous insight, but felt shy about speaking up because they felt like it wasn't their place. So, again, I'd say it's about making a concerted effort to begin the dialogue, ask thoughtful questions, and then seeking the right forum to raise ideas.
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Do you have an advice for either 1) non-technical people working in a technical environment or 2) technical people (the devs, technical writers, etc) who are looking to branch into the "business side" of tech?
Great question.
I somewhat touch on this here, but I'll expand a bit. I think that it's easy to fall into the trap of imagining a huge gulf between the technical / non-technical sides of the business. It's frustrating to look at code and feel totally lost, or to let your mind wander as someone explains the technical nitty gritty.
The reality is that you are totally capable of understanding what's going on if try hard, ask thoughtful questions, and have patient and committed teammates. You'll learn more quickly than you had anticipated due to "beginner gains," and then you'll build the capacity to accrete more and more knowledge on your own. You might not be committing code, but it won't take long to notice that you're a lot more informed and effective when communicating with technical members of the team.
I think that it's easier to "bike shed" on the business side — after all, everyone can have an opinion on pricing or roll-out strategy, whereas not everyone can have an opinion on which Javascript framework to use and why.
I've found that the bigger blocker going in this direction is a sense of reticence about "staying in one's lane." I've noticed that programmers I've worked with in the past sometimes had tremendous insight, but felt shy about speaking up because they felt like it wasn't their place. So, again, I'd say it's about making a concerted effort to begin the dialogue, ask thoughtful questions, and then seeking the right forum to raise ideas.