Artwork

Content provided by Jayme Edwards and Tech Career Strategist. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jayme Edwards and Tech Career Strategist or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!

Creative Software Development - Explosive Growth By Letting Go

21:26
 
Share
 

Manage episode 191608245 series 1756036
Content provided by Jayme Edwards and Tech Career Strategist. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jayme Edwards and Tech Career Strategist or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

Why are some companies able to engage in creative software development, while others treat it like manufacturing?

Since the work we do to develop software is “knowledge work”, it benefits from the ideas and experiences individuals bring to each problem.

Many companies look at the envisioning phase of an idea that’s developed with software as the primary process that benefits from creativity.

Selecting the solution used to develop a feature or idea, equally benefits from creativity. So how can we maximize this?

Inspiration is the spark that someone gets when exposed to something created by someone else. A piece of music, a fine painting, a software technology etc.

Creativity is the work we do to form and shape that inspiration into something tangible in the real world.

Being creative takes energy, so many of the things we can do to maximize energy, will also maximize creativity.

People are less creative when constraints are placed on what they can change. Freedom allows for more creativity.

We can provide technologists with more freedom by encouraging them to make healthy lifestyle choices.

We can also provide technologists with more freedom by not allocating them to high levels of utilization.

More free time = more opportunities to explore different solutions. These different solutions can have explosive impacts on efficiency.

When teams are free to think outside the box and bring their full intuition to bear, problems once slated to take months can be solved in days or even hours.

When making decisions about how we plan work, or what the culture at our companies is like – are we optimizing for creative work?

Are we focusing on the illusion of predictability and control, using mathematical equations to feed our ego so we can feel like we’re getting the most out of people?

Or are we creating an environment for software development that breeds creative ideas, treating people as sources of creativity and not just productivity units?

Management and companies historically do a poor job motivating individuals to make better lifestyle decisions to have more energy so they can cultivate higher levels of creativity.

You as an individual on a team must decide how important being innovative in your problem solving in your career is, and possibly make some lifestyle choices if you wish to reach your maximum potential.

Join my Patreon: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Related resources:

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

  continue reading

178 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 191608245 series 1756036
Content provided by Jayme Edwards and Tech Career Strategist. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jayme Edwards and Tech Career Strategist or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

Why are some companies able to engage in creative software development, while others treat it like manufacturing?

Since the work we do to develop software is “knowledge work”, it benefits from the ideas and experiences individuals bring to each problem.

Many companies look at the envisioning phase of an idea that’s developed with software as the primary process that benefits from creativity.

Selecting the solution used to develop a feature or idea, equally benefits from creativity. So how can we maximize this?

Inspiration is the spark that someone gets when exposed to something created by someone else. A piece of music, a fine painting, a software technology etc.

Creativity is the work we do to form and shape that inspiration into something tangible in the real world.

Being creative takes energy, so many of the things we can do to maximize energy, will also maximize creativity.

People are less creative when constraints are placed on what they can change. Freedom allows for more creativity.

We can provide technologists with more freedom by encouraging them to make healthy lifestyle choices.

We can also provide technologists with more freedom by not allocating them to high levels of utilization.

More free time = more opportunities to explore different solutions. These different solutions can have explosive impacts on efficiency.

When teams are free to think outside the box and bring their full intuition to bear, problems once slated to take months can be solved in days or even hours.

When making decisions about how we plan work, or what the culture at our companies is like – are we optimizing for creative work?

Are we focusing on the illusion of predictability and control, using mathematical equations to feed our ego so we can feel like we’re getting the most out of people?

Or are we creating an environment for software development that breeds creative ideas, treating people as sources of creativity and not just productivity units?

Management and companies historically do a poor job motivating individuals to make better lifestyle decisions to have more energy so they can cultivate higher levels of creativity.

You as an individual on a team must decide how important being innovative in your problem solving in your career is, and possibly make some lifestyle choices if you wish to reach your maximum potential.

Join my Patreon: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Related resources:

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

  continue reading

178 episodes

All episodes

×
 
Loading …

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

 

Quick Reference Guide

Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright
Listen to this show while you explore
Play