We were talking the other day about our leadership style, and what worked (through trial and error) for us. We came up with four points that we thought were critical.
One of our favorite things to do is to observe people. You can learn a ton about people by watching them (uh…in a non-creepy way, ideally) and seeing what they display as valuable. With nerds, one of the best ways to do this is to look at their laptops – make and model and operating system, sure, but actually the best source of information is to look at their stickers. A laptop is very important among nerds. It is the tool with which they fulfill their purpose, and so it has inherent value. It’s also only so big, so real estate given to stickers is important. You can learn a ton about a nerd by the tech and things they choose to affiliate with.
We were talking (arguing!) about the most important ingredients that are critical for executing technical work (aka doing Technical Stuff ™). Josh claimed there were four skills necessary, at which Laine scoffed and said that couldn’t possibly be true. Turns out, he was pretty much right – so we wrote that post. Then we realized there’s a fifth thing that’s not only necessary, but vital – but it isn’t a skill. So…we had to change the title. Usually in a list, three or four things is the right answer, but… not today, apparently.
And so, with no more ado, the ingredients critical for doing Technical Stuff are: