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Ask Slashdot: As a Programmer/Geek, Should I Learn Business?
An anonymous reader writes "During my career I've always been focused on learning new technologies and trending programming languages. I've made good money at it, but I'm not sure what the next step is. I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. I'm not sure how to find a good way to transition from programmer to somebody with more responsibility. Should I learn business? It it more important to focus on personal networking? Do I step into the quagmire of marketing? I'm not sure what goals I should set, because I don't know what goals are realistic. Running my own business seems like something I'd like to do, but I'm unsure how to get from here to there. I'd appreciate advice from any fellow geeks who are making (or have made) that change."
yes
This is part of the modern fundamentals of the liberal arts: trivium, quadrivium, then everyone should also know how to physically use a computer (desktop/laptop and tablet variants), know how to make a document/make a spreadsheet/use the internet, know some HTML, know how to run a business, know how to do your taxes (without killing yourself), know when to contact an attorney (as important as 911 these days), and know how to change a tire. These are BASIC skills... and at this point you are smarter than a fifth grader!
After decades of software development I went to business school. Some take aways.
(1) Business school is probably not what you think. The bankers, ceos, etc making the headline news for various nefarious reasons are not practicing what they were taught in business school. They are very much like the software engineer who is taught how to write well designed maintainable and reliable code and then writes complete crap once they enter industry. You can teach people how to do the right thing but there is no guarantee they will follow through, this is true in both engineering and business. In business school you will be taught to plan for the long term, to treat your business partners well, to treat you employees well, to treat your customers well, to be socially responsible, to be ethical, etc. In other words things leading to long term company success.
(2) An MBA program is probably not what you think. An MBA program is not about accounting and financials, that is just once topic covered. An MBA program is an overview of the complete organization and its lifecycle: Entrepreneurship, strategy, product development, marketing, accounting/finance, operations, information technology, organizational behavior (people), economics, etc. You will learn to look at things from the perspective of each of these specialties. The point of doing so is not to make you an expert in any of them. You will not become an expert, however you will learn enough to understand their perspectives and to therefore be able to effectively communicate and perhaps be more persuasive in your arguments with them. You don't have to stop being an engineer. You just become an engineer with a broader perspective and more likely to persuade ceos, accountants and people in marketing.
(3) Your classmates will probably not be what you expect. Most people in an MBA program are not coming from an accounting/finance background. They actually represent a minority. About 1/3 of my class consisted of people coming from engineering and scientific backgrounds. You will have an incredibly wide set of skills and viewpoints among your classmates.
(4) You get what you reward. There is a common theme that occurs in many classes, strategy, accounting, product development, information technology, operations, etc. Many failures can be traced back to having the wrong incentives. Basically people give you the behavior you incentivize, that you reward. Not what you ask for, not even what everyone agree is good or the right thing to do. There are many lessons to be learned in business school but it is amazing how often and in how many unrelated areas this one single problem arises.
Most businesses are doing it wrong.
Instead of moving smart people from being productive to management-type functions and get payed more, they should pay the more productive people more.
As Gabe Newell from Valve puts it: Management is a skill, not a career path.
New things are always on the horizon
The answer depends on where you want your career to go. But, regardless I would say that all programmers should invest the time to understand the business they work for so that they can best serve the interests of their employer. This is different from getting an MBA or studying business in the general sense. Programmers need to understand the problems that their company deals with, otherwise they're not going to see the best solutions.
As an example I currently work for a company that manufactures packaged food products. As the lead developer it is part of my job to understand how the business operates; from how our inventory is managed, to how our customers pay us, to how our shipping personnel process incoming and outgoing items. Understanding this and talking to people in all these areas allows me to spot inefficiencies and address problems, sometimes before others realize they are a big deal. That means I can help put technology to work in a way that makes our business more efficient, which leads to better profits and happy bosses and better compensation for myself and those I work with.
Unless all you ever want to be is a low-rung developer, or if you don't have any desire to stay with the company you're with long-term; then it always makes sense to get to know your business, and it will make you a more valuable employee.
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. -Martin Luther
"No one can tell you when the price will go up, or if the commodity will crash." - this is not business. This is futures speculation.
"No one can explain to you why (before launch) a product gonna sell like hot cakes." - this is not business. This is product speculation. Something that journalists do. Companies create products that there is market demand for. They know there's market demand because there's already competition out there. Most of the time they do not become market leaders.
Business is about networking. It's about making deals with people and creating relationships with the right people. Clients, suppliers, employees.
Good leadership absolutely can be taught. This is why having a mentor is absolutely necessary in the world of business. The mistake people make is focusing their learning on their weaknesses. You should focus your learning on your strengths and hire people that complement your weaknesses.
Jobs was great at contract negotiation, as he was a narcissistic sociopath that could deify or bully anyone he pleased at any time without remorse. He got his own way more often than not. He was ruthless & unforgiving in "maintaining perfection" with the products & ideas he took on. And he fucked up many times. The Next Cube. Pushing Pixar to be a hardware company. The Apple Lisa. Macintosh TV. The Apple III. The Powermac g4 cube.
Steve Jobs was ruthless & lucky, and like all deified CEOs, stood on the shoulders of giants. Where would Mr Jobs be without Steve Wozniak? Where would Jobs be if Apple didn't have the pulling power needed to employ the best & brightest? You would never have heard of him.