𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
I’ve been hearing prominent people in the AI space talking about how AI is going to write 20%, 60%, even 100% of our code.
This has me scratching my head.
After 30+ years in tech—vetting, hiring, employing and spending time with top engineers, their ability to code is not the primary indicator of what impact they will have on your business.
Yes, they need to code. But there are many other aspects that determine their ability to be an A player.
Here are a few that come to mind that have little to do with coding:
👉Problem Solving Mindset
Can they take complex problems and break them down into smaller pieces?
👉Product Awareness & Systems Thinking
Do they understand how software products interact? Modern systems are interconnected, and that complexity multiplies as you scale and integrate. There are many choices for software services, data storage, security, etc. Do they understand the tradeoffs and limitations?
👉Cultural Fit
Do they share the core values and purpose of the business?
👉Understanding ROI
Can they evaluate whether a technical decision makes business sense?
Will it save money, generate revenue, or turn into a costly maintenance problem?
👉Communication & Leadership
Can they lead conversations with stakeholders? Explain technical tradeoffs in business terms? Influence decisions across teams? Mentor and inspire staff?
👉Maintainability
Will the thing they build still work next year? Will someone else be able to maintain it without starting from scratch?
👉Cybersecurity, Continuity & Reliability
Are they thinking about security, long-term stability, and what happens when things go wrong—or when key people leave?
What are the redundancy requirements for the system?
👉Growth Mindset
Are they always learning? Are they using AI tools to think better, build faster, and solve more creatively?
If you’ve got strong talent, support them to learn and utilize these tools to continue to unlock their potential.
Yes, AI tools can generate code.
→ They don’t lead.
→ They don’t have judgment.
→ They don’t understand trade-offs, priorities, or how your business works.
If you’ve got A-players—invest in them.
The future isn’t about replacing engineers.
It’s about giving great engineers superpowers.
𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩—𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.
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