What I Learnt from Technologists
When I moved to Sydney in 2005, I took a finance job for a software development company.??My boss had built an amazing team of both experienced and graduate developers who were building and maintaining the largest mortgage application software in Australia. They were doing some pretty cool s**t using technology I’d never heard of. It was based on a philosophy I’ve come to respect deeply - agile software development.
During my time at the company, I was introduced to the concept of Continual Integration / Continuous Development (CI/CD). CI/CD is a ‘Development combined with Operations’ (DevOps) tactic that refers to how software is deployed or rolled out[1].?
As a bookkeeper, I found it all fascinating – even though I didn’t understand it for a long time.??But basically, it was a cool new approach to ensure that new code was built, working and ready to drop into production (be ‘live’ and able to be used) as quickly as possible with as few errors as possible.?
My co-workers were pretty smart guys. When they ‘ran the numbers’, they knew that with thousands of lines of code, that they couldn’t?avoid?making mistakes (aka ‘bugs’) but they could create a culture where finding them and fixing them quickly was rewarded.?
They valued the continual improvement of their software, both individually and as a team, line by line, bug by bug, release by release. These guys were ‘Code Cowboys’!?
As a bookkeeper, their respect for the numbers impressed me.?
And as a human, these guys showed me a new approach to making mistakes.?
They actually congratulated each other when they found a bug in the code.?
And they certainly didn’t shame each other for making a mistake in the first place. Each of them knew they created bugs of their own at some point or another.?
Celebrating the correction of their own f**k ups, sometimes collectively, was a revolutionary concept to me.
So, why is this relevant??
My new book postulates a formula for achieving amazing things, called The ATFOOY Approach, and in it I write about?the benefits of Continual Improvement / Continual Development (CI /CD) for "the human condition".?
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We’re constantly improving ourselves, project by project, goal by goal, event by event, coach by coach. Accept that you’ll make mistakes and fall off the wagon throughout your journey. It’s okay. And you're okay.?
And when things do go wrong (and they will), congratulate yourself on the learnings that come along for the ride. Just ensure you quickly correct those mistakes and return to your plan ASAP.??Be sure to ask your coach, mentor or accountability partner (C.M.A - more about that in the book) for support when you need it. That’s why they’re there!
With a short timeframe to work with, there’s no time to berate, shame, or guilt yourself. You need to retain focus on your own continued personal development.?
Focus on what you’re gaining, not what you’re lacking!?
To continue with the ‘geek speak’, if you accidentally create ‘a bug in the code’, you have your accountability partner to help you find and fix it. Don’t grind to a halt if something is less than perfect. The phrase ‘pivot, not panic’ sums it up well. Continue building and maximising momentum and achieve amazing results. It doesn’t matter if the process or endpoint changes slightly. In fact, you may end up with something better than you ever expected!
With The ATFOOY Approach, you don’t require anyone’s permission, sign off, or approval. There’s no hierarchy to stop your progress.?
You can go as fast or slow towards your goal as you want or need to.?
You can do it your way, at your speed, to your preferred level of detail as you like.?
What matters is that you ‘release into production’ and get your fine self out there!
Happy Friday!