
Ask HN: What non-technical skill would help you most in your career in 2016? - brown-dragon
I want to write a tutorial&#x2F;guide that would help other programmers. There are a lot of quality _technical_ guides available and I don&#x27;t want to write just another one. So I&#x27;d like to create something _non-technical_ (productivity, communication, work-life balance...?) that programmers would find useful.
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Jemaclus
There are some people that are magical. You go into a meeting with your mind
made up, and then 30 minutes later, you leave the meeting with a completely
different mindset. And you don't know how they managed to convince you so
successfully. If you could figure that trick out, most of your non-technical
career problems would be solved. I've personally never learned this skill of
persuasiveness, but I'd pay a lot of money if someone could teach me quickly.

~~~
paulcole
Talk less. Smile more. Don't let them know what you're against or what you're
for.

~~~
jawilson2
This sounds like a Radiohead lyric.

~~~
brechin
Hamilton?

~~~
dsr_
Aaron Burr's philosophy, as written in Hamilton.

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bcrescimanno
Leadership. No skill (rather, set of skills) will be more universally
applicable throughout the entirety of your career and become more heavily
weighted the higher you climb.

Are you an engineer? What skill(s) will you be leveraging most as a Director
or VP of Engineering? Leadership.

Are you a designer? What skill(s) will you be leveraging most as a Director or
VP of Design? Leadership.

Are you a <fill in the blank>? What skill(s) will...you get it.

Back in my time at Georgia Tech, Warren Buffet came to speak and told an
anecdote about a media executive who would go play records at one of his radio
stations in the middle of the night. Buffet said something to the effect of,
"the farther I get into this business, the farther away I become from why I
got into this business."

I started working professionally at small companies in 1997 as a "Web
Developer." I finished my degree in 2004 and I've been doing software
engineering since then. I'm currently a Director of Engineering at PayPal and,
while my technical skills are useful, my primary role is centered around the
leadership of a large team. I haven't written a line of code professionally in
over a year. I share these same statements with my managers and engineers from
my team. Always be developing your leadership skills--they stay with you
forever.

~~~
zer00eyz
Leadership isn't management... It will make you a good manager but if you are
an engineer today, then being a leader is totally possible. Its about being
proactive, helpful, thoughtful and "solutions oriented" (if you spot a
problem, bring a solution or better yet two to the table with it). Be the
person your peers reach out to when they are stuck.

~~~
bcrescimanno
100% agreed that leadership and management are two very different things--it's
an important distinction (and one that typical conversation tends to gloss
over). I hope my original comment didn't imply they were the same.

Also agreed that leaders who are NOT managers are extremely important.

~~~
zzalpha
Along those same lines, authority and influence are also not the same things.
Managers frequently have authority, while leaders often do their jobs through
influence.

Learning how to successfully apply influence with a lack of authority can be
incredibly powerful.

------
jetengine
What helped me most is to have conversations with strangers. Try it in real
life. Talk to the guy sitting alone at the bar. Have small-talk with the other
person pumping gas. This will help you professionally.

~~~
elorant
I second that. Been able to initiate small talk with anyone you meet just out
of the blue is invaluable. And it will affect both your personal and
professional life.

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debugunit
Public speaking. I joined Toastmasters [1] at the start of the year and highly
recommend it. Friendly, supportive atmosphere. Challenging, assuming you're
not currently comfortable speaking in front of groups. Lots of people who've
been there a while comment on howit's improved their careers. One of the most
useful bits is learning to evaluate other people's speeches, a skill which can
be applied in a variety of situations, and (so I'm told - I'm still learning)
leaves a very positive impression on people.

[1] [https://www.toastmasters.org/](https://www.toastmasters.org/)

~~~
pmiller2
I am not the world's best public speaker, but I do enjoy it. Some of the
things that have made me better at it include realizing:

* I will always be nervous before a performance. * The audience doesn't know what I'm about to say, so they don't know if I "screw up" most of the time. * Live demos will go wrong. :) * Talking to 30 people is actually easier than talking to 3 people, because you don't have to pay individual attention to anyone.

The worst part for me anymore is preparing the slide decks.

~~~
askafriend
What's so bad about preparing the deck?

~~~
pmiller2
Nothing, really. It's just time consuming and tedious.

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zzalpha
Writing is far and away my number one suggestion. It's not even a contest.

A well-written developer is someone who can organize their thoughts and then
express them in a way that others can understand. This requires mental
discipline, clarity of thought, empathy, and intelligence, all of which are
skills that will take any developer to new heights.

~~~
mark_l_watson
I have read, but don't have a reference handy, that writing skill correlates
strongly with success if you work for a large organization.

~~~
insoluble
In theory, a larger organisation would have more communication going on, and
having messages that stand out among the noise would definitely set you apart.
Moreover, the more people you communicate with, the less you know each person
on a personal level -- the more impersonal each correspondent is. The less you
know someone, the more important proper, clear language is.

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simonswords82
Emotional intelligence and all round empathy.

It's not a trait I started out in life blessed with but the older I get the
more I realise that understanding _why_ something is being said is frequently
much more important than what is being said.

~~~
bonniemuffin
This is important, and I think it's actually the key skill underlying the
"powers of persuasion" mentioned in other replies. If you can empathize with a
person's feelings and motivations, you can explain why your idea or proposal
will help them, which is key to convincing them.

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zer00eyz
Most companies have the following departments, or roles:

Accounting, Marketing, Reporting/Data Analysts, Customer Service,
Design/UI/Product, and Sales.

Weather your running the website or building the software you sell lots of
these folks are going to have varying levels of contact with it. By
understanding what these folks do (even at a high level) and the language they
use, your going to be able to communicate with them and service them better.
Building relationships in other departments can be as simple as being friendly
to the people you meet, and getting them out of the office for coffee or lunch
on a regular basis. Ask them lots of questions and build a relationship.

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moon_of_moon
If the economy tanks, you might find yourself surrounded by people who didn't
really deserve to be in their jobs, but floated up with the high tide of a
buoyant economy. These are the people who will resort to nasty office politics
to keep their jobs.

Ergo, learn to defend yourself from it.

~~~
cylinder
I don't really know of a defense other than participate in their bullshit
talk, politics, etc. Seems like the more incompetent people are, the more they
talk, to hide their incompetence and use personal skills to stay afloat.

Bullshit Artists get _so_ far in American organizations. Far, far more than
elsewhere where people are less enchanted by nonsense fluff.

~~~
simonswords82
Sounds like you've been subject to people who suffer from the Peter Principle
perhaps?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle)

------
personjerry
Since you said "career" specifically, I would say communication. If you can
tactfully ask and figure out what direction you need to develop in, or if you
can be persuasive and make a compelling argument, your can be much more
effective in advancing your career. You'll also make friends and allies along
the way.

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j45
Technically creative and curious business analysts area an role that will be
emerging in the next few years, having one group to do B1, and another to do
tech is fast going out the window. Techies can learn business much easier than
most business folks can learn tech from my observations and experience.

Why is this important?

The single most important skill I see needed in technical people is empathy to
the problems people are solving. Just because it's trivial to one group to
solve, or prioritize does not mean it's not valuable. Being able to put
yourself in the actual shoes of the user, their needs, their perspectives to
ultimately empower them, instead of taking the easy way of interpreting from a
distance how they must do their job/task based on how you would approach it.

There is a great deal of intellectual capital in any organization where people
have a "why" of how to do things a certain way that is not 100% the standard
procedure.

These things form the competitive advantage that software developers,
implementors, and consultants can kill in an organization.

Want to be a better software developer? Help people solve problems better in
their terms, not our own. Whether it is a sales, marketing, production, design
or management problem, being able to relate to the problem and how it's
beneficial to solve is the single biggest valuable skill that I have landed
on.

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fecak
Branding/marketing oneself, how to make solid career decisions, and general
job search type activities don't help you on a day-to-day basis like
productivity and communication, but they can greatly impact the overall career
trajectory and how you can maximize your chances of achieving whatever goals
you have in your career (advancement, $, independence, etc.).

There are thousands of programmers who are incredibly good at what they do
(programming), but aren't being considered for jobs because they don't know
how to market/write/talk about their own experience. What to write (and leave
off) on a resume, a cover letter/email application, LinkedIn profile, what to
mention in an interview, how to define an accomplishment, etc.

Job searches, interviewing, negotiating, how to make good career decisions
based on your goals - these are all things that don't happen every day, so
programmers aren't all that likely to really get good at them. Most other
professional industries don't see the volume of career change that we see in
tech, where it's reasonable that someone could change jobs several times in a
decade. Knowing how and when to change jobs, how to handle those changes, and
making good overall career decisions is a skill many lack.

~~~
brown-dragon
This is an excellent area that could really help! Any pointers on where to
start researching?

~~~
fecak
I write extensively about careers for technical professionals on my blog
(jobtipsforgeeks.com) and various other sites that publish my material. I
don't know too many others who write as much specifically geared towards
technologists, but I'm sure they exist.

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davidwihl
1) Time management, 2) Efficiency in learning in all endeavors, not just
technical.

With those two skills, all other skills can be obtained more readily,
including the need for better oral and written communication.

Empathy and salesmanship require a modicum of innate ability. Everyone can
certainly improve on their potential. I've never met a career salesperson who
didn't already have some proclivity for sales.

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snarfy
Daily exercise.

You'll feel better and have more energy throughout the day.

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zer00eyz
Learn to listen. Not just to your peers, but to everyone. Don't just hear the
words they are saying, give them meaning, build a mental model, and be able to
re-itterate their statements into your own language (even if you don't share
these things out loud).

Listening skills are going to get you FAR in business and life, and your going
to hear lots of stuff that has nothing to do with your job. Learn NOT to
repeat every thing you hear.

Sadly offices have as much gossip if not more than your average high school.
Once people know they can trust you to keep your mouth shut, a well spring of
interesting knowledge is going to start to fall in your lap. Some times this
is just personal drama, but knowing that person A has a grudge with person B
can some times be a clue to how a situation is going to resolve itself.

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mark_l_watson
Sort of career related: learn to live within your means, always trying to save
some of your salary. This does a few things for your career: allows you to
leave bad jobs, reduces worry and stress which should improve your job
performance, and generally adds flexibility to your life.

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GrumpyYoungMan
Probably my number one recommendation would be effective public speaking
combined with effective writing of presentations of ideas. If you can't
communicate your ideas both effectively _and_ persuasively, you will be
severely hobbled in your career. Even for people on the technical track rather
than the management track, as you become more senior, you'll be expected to
explain your architecture / designs to junior engineers looking to your for
guidance.

Even if you are severely introverted (I am) you need to make as much effort as
possible to overcome it. People who can't communicate are effectively
invisible, regardless of how well they do their jobs, and invisible people are
replaceable people.

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dbcurtis
I've been reading:

TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions

Both are insightful and exciting.

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uberstuber
Any kind of skill with huge benefits in almost any career.

Leadership, Public speaking, persuasiveness/sales, writing, copy-writing,
storytelling, design, diet, exercise, mental focus, personal appearance

Maybe target ones that programmers typically lack.

~~~
antisthenes
So everything except mental focus?

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sjg007
Raise your EQ but don't spend too much time worrying about what other people
think of you. The business exists to reduce transactional costs between the
things needed to build and sell your product.

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abbasaamer
Would love to know how to go about finding places that build physical "stuff"
both at a prototype stage and at scale. I have hardware + software ideas but
I'm not clear on how to build customized hardware (even simple stuff like
plastic casings).

Alternatively, sales. Working at large software companies has given me a lot
of exposure to software engineering and product management, but I rarely get
to see the sales process.

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w001y
Being able to translate tech to non-tech people. People who have great ideas
and financial backing are fresh meat to technical sales folk, and that is a
big stress factor for those who want to genuinely build something cool but
don't have the confidence to verbalise their technical requirements.
Translating the jargon to make them feel at ease and in control of the next
step goes further than you might think.

~~~
tvanantwerp
This is something that, based on my experiences, I'm bad at. Any advice on how
to improve?

~~~
bphogan
This one's really tricky, because one thing you have to determine early on is
whether or not the person really cares to understand at all.

Metaphors can be terribly dangerous because of personal experiences. For
example, I've seen people explain object-oriented programming using biology or
automobiles. Those sound great until you think about how many people don't
relate to those metaphors.

Other people don't care. I don't care how my cellphone works - I care that it
works, and if you tried to tell me how it works, I'd tune you out. It's not in
my scope of give-a-damn, you know?

If you feel you're terrible at explaining things to non-technical people,
reflect on whether or not those people really need to know those things.

If you determine that they are interested, and that you are unable to
adequately explain, consider finding situations where you can understand their
side of things. A great way to do that might be to learn how to do something
that they do. When I meet a new client, I ask them to explain very technical
parts of their job to me. Then I am the person on the receiving end of that. I
can observe how they explain things, and I can empathize with them when my
eyes glaze over. :)

Hope that helps a little, or at least gave you some ideas.

~~~
w001y
Determining the necessity for a technical explanation could be thought of as
another separate skill in itself :)

~~~
bphogan
Sometimes it's as simple as politely asking. "Hey, are you interested in
knowing how this works?"

IT people tend to assume that everyone is just as interested in stuff as they
are. It's not a great assumption to make. Just cos you think it's cool doesn't
mean everyone does. And that's ok.

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csixty4
The big ones I see are written communication, work-life balance, and time
management.

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warewolf
Read the book "7 habits of highly effective people" it will give you some
great insight and maybe help you develop your idea more.

As for non technical things that have helped me

1\. Saying No more often 2\. Cleaning out the trash (Eating Healthy,
Organizing my schedule/home/projects and Cutting Nonsense Relationship) 3\.
Finding my anchor (The things that ground me, keep me centered and give me
purpose. Like family time, a cold beer with a old friend, etc) 4\.
Understanding my mission (This is something a lot of people struggle with
because most people don't know what they want to do with life.

For me the most non technical thing that can help anyone is having the mindset
to discover, explore and learn new things.

I would love to read what you come up with so when you have something send it
over.

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lwhalen
Sales/lead generation. I'm an independent devops consultant at the moment, and
while I'm doing well for myself 'now', I'd be a lot more confident about the
future if I was confident in my ability to scare up work on my own independent
of referrals, word of mouth, etc.

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DrNuke
Commercial awareness for sure: tech skills are nothing without sales aka a
sound understanding of the business perspective.

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wildekek
Speaking in a confident voice. Scott Adams book "How to Fail at Everything and
Still Win Big" was an eye opener.

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Bud
Sight-reading Bach.

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edoceo
Listening

