Adopt this one mindset to get ahead of 99% of engineers

You can adapt to this mindset no matter your level.

Feb 16, 2024

Prioritize business impact, then consider technology.

Why?

Too often, we prioritize learning tech before considering business needs. I fell into this trap early in my career—it's common post-college. Colleges don't emphasize business thinking.

After many mistakes chasing new tech, I've learned: prioritizing business impact is key.

Now, I focus on understanding the business problem first, then choose the right tools and tech.

This shift has profoundly boosted my career. I've learned tech practically and understand its limitations and future use cases.

Here's how I apply this mindset daily:

1) Focus on business impact

When proposing engineering-driven projects, focus on what problem you're solving

It should be doing one of the following:

Generating revenue
Expanding customer base
Cutting costs

Most tasks fall into these categories:

Refactoring code → technical debt, slashing future development time and costs.
Improving engagement → making money (ex. through ads)
Improving user experience → growing/retaining customers
Mentoring teammates → invests in individuals who can drive significant business impact in one of the above areas.

I can go on, but you get the point

Remember: You need to choose where to invest your time depending on the business need at that time.

For example, when it comes to choosing a project, you should choose one with the highest impact and lowest effort first and go from there.

You might ask, what do I do when I exhaust high-impact, low-effort projects?

Worry not, check out my LinkedIn post here where I talk about it

I understand not every project is engineering-driven; sometimes it is led by a project manager. Hence, my next point is:

2) Closely Align with Your Product Manager

Wear a product cap and think about the problem first.

Control the temptation to design a solution in your head the minute you hear the problem (I am guilty of doing this many times).

Instead:

Understand what and why first
Ask questions to grasp all dimensions, challenging assumptions.
Define the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) based on available tools and required solutions within a reasonable timeframe.
Negotiate with PM without losing focus on the problem you are solving
Often, engineers become fixated on the "how," losing sight of the original problem and the customer's needs.

Picture credit: beyonddesign.com

Now that you understand what and why and have a clear understanding of the business problem

The story does not end there; you can take this mindset in solving how:

3) Using Data to Drive Design Decisions

So, you might be rolling your eyes and thinking, "Oh great, another spiel about data-driven decisions."

And hey, I totally get it; all the new project initiatives/features are driven from data insights and led by Product mangers.

So why do we as engineers need to worry about it?

This is a big mistake.

Here is an example of how I used data in making a crucial design decision.

When migrating a service from a monolith to a new one to create a materialized view for a marketplace app feature, I faced a choice:

Replicate the existing logic as is.
Simplify the solution based on the problem at hand.

I proceeded with option 2 and took data's help.

Analysis revealed that "97% of users have only 8 items listed on their profile."

This insight led me to realize that I could forego storing a materialized view and instead generate it dynamically without impacting the majority of users.

By optimizing the design accordingly, I delivered the project 1.5 months ahead of schedule, with improved latency and a much simpler architecture.

Next time you're faced with a major design decision in backend systems, leverage data for guidance.

4) Use Your Own Product Regularly

Many times we get so focused on building the solution; we forget to put ourselves in the customer's shoes.

Make a habit of using the product you're building.

For example, at Offerup, when we present anything to a larger group, the first slide contains our introduction along with a picture of the item we sold/bought. This practice fosters a product-focused mindset within the company and serves as a great icebreaker.

Consider implementing similar practices in your team or organization.

Even if you don't work in a B2C company, there are other ways to stay connected with your product:

Engage directly with customers.
Read public reviews.
Review the Voice of Customer (VOC) data, typically available through your product manager.
Schedule regular one-on-one meetings with your PM to gauge product performance.
Learn to read Tableau or PowerBI dashboards.
Collaborate closely with the data team to access relevant metric data.

The bottom line is: strive to embody the mindset of a business owner for your project, periodically thinking like a business person to drive success.

Take It From TechLead

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