We take it for granted that many hi-tech workers (often software engineers) have a very hard time seeing their work from a business point of view. To many, it's just technology. They're building software, not business tools. Creating hacks rather than solutions. Companies hire them to work their magic and hope that their managers will keep them in line with the company's goals.

It's a rare engineer who can see both sides of the coin: the technology and its application toward achieving a company's business goals.

However, there's a stranger breed that I've encountered: the engineer who has somehow forgotten how to look at things from a traditional software engineer's perspective. This odd creature has little trouble explaining how his work supports the company's broader goals. Yet he has difficultly communicating with the more common engineers--those who mainly see technology.

I'm really not sure what to make of this.

Posted by jzawodn at December 15, 2002 12:24 AM

Reader Comments
# Joe Grossberg said:

Maybe (s)he has been burnt in the past, by putting his/her blood, sweat and tears into a project, only to have it cancelled for business reasons, and doesn't want to "waste X months/years" again.

on December 16, 2002 10:35 AM
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