In one of our earlier blog posts, we talked about the trap many CEOs fall into when trying to solve the, “I need to innovate faster” problem. They go looking for a rock star software developer to save the day, thinking, “If I can hire the most qualified candidate, all my R&D headaches will go away.”
I hate to break it to you but this is sort of like trying to find and hire a leprechaun, hoping he’ll lead you to his pot of gold. Bottom line … it rarely works out. Things might start out well, but in most cases, it will probably end up slowing you down and leaving you in a tougher position than you were BEFORE you made the effort to recruit and hire this ‘rock star’.
Here’s why hiring a rock star software developer rarely works out:
- Most rock star software developers are more driven by technology than by results—they’re always looking for the next best thing. Whether it’s a “next gen” programming language, platform or process, or a list of benefits like free lunch, unlimited vacation, housing bonuses, or beer on tap, they won’t stick around long enough to help you make the progress you’re looking for. They will be off looking for the next company that’s willing to pay the big bucks and let them chase the next big thing.
- Most don’t play nicely with others. In our experience, rock stars crave the limelight and need to be the trailblazer for your new app development, doing everything themselves rather than helping to bring up the output of the entire team. Take our word on this, a team of developers committed to building better software through problem solving, communication, and collaboration is far more effective.
- And most importantly, hiring a rock star software developer, engineer, or architect simply isn’t good enough. There’s no doubt you need to crank out more products and features to meet your customers’ needs and keep the promises you’ve made. But don’t fool yourself into thinking, “All I need in order to fix R&D is to hire one rock star-superhero developer.” The reality of the situation is that what you’re looking for—mature technical leadership, mastery of technology, architecture, design, and code—simply cannot fit into a single brain or any number of years of experience. You might have already discovered this the hard way in other areas of your business like marketing, sales, or operations. The right blend of talent you need for any department doesn’t come in the form of a single person—you need a team. Or, in this case, a strategic technology partner.
With a strategic technology partner, you can keep your existing team of committed software engineers and provide them with the leadership, support, and technology they need to be successful. Taking this approach to de-risk and accelerate software development means the magic you’re hoping for can become a reality.
For the same price as an architect or “full stack” engineer, you can have the mature technical leadership you know is missing, a technology platform that allows you to scale, and the deep talent pool you need to help your team predictably and efficiently. You’ll be able to repeatedly deliver real results that you can monetize and bring to market quickly—quarter after quarter after quarter. You don’t need to hire more bodies—you just need results!
And you can get them if you fill the gaps in your talent and technology with a strategic technology partner (all while avoiding a drawn-out hiring process). Turn to leaders you can trust to help you and your team; make the right choices at the right times, deliver for your customers, keep you out of trouble, get a good return on your investment, and make sure you don’t paint yourself into a corner.
Maybe this all sounds like it’s too good to be true, but this is exactly what we do. We’ve helped many software companies and PE funds de-risk and accelerate software development.
How do we de-risk and accelerate software development?
- We come alongside you as your strategic technology partner.
- We provide you with an independent, clear-eyed assessment of your people, process and technology.
- We help you develop a realistic technology roadmap directly aligned with your business goals.
- We equip and train your software developers on our technology platform, reducing development effort by up to 75%, and reducing maintenance effort by up to 90%.
- We meet with you every quarter for an in-depth business review and roadmap alignment exercise, making sure your investments in R&D are getting you the best possible returns.
- We sync up monthly with you at the executive level, bi-weekly with your project managers/team leaders, and weekly with your software engineers, de-risking and accelerating software development at every level, in a sustainable way.
- If you or anyone on your team has a question, gets stuck, is dealing with a customer fire, anything—we’re just one video call away to help.
- Every member of our team is located in U.S. time zones.
What results can I expect?
- Your team will be able to build new features or products with 50-75% less effort, enabling them to deliver on-time and on-budget, and spend most of their time on innovation rather than maintenance.
- Your new products will have 80-90% fewer defects than before, thanks to our battle-tested architecture and automation technology.
- You will be able to deploy your products anywhere you want: on-premise, in the cloud, or in hybrid configurations.
- You will be able to give your customers the modern web, mobile, or API access they’ve been asking for, without having to re-write your existing products.
- Your team will be free to focus on delivering value to your customers and lighting up net new revenue, while we maintain and support the platform and architecture.
How does this benefit my software engineers?
- They will have regular touchpoints with our experienced architects, product designers, and heavy-lift engineers who will help them make the right choices to be as effective and efficient as they can be.
- They will be free to build new features and products in modern technologies, without falling into the trap of “boil the ocean” or all-or-nothing approaches to modernization.
- They can focus on innovation and delivering value to your customers, while we remove the burden of technology choices and architectural design.
How can I get started?
- Start with a rapid Tech360 Assessment so we can get to know you, your product portfolio, your engineering team, and development process (download FREE below!).
- Spend a day with us to build a technology roadmap that will light the way for the next 18 to 24 months.
- De-risk the first milestone on your technology roadmap by conducting a Product Design Session with us, giving you and your team total clarity on approach, architecture, and design, and get an accurate development estimate you can believe in.
- Make a go/no-go decision. If it’s a go, your commitment is only month-to-month, no strings attached.
Is it worth spending $15,000 a month to finally de-risk and accelerate software development in your organization?