You’re the Best Developer on the Team — Why It’ll Cost You Your Job

Bill Gates has changed the world.

He's built a Fortune 100 company. Everyday people use his software to create, to work, to grow their business.

But millions of people hate him.

They hate the way he does business, the way he approaches problems. He's hated for his lack of social grace, his pettiness and his faults, he's slandered online and humiliated publicly.

All Because He's the Best

Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote a BASIC language interpreter in assembly language. He did this for a computer he didn't have that had only 4,000 bytes of memory. In the early days, Gates proved he knew how to code.

But the best?

Steve Wozniak wrote basic for the original Apple from scratch.

Okay, so that means Woz is the best, right?

If you haven't noticed, being the "best" is pretty subjective. The word “best” doesn't tell you much about Gates or Wozniak on its own.

• What does being the best mean in their case?
• Why are they the best?
• Who decided they're the best?
• How did they become the best?

Web developers are in the same boat. Most developers are competitive by nature. There's this jockeying for position as they try to one up each other.

Someone has to be the best.

Observant developers are probably wondering what "best" means. Some developers begin making assumptions.

• "I'm the best back end developer at my company"
• "I'm the best JavaScript developer here"
• "I'm the best debugger on my team"

Being the "best" is a moving target. When it's missing context it stops being useful. But make no mistake, being the best matters. It matters a whole lot.

Why?

Being the best at something gives you a certain amount of uniqueness. It gives you more credibility than those around you. It gives you shelf space in the hearts and minds of those around you.

That shelf space gives you power.

If you're a rockstar JavaScript developer and a JavaScript problem crops up, you're the one everyone turns to. That's important because it gives you uniqueness.

Being the Best Comes with Unexpected Downsides

Linus Torvalds hates Nvidia, calling them "the single worst company" the Linux community has ever dealt with.

See for yourself.

[youtube iYWzMvlj2RQ]

Okay, maybe he's had a bad experience with them. Maybe he's a respectful guy, aside from this experience.

• Defends his right to humiliate and shame Linux kernel developers.
• Stated he wouldn't change Linux "to deep-throat Microsoft"
• Says a code of conduct stating people should be 'respectful' and 'polite' is just so much crap and bullshit"
• "I'm not a nice person and I don't care about you" when asked about his attitude.

Oh boy.

Your Android phone is only possible because of him. Torvalds is a genius. He's brilliant.

He's also the best at what he does. And that's convinced him that he has the right to crush people, to shame and humiliate others.

Most People Don't Behave the Way Linus Does

It's true, but not because they're altruistic. The vast majority of people, developers included, are kind.

But most people are average.

Most people don't believe they're average. Suggest that they are and you've suddenly made an enemy. Are most people's assessment of their own qualities and abilities accurate?

Sadly, no.

Most people suffer from illusory superiority, a cognitive bias where individuals overestimate their abilities, skills, qualities.

Those who aren't average know they stand out, and that's where the problem starts.

Still not convinced?

Continue reading %You’re the Best Developer on the Team — Why It’ll Cost You Your Job%

by Andrew McDermott via SitePoint