Tools shouldn’t be the driving decision

Seth Godin wrote a post on his blog that fits so well with IT. I need to build a house, what kind of hammer should I buy? 

To quote from part of the post:

If you want to do something worth doing, you’ll need two things: passion and architecture. The tools will take care of themselves. (Knowledge of tools matters, of course, but it pales in comparison to the other two.)

Sure, picking the wrong tools will really cripple your launch. Picking the wrong software (or the wrong hammer) is a hassle. But nothing great gets built just because you have the right tools.

Some how I’ve seen organizations put tools above the ability to have a:

• - passion to learn a new business,
• - strategic thinking to help business reach their vision
• - communication which includes the ability to engage business

Instead, I see job requirements or hear interview questions that stress:

• - do you know how to code using this specific rarely used function in this langage
• - do you know the minute function of the business process
• - do you know the nuance of this particular methodology

Yes, those things are important. Especially if you are a programmer. What everyone forgets is that those are probably the easist of things to pick up. What is important is if the individual has the ability and desire to learn and add value to the business community. Does he/she have the passion for the craft of building quality software? Does the individual have the ability to engage the business community? If they do, the rest will come easily.

On another side, I see projects pick tools and then go find project that will use those tools. It is what I call the “resume builder decision.” The question, “will this really add value to the business” should be asked by every executive.

Tools are important. Knowledge in them is important. Tools, however, should NEVER be the primary decision in helping the business or selecting IT people to help the business.

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