A lot of people think the best managers and developers are the ones with the most talent, the best technical skills, or the ability to tackle every problem. But in reality, what truly sets the best apart is knowing what doesn’t need their attention, at least not right now.
A great manager isn’t just someone with strong leadership or communication skills. They don’t try to control every detail, join every meeting, or make every decision. Instead, they know which discussions, tasks, and problems can be avoided without consequence or delegated to someone else. Likewise, a great developer doesn’t obsess over every line of code or chase perfection where it’s not needed. They understand that “good enough” is often better than perfect.
In every project, there are endless things you could focus on. You could optimize a piece of code that isn’t a bottleneck. You could spend hours refining a system that’s already functional. But trying to do everything at once is a sure way to slow yourself, and your team, down.
The best professionals don’t ignore details forever, they just know when to address them. They focus on what truly matters in the moment and leave the rest for when, or if, it actually becomes important.
I would summarize it with quote from Getting Real:
The best designers and the best programmers aren’t the ones with the best skills, or the nimblest fingers, or the ones who can rock and roll with Photoshop or their environment of choice, they are the ones that can determine what just doesn’t matter. That’s where the real gains are made.
The real skill isn’t in doing more, it’s in choosing what to ignore
Artwork by Pejman Milani
Happy hacking! 🚀