I see many teams and development organizations get stuck in a pattern of "tunnel vision". They think they need help with skills that exactly match their own. Only then can they really help them get things done more quickly.

B I G   M I S T A K E !

Hiring more of the same creates the same problems. Sure, you may think you are getting more done, but you are just propagating the same mess. If you are all detail- oriented, you get lost working in the forest with no idea how to get out. If you are all conceptual- oriented, things start falling through the cracks. In either case, you have the same mess you had before you hired someone--just more of it.

More of the same does not impress the business community. More of the same means you are lacking in another area that would benefit the business community. Therefore, you are only satisfying some of their needs.

Using the detailed-oriented example, this type of group usually answers to multiple business contacts wanting overlapping or conflicting requirements. You are run ragged without providing some IT strategy that could propel the business. Your attention to each little project leads the business from thinking product evolution--something to which your competition is probably excelling. In this and the reverse scenario, you are not providing real value to the business community. You are not helping the business grow.

Instead, I challenge you to ask yourself, What am I good at? What do I hate to do? Well, if you are good at something, you usually love doing it. You probably want to do more of it. If that is the case, hire someone that does what you hate to do.

Absolutely no one is great at everything. Absolutely no one is even good at everything. So get over the fact that you are looking for someone just like yourself. Instead, look for someone that can off-load what you don't do well. Look for someone that you can off-load the stuff you don't like to do so it will give you more time to do what you enjoy.

I see so many people go into management that do it because they want control. However, what they are good at is some technical skill. It is also the thing they love to do the most. So, you go and find the exact person that does what you love to do so you can move up the ladder.

Here is my basic question. Why would you want to spend most of your waking day doing what you hate? You will probably not be very good at it. If you are looking for control, control yourself first by doing what you love to do. Don't waste hours of your life doing what you aren't very good at. It will show.

You will be miserable. Your boss's boss will see you as mediocre. Your subordinates will hate you because you want to make them like you (that's called Micro Management). Motivation will drop through the floor into the basement. Your own (and your team's) lack of motivation will lead you to an early grave.

I'm sure the business community would be thrilled about that as well! Low morale builds crappy software that costs too much and is delivered too late! That will get you noticed. Management will give you another notice … a layoff pink slip.

The other question is, What are you cloning? Are you cloning yourself or finding someone with a specific skill set? This is a very important question that needs to be studied. It helps you clarify what you are really good at.

If your answer is that you are a "top Oracle 8i DBA," you're wrong! That's just one of your skills. What you're good at is something a bit more general and more valuable to the business community. You're good at tweaking the underpinnings of the data portion of the business applications; making the business run smoothly and efficiently. Oracle 8i is the technical means for you to accomplish what you do for the business. That's your real value. You can apply the same skills if you learn Teradata, Sybase, UDB, etc. The similarities between these database platforms are more in common than the others.

Besides, does your business community care that you are an expert in Oracle 8i or Teradata, Sybase, UDB, etc.? Answer truthfully! They care that they get the information they need in an accurate and timely manner.

I ask you, What are you trying to clone: the technical specific skill or the value of a service you provide the business? If you look at the value of the service you provide business, a lot more candidates. It also opens a lot more doors for you to grow yourself.

What do you think the business cares about? Is it Oracle 8i? Is it easy access and efficient delivery of information? Think carefully!

Business could care less about your technical knowledge. What they care about is the value you provide the business (and them). [By the way, don't try to clone the business person. Business wants someone that can deliver what they need; not perform the business task! You might actually create a "threatening relationship" with the business person by trying to do so. Besides, no technologist will be as good as the business person. If he is, why doesn't he have that job! I'll leave that clarification for another article.]

Don't clone yourself. Instead, look at what you're not good at. Look at a skill (soft skill) that the business wishes your team had. Match that to what the business needs. Look for that candidate. You will get the job done better and faster. You will be admired for hiring the right person.

For yourself, identify what you are good at. Match that to what the business needs. If you can't phrase it that way, you diminish your value to them and are top of the list for layoff candidates.

As written in Life Is Good, "Do what you love, love what you do." To expand on that, know what you love to do in business terms. Find someone that can help you by completing the list of what business wants. It will help the business and you will build respect both in the business community and technical community.

Build a team that is good at ALL that the business needs.

SBDi speaks both Business and IT languages. Bring SBDi in to help communication between both organizations. Let us help you find the right flexible solution that will help business increase revenue.

Pat Ferdinandi, Chief Thought Translator