1. I’m Ferdinando Santacroce
And I'm here to share some personal thoughts.
You can find me on Twitter @jesuswasrasta
#AVBZ
Hello!

3. I’m a mediocre developer

4. A small premise
* It's about my experience, my history
* They're almost all personal opinions
I expect you don't agree, that you feel bored, annoyed or
that you think I'm really a loser...
And that's okay! : )
Just a courtesy: don't keep it for you, let’s talk about it!
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

5. My mediocrity, real or presumed
The way I perceive other people,
especially the “good ones”
There are two issues that concerns me:

6. What I mean for mediocrity

7. Not exactly at this level...
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

8. But still, it's about skills
* Lack of technical skills
* The struggling in solving problems
* A general sense of inadequacy
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

9. @jesuswasrasta #AVBZ
StackOverflow Driven Development

10. @jesuswasrasta #AVBZ
Too much to know

11. Some time ago, I used to think I was good at it
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

12. Then I changed job and realized that I wasn't...
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

13. Dunning-Kruger effect
When you're so incompetent, you don't even
know how incompetent you are.
Wikipedia — Dunning-Kruger effect
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

14. Impostor Syndrome
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

15. * Dunning-Kruger effect
* Imposter syndrome
How good you really are
How good
you think
you are
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

16. What do I mean with
the “good ones”

17. “Fate i bravi!”
Don Rodrigo
* Only for Italians, sorry :D

18. Real good ones
* 👍 Those to welcome with open arms: intelligent, prepared,
persevering, generous, brilliant
* 👎 Those to be wary of: individualistic, impatient, toxic
The good ones but only ‘cause…
* They works in the same company since decades
* They prevent anyone from approaching their "castle"
* They sacrifice themselves for the cause
* Maybe they don't have a private life…

19. They're not all the same

20. There are the good ones for real

21. Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie

22. Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie

23. And the good ones*

24. The Silos
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

25. The guardians
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

26. They’re in the same place since years
* They know the domain
* They know all the secrets, caveats, details
* Jealous holders of tacit knowledge
* Outside their world, they are in trouble
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

27. The heroes
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

28. The workaholics
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

29. The good ones by contract
* Analysts, solution architects, and other mythological
figures imposed by someone
Let's be clear: there are
people with those titles
who are really good at it,
but I just think these
imposed figures are
more often than not a
dysfunction within the
team.

30. Umarells
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell

31. Good!
So what?

32. Facing mediocrity

33. Oh, come on, you're like me?!
https://twitter.com/dhh/status/834146806594433025

34. Bubble-sort with Hungarian ("Csángó") folk dance, Algorithmics
https://youtu.be/lyZQPjUT5B4

35. The 4 knowledge categories
* Things I know that I know
* Things I know that I don't know
* Things I don't know that I know
* Things I don't know that I don't know
Bonuses
* things you think you know, but you don't...

36. * Dunning-Kruger effect
* Imposter syndrome
How good you really are
How good
you think
you are *
*
*
*
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

37. Think well about how to invest your resources
* You can't learn everything...
* Choose the things with the highest value
* Learn what you can't easily search on the
internet
* Learn the basics
* Keep it simple
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

38. Be a T
«I-shaped»
Expert at one thing
«Generalist»
Capable in a lot of things,
Expert at any
«T-shaped»
Capable in a lot of things,
Expert in one of them
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

39. ReactDocker Kotlin
Java

40. That’s not only about technical skill…
Soft skillsKung-fu Banjo playing
Softwaredevelopment
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

41. Don't feel mediocre towards
these people, help them

42. Empty silos
* Work with them, learn, involve, empty them
or at worst knock them down
* Talk to the people who run the company (they’re a problem!)
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

43. Defeat the guardians
See «I terribili “guardiani della codebase” - Paolo D’Incau» https://vimeo.com/259162101

44. Save the heroes
* Heroes usually dies in battle...
* If you are always in emergency, nothing is an emergency
anymore
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

45. Shoot the outlaws
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

46. Reject fake titles
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ

47. And those who work more
than they have to?
I have a secret for you…
Working long hours
is CHEATING

48. But if these people are not a
problem for the company...
* If these situations are not perceived and addressed
* If they're not a problem for the company's managers, on the
contrary, "it's a good thing that there’s <put your name here>
that always saves us!"
Get a new job!

49. Beware of 10x…

50. Rockstar Developers
https://github.com/dylanbeattie/rockstar

51. Rockstar FizzBuzz
https://github.com/dylanbeattie/rockstar

52. Avoid toxic people
* Individualists
* Disrespectful people
* Perfectionists

53. Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie

54. But when you meet the
really good ones…

55. They're a gift.
Enjoy them!
* Work with them, look for confrontation,
try to learn as much as possible
* Ask them all the questions you can
* Explain the things you know to them.
You'll understand what you really know.

56. John Von Neumann

57. Maybe I figured out why I'm
feeling mediocre!
And I figured out how to stop
feeling that way, too!

58. “Accept to be the weakest player, but in
the best team that allows you to play”
Thank you :)
@jesuswasrasta #AVBZ