From Solo Coder to Team Builder: Why I'm Embracing the Power of Connection
How I Learned to Stop Trying to Know Everything and Start Building Relationships That Matter
We've all heard that timeless piece of wisdom, and yet, like many engineers, I spent years stubbornly trying to become a one-person army of technical expertise. I'm trying something new and radical, at least for me. Every successful person I follow – whether through their articles, books, blog posts, or tweets – seems to hammer home the same message: "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
Let me share a humbling statistic: Last year, I spent an astronomical 3,500 hours coding. That's a full-time job and a half, countless cups of coffee, and endless Stack Overflow searches. And you know what? After all that time, I'm still staring at an endless horizon of technologies I haven't mastered – Node.JS, MVC, Entity-Framework, and the list grows longer every day.
The old saying "Jack of all trades, master of none" started hitting differently. It wasn't just a clever phrase anymore – it became a mirror reflecting my own limitations back at me.
That's when it hit me: there is simply no way for one person to be proficient at everything, or even a few things, in our rapidly evolving tech landscape. This realization led me to completely flip my approach. Instead of trying to learn every framework and master every language, I'm focusing on building my dream team.
In just a few weeks of networking and reaching out, I've connected with an incredible array of talents: a marketing wizard who understands the digital landscape, a native iOS and Android developer who breathes mobile, a front-end expert who makes interfaces sing, an advertising veteran with years of campaign wisdom, and business development professionals who know how to grow and scale. This isn't just a list of connections – it's the foundation of something bigger than myself.
All of these amazing individuals and their capabilities will soon be featured on my company site, complete with profiles, photos, and portfolios. But more than just a showcase, it's a statement of intent: Together Each Achieves More isn't just a clever acronym – it's the future of how I want to work and grow.
The potential of collaborative creation excites me more than any technical challenge ever did. Because now I know that success isn't about being a superhuman developer – it's about building and nurturing the right relationships that amplify everyone's strengths.
Below is the original post, dated January, 2013.
There is no I in team
We've all heard it, and yet, we all continue to limit our focus of being the best we can as individuals. I'm trying something new and radical, at least for me. Yet, every article you read, book, blog post, tweet, which originates from those 'successful few' seem to resonate the same message: "It's not what you know, it's who you know".
Last year, I spent an aggregate of 3,500 hours coding. 3,500! That's a full time job and a half. And at the end of the day, there is still a world of knowledge I haven't even touched, Node.JS, MVC, Entity-Framework, etc, etc, etc.
Jack of all trades, expert of none
I realize now, there is just no way for one person to be proficient at everything, or even a few things. So for the next several weeks, my plan is the exact opposite of what I've been doing all along. I'm going to build my team. So far, I've already met a marketer, a native iOS and Android developer, a front end expert, advertising veteran, and business development professionals. Sounds like a good start. All of this information will go on my company site. Profiles, photos, portfolios. And once we start working together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.
Together Each Achieves More