Eric Müller

Do they understand how to solve problems? I think that's more important than pure code writing. And then I start looking for intangibles. And this is, in some ways, very important. So, one, I want every person to be able to interface with a client. And I'm not looking for everyone to have perfect people skills.

But I don't want someone who is so uncomfortable working with other people that they can't have a simple conversation. And that's important if I've got a developer who needs to figure out how to hook up with the client's API. I need them to be able to have a conversation. So I look for that ability to talk to other people. Another thing I look for is something beyond technology.

But I don't want someone who is so uncomfortable working with other people that they can't have a simple conversation. And that's important if I've got a developer who needs to figure out how to hook up with the client's API. I need them to be able to have a conversation. So I look for that ability to talk to other people. Another thing I look for is something beyond technology.

But I don't want someone who is so uncomfortable working with other people that they can't have a simple conversation. And that's important if I've got a developer who needs to figure out how to hook up with the client's API. I need them to be able to have a conversation. So I look for that ability to talk to other people. Another thing I look for is something beyond technology.

The reason that is, is that I think that we in our industry have done a disservice to folks in basically convincing them that if you're not writing software all the time, that you are somehow not passionate about writing software.

The reason that is, is that I think that we in our industry have done a disservice to folks in basically convincing them that if you're not writing software all the time, that you are somehow not passionate about writing software.

The reason that is, is that I think that we in our industry have done a disservice to folks in basically convincing them that if you're not writing software all the time, that you are somehow not passionate about writing software.

And I have seen a lot of very good developers who had convinced themselves of that, and they write code for 40 hours a week to get paid, and then they have their own side project, and then they have their contributions to some open source projects, and it's 15 years in, 20 years in, and they absolutely hate their jobs.

And I have seen a lot of very good developers who had convinced themselves of that, and they write code for 40 hours a week to get paid, and then they have their own side project, and then they have their contributions to some open source projects, and it's 15 years in, 20 years in, and they absolutely hate their jobs.

And I have seen a lot of very good developers who had convinced themselves of that, and they write code for 40 hours a week to get paid, and then they have their own side project, and then they have their contributions to some open source projects, and it's 15 years in, 20 years in, and they absolutely hate their jobs.

Obviously, I brought in folks who do nothing but write code in their private time. That's great. I've had some very good programmers. I'm encouraged when someone says, I love what I do, but I want something away from this to recharge my battery. And oftentimes, their thing away from programming is very geeky, right? Like, I love photography, but it's very geeky, right?

Obviously, I brought in folks who do nothing but write code in their private time. That's great. I've had some very good programmers. I'm encouraged when someone says, I love what I do, but I want something away from this to recharge my battery. And oftentimes, their thing away from programming is very geeky, right? Like, I love photography, but it's very geeky, right?

Obviously, I brought in folks who do nothing but write code in their private time. That's great. I've had some very good programmers. I'm encouraged when someone says, I love what I do, but I want something away from this to recharge my battery. And oftentimes, their thing away from programming is very geeky, right? Like, I love photography, but it's very geeky, right?

All the settings and there's a lot of math and... It's an incredibly geeky endeavor, right? I look for things like that in people. One of the best programmers I ever worked with, he's a brilliant architect. He was also a great guitarist, and he was into these bands like Dream Theater, which was a very technical math band, math rock they call it, right?

All the settings and there's a lot of math and... It's an incredibly geeky endeavor, right? I look for things like that in people. One of the best programmers I ever worked with, he's a brilliant architect. He was also a great guitarist, and he was into these bands like Dream Theater, which was a very technical math band, math rock they call it, right?

All the settings and there's a lot of math and... It's an incredibly geeky endeavor, right? I look for things like that in people. One of the best programmers I ever worked with, he's a brilliant architect. He was also a great guitarist, and he was into these bands like Dream Theater, which was a very technical math band, math rock they call it, right?

And you can see how those play into each other. Here's a guy passionate about programming, but it still has that connection because of that geekiness. Does someone cook? Do they like to jog? Do they meditate? What are the things that they do to recharge their batteries so they stay in love with being a programmer, not burn out on being a programmer?

And you can see how those play into each other. Here's a guy passionate about programming, but it still has that connection because of that geekiness. Does someone cook? Do they like to jog? Do they meditate? What are the things that they do to recharge their batteries so they stay in love with being a programmer, not burn out on being a programmer?

And you can see how those play into each other. Here's a guy passionate about programming, but it still has that connection because of that geekiness. Does someone cook? Do they like to jog? Do they meditate? What are the things that they do to recharge their batteries so they stay in love with being a programmer, not burn out on being a programmer?

Scaling a product or development team inside of a product consultancy in many ways is like scaling one inside of a product company in that you are thoughtful about when you bring staff on as opposed to when you are engaging with consultants. You never want to get to a place where you're like, oh, the money's always going to be there. I'm going to hire 50 people.