A successful tech career is made up of many factors, which have to be considered. It takes wit, technicality, and an entrepreneurial mindset to make this work.

There are different perspectives regarding what it takes to ensure a successful career in tech.

As much as there can be a lot to say concerning tech, it’s important to look beyond the technology — and not everyone does this.

Looking beyond the technology may mean entering territory that’s not necessarily tech-specific, but more so life-oriented.

There’s a common theme in the tech world that sums it up as people, processes, and technology — in that order.

Why is this such a common theme? And how did it come to that conclusion?

In this blog post, you will see a collation of what is summed up to be the 7 cures that lead to a successful career in tech.

We want to focus particularly on key fundamental areas that when applied correctly, you’ll experience a huge transformation in your career.

You don’t want to work in tech just to work in tech, no, you want a fruitful career.

It is indeed an industry that bears much fruit, so understanding how to best place yourself in this space is fundamental to your overall success.

In light of that, we introduce only those principles which we deem essential.

A productive way to look at tech, is by asking yourself, what are you doing this for, or for whom?

Tech is a powerful industry and one that allows us to think beyond our current state.

This helps us formulate ideals and future scenarios which we’d like to be in our best interests.

For example, we want the world to be a better and more sustainable place.

We want technology to reach places it has not yet managed to reach.

These are all productive things we visualise and think about – but how do we get there?…

We do so by investing in the future generations to come.

It’s about legacy!

The decisions we make today shape our children’s, and children’s children’s tomorrow.

To have a successful career in tech, it’s best to have a long-term view of the scale of where we’re heading, in the digital space, and how this will affect the next 7 generations.

We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘What are we hustling for?’

Your career in tech means more than just promotions and innovation – a career in tech means you’re one of the contributors to our ever-evolving digital world.

Things are shifting around us as we speak.

We need to adopt a legacy approach to our work. This will help us apply focus to the most relevant areas.

With all the work we do in tech, we need to always look at what that means from children’s perspectives.

What will the world look like in the coming years?

We won’t always be here to know the answer, so it’s essential to think about this in our daily work.

One thing to always be mindful of is… what’s your WHY?

Put simply, what are you doing in tech and why?…

We sometimes hear from seniors, upon reflection, that they’d wish to have known their WHY quicker.

What your reason is and the intricacies of it are not relevant to this post, but what is, is the outcome you intend to realise from it?

And the best possible outcome we want is Value.

The tech industry has always been about adding value — and it still is to this day!

You want to ensure that you’re constantly putting your best foot forward when working in tech.

The work you do, first and foremost, is your starting point of reference.

Doing a good job is the bare minimum.

And if we go one step further, you want to ensure you’re doing more than just work.

Huh? But why? That doesn’t make sense.

Let me explain why it makes sense… a simple way to look at it is, the work you do should get you in the door; but the work you do after should help grow and maintain your career.

You cannot solely rely on the standard work you perform regularly to help elevate your career.

There comes a point in time, where the impact you make is all that matters.

To cut a long story short, the value you bring to your work and others’ work is what employers love and appreciate.

They see the investment made was worth it. The impact you make on a grand level easily separates you from others.

To be completely transparent, you shouldn’t only look at the things that are grandeur to the eye, but look at how you can add value to even the most menial tasks.

This makes one stand out from the crowd.

The truth is that people pay whatever price for value because what value brings is an abundance of good quality and a sense of security.

The tech industry in simple terms is all about value.

What value is being added?

What contributions to the advancement of technology are being made?

How is value created through innovation?

Value is a key driver for guaranteed success in the future.

The way investments are made is with the assumption that you’re purchasing something of value, with the expectation that you’ll receive a fair return in the long run.

There’s no distinction with tech, the idea of value remains the same.

What you build with technology, you want it to create value for people.

You cannot have a real purpose in tech if value isn’t created.

The whole essence is based on unlocking value for people.

This also translates into the work we do in tech as we want it to be as valuable for people as possible.

If you start work or a project that’s not valuable, then you must reconsider.

The end product should be value realisation.

The perspective one should have for a successful tech career is about changing lives, as well as, the world around us.

Tech has now become bigger than ever – it goes beyond the product-centric focus and forces us to think wider.

The speed and scale are vast and that encourages new perspectives that wouldn’t have necessarily been prioritised before.

We’ve found ourselves in a place where making the world better and more sustainable is a priority.

How do we do that?… By moving as technology moves.

The tech industry has transitioned through a series of phases, product-centric, customer-centric, and now life-centric.

We’ve moved from companies solely focusing on what the product is/should be.

There was a time in the past when everything had to be tailored around the product.

For example, the way a business sought a competitive advantage was by simply making a better product.

If a company releases a product that does one thing, the competitor will produce a product that does two things.

This thought process still exists to some degree, however, companies have understood it takes more than just the product to make themselves stay relevant.

The way companies proceeded next was by focusing more on the customer.

Why do you think loyalty cards are a thing?

You no longer go to the supermarket and leave with just groceries, no.

You now leave with loyalty points, so the next time you shop, you shop at a discount.

This shift from a product focus to a customer focus has made companies all about the customer – hence, the famous saying “the customer’s always right”.

But as we continue to learn and evolve, we appreciate that habits change, life circumstances change, and our global climate is changing.

We’ve now gone beyond just being product-centric and customer-centric, companies along with industries have now become life-centric.

What does this mean?

It means that companies are no longer fixated on what the best product is.

Companies are not just focusing on customers.

Companies and industries have shifted toward the lives of their customers, their people, and the environment in which they function.

How are people living? What will our climate look like in the future?

The COVID-19 pandemic was a life-changing example.

You couldn’t think profit, as things were closed off, or in other words, locked down.

Instead, we had to think about how we could help each other – how can we help adjust to the new way of living?

Now it’s important to be invested in people’s lives, behaviours, and personal motivations – because these can change.

So keeping in touch with people in this way will help companies deliver the best product to suit people’s needs.

What will be the next phase? – I have no idea.

But that’s the exciting part, we don’t know until we realise what that space will look like.

However, right now, it’s about taking care of people and the environment in which we live.

Being people-focused will get you ahead of the curve compared to your peers who are focusing on other things.

People are at the center of everything we do.

A crucial mistake most make is placing an emphasis on products over people.

The focus has to be on the people, always!

What else are we doing this for?

In the past, companies used to have their priorities in the wrong places.

People’s needs and wants were not catered for and were often ignored or neglected in the process.

How does one become successful in the field of tech? – A good starting point is asking yourself what and who are you doing this for.

Additionally, you may also ask… what problem needs to be solved and the impact it has?

Most of the problems we come up with relate to the challenges people face daily.

Again, this comes down to what’s important.

The most important thing isn’t the technology; it’s not the processes, it’s the people.

If people are not using the technology then it’s pointless. If people aren’t using your product, then it’s useless.

When you start your planning and visioning process, you need to put people at the center of it.

You begin with a focus on people, then you work around that accordingly.

A good approach to take is to start with people, then processes, and lastly, technology.

We’ve explained why people are at the center, once you cater to the people the next thing to think about is how you’ll serve them.

And how you best serve the people depends on the processes you deploy.

The processes should cater to the people – whatever process is in place, in simple terms, needs to be tailored to the people.

This is the tricky part; it’s where companies have to maintain a clear focus on their purpose and not deviate from the ultimate goal, which is, serving the people.

Once you have an idea of the process, you can now look at the technology to be used.

Like processes, the technology needs to have a human-motivated interest, for example, virtual agents and chatbots are becoming preferred over waiting in long queues – with a virtual agent or chatbot, you get to find the solution to your problem in a matter of minutes.

The experience we get from a virtual agent is tailored to the specific responses we provide.

The reason why I used the above example is that it shows how technology is utilised in the best interests of people – again, putting people at the center.

So when looking at people, processes, and technology, we can now see the importance people have in the world of tech.

Don’t believe the horror stories of AI taking over, the focus and most important customer will always be people.

It’s not everyday tech. Stop being technically ignorant.

You can be ignorant in two ways: either innocently when you lack knowledge and wisdom in a particular area; or knowingly being ignorant when you have the knowledge and wisdom but you choose to ignore it.

You can be the most technical person out there, but if you don’t broaden your thinking and cling to what you think is all you need to know, you can find your career collapsing quicker than you can blink.

One of the best ways to stay up and successful in tech is to think both technically and non-technically – or in other words, functionally.

You need to be able to communicate and engage with people who do not understand technical jargon.

Can you break something down to the layperson?

There’s a big disparity between the technically competent and technically illiterate.

Many individuals hold the wrong perception thinking that technology is a 7 headed beast and being technical is all that matters.

But not everything needs to be digitised.

You need to know when to innovate. This is where experience comes in, and the decision you make shows whether you have the experience or not.

People often think that the solution to a problem is to innovate or do a complete revamp on a product or service.

That isn’t always the best solution.

Sometimes the best solution is to do nothing – absolutely nothing.

First, we must bring the problem to our attention; then we must analyse it, what is the issue, can it be fixed easily, does it need to go through a change process – how easy is it to do?

Consider all options – nothing is exempt until you’ve considered all possible outcomes.

Don’t just jump to conclusions, let’s be sensible and apply some focus.

Ask yourself, is innovation the best course of action? How long will this take and how much will it cost you?

Understand the topic for discussion. What’s the context? – Decide what’s critical.

How do you determine that?

You can determine that by setting a few priorities to focus on.

Carefully diagnose your situation and come up with the best possible solution.

So under what circumstances would you consider innovating?

This is when you know you should innovate:

1. When you have a legacy system that needs upgrading.
2. When you have redundant software.
3. You have outdated processes and tools.
4. ROI is not being maximised.
5. When the growth of a company is non-existent.
6. When there is no sense of direction.

If all of the above conditions apply to you and your business, then that’s a good indication for you to consider transforming your business.

What will be a surprise to most people is that it’s better to be a businessman/woman who understands tech as opposed to solely being a technical individual.

To have a fully-fledged successful career in tech, you need to become business-oriented.

But why business-oriented? – Because that’s where the money resides.

Look, to grow your career, you can’t do so by just being technical with all the IT certifications in the world.

Remember, it’s a people’s business; your engagement with people is what takes you to that next level in your career.

The more engaged you are with people, the more successful you’ll become.

And here’s why…

A technical developer will be coding and building next-generation products for the business, by the instruction of a Product Manager.

The reason why they report to a Product Manager is because the Product Manager acts as the liaison between the developers and the business; ensuring that product requirements and expectations are understood by everyone.

The business knows what product they want to release to market – that’s not a developer’s decision, that decision stays with the business, respectfully.

The Product Manager is the closest person to the business because it’s their role to know the product inside out.

They need to live and breathe the product.

Having business acumen puts you at the front of the line.

You reason with other business owners persuading them on why a product should continue or be made redundant.

The type of responsibilities you have becomes a lot more critical because every decision becomes how can you add value.

The decisions made by a business person are what, ultimately, drive an organisation’s direction.

This is why shutting out any business engagement in tech can cause harm to technological developments that are being delivered.

You need to play the game!

Pick up relevant skills you need to be technically competent, for you to do your job.

Don’t get carried away with the technicalities – you want to acquire these skills for a purpose.

The purpose is for you to understand how things work, and have a general view of what to expect, given that you experience a scenario where you’ll have to utilise technical skills.

So I repeat, the only reason why you should be interested in the technical side of things is to understand how things work.

OK, where do I go from here?

Now that you understand how things work technically, combine that knowledge with your business acumen so that you have everything you need to solve a real problem.

For example, a business application is no longer profitable and needs to be retired.

You know the inner workings and backend processes of applications, so you have an idea of what the next-gen application should feel like.

You then compare and contrast many variables as to how this new application can be made profitable – taking into consideration some business metrics i.e. supply and demand, market conditions, etc.

Using your business acumen you can then present the pros and cons of your findings to the business, to then decide if this is something that can be executed.

Essentially, when you’re able to understand the technicality and intricacies of something and come up with a business case for it, you possess an ability that allows you to see things end-to-end.

You see an overview of everything.

If you’re only embedded in the technicals then your view is skewed.

Being a business person is knowing how to see everything end-to-end and knowing what you have to do, to get what you want done.

The dreamer visualises what’s possible. It usually starts with an idea, a precious thought, or some lofty ideal.

Once the idea becomes fixed, the dreamer moves from a static state of thinking to a more active state – at this point, the dreamer becomes a fortune teller.

Holding onto this vision, the dreamer works tirelessly, figuring out ways and doing everything in their power to materialise this vision.

Remember when Steve Jobs first brought the idea of a phone with no buttons on it, we thought the world had gone mad.

But he was a dreamer.

Having held onto that idea, this is now our reality.

To have a successful career in tech, it helps when you’re constantly thinking about how you can better your situation.

You need to be an optimist.

Growing your career comes down to what you see as possible for yourself.

Sometimes it’s just about letting go and start dreaming.

This can be a difficult task to do, given our busy work culture.

For most of us, considering an approach where you’re taking time out will be seen as a waste of time. But not at all for a dreamer.

You want things to be clear in your mind.

What exactly is it that you want?

Why do you want that thing?

How can you go about acquiring it?

What resources and tools do you have available at your disposal that can support these endeavours?

I love the dreamer because the dreamer has a vision.

We need to tailor our thoughts towards the things that bring us what we want.

In tech, this could be a product or a change we want to see.

For example, product creation normally goes through a series of phases – which we will not cover as that’s not entirely relevant, but one of the most critical phases to execute is the visioning phase.

If you get this part right, then the coast is clear.

A lot of creative thinking gets done during this phase – i.e. convergent and divergent thinking.

This is arguably the most important phase in product creation.

But at the root of it, the question is… what needs to get done?

The idea, the dream, and the vision need to materialise.

It needs to transition from an intangible state to a tangible state.

However, the value realised from the physical product would have never been the case without the dream/idea/vision.

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