My clients – software engineers, team leads and engineering managers – have improvement as their goal. Yet if they focus on the goal instead of the systems that will cause them to achieve their goal, the goal is already lost. This critical distinction is the essence of the “systems vs goals” discussion you may have heard or read about.
“Atomic Habits” by James Clear is an excellent book. I think I re-read it or listen to it about every six months. Every time I revisit the book I get energizing new insights.
Another important point that Clear makes is how habits are the “compound interest” of self-improvement. Your habits are a large part of how well or how poorly your systems function. If you want to improve your systems, improve your habits.
I
Listen as James explains how good habits (really, systems vs goals) are the “compound interest” of self improvement:
I work on my habits every day. And yet even after 30 years of highly-technical software development and leadership in both business and software engineering, I still find ways to improve my habits.
If you are a professional engineer, team lead or engineering manager and want to better achieve your goals by improving your systems and work habits, let’s talk.