Today, I was reading an interesting WSJ article about star LA Angels pitcher / hitter Shohei Ohtani.
As background, Ohtani is a one-of-a-kind major league talent, comparable to Babe Ruth, in that he is both an expert pitcher and hitter. For prospective, 99.999% of professional players are one or the other.
The focus of the article was that he takes advantage of his hitting to improve his pitching. When, as a hitter, the opposing pitcher is able to fool him with a wicked pitch, Ohtani can instantly analyze it and, then, quickly develop his own version of that pitch, and use it the next time he pitches.
This is exactly the super power that his available to most IT professionals, if they choose to develop it. Their experiences doing technical work can make them like chess masters, where they can see gaps and several moves ahead when it comes to the software lifecycle.
Developing this skill, and understanding how to exploit it, results in them being able to provide invaluable advisory input to matters of business analysis, IT strategy, project, and change management.
It makes them more valuable to their companies and clients, able to make a larger impact on bigger projects, and command larger compensation and career security.
This is one of the angles I pursue with my clients (IT firms and professionals) as I help them learn to position themselves as trusted advisors.
© 2023 Praveen Puri
