Hello everyone, my name is Roman Shmahelsky and today I'll talk about business acumen and why it's so important for software engineers. To set up the scene, imagine you're at your desk. You have some free time, so you open Jira to figure out what you should do next. There are two tasks in your backlog. The first task is a technologically challenging one. It's complex, it involves cutting edge technology, and it will require you to push your skills to the limit. Let's call this task Create Your Own LLM. It's the kind of task that gets you excited as an engineer, because it's an opportunity to solve a difficult problem. However, this task will only impact a small portion of advanced users whom might appreciate the value that you are building. The second task we can trust is much simpler. It's a bit boring to be honest. It involves streamlining few processes and improving the user experience for a basic function that nearly all of your customers use daily. Basically, moving buttons in UI happened with all of us. It doesn't involve anything groundbreaking from a technical standpoint, but it will make the product significantly easier and more enjoyable to use for the majority of your customers. And here's the twist, you know you can't do both, you need to push back on one. Now ask yourself, which task would you pick, and why? When answering this question, a lot of developers will think about technological advancement of the project each task could bring, or perhaps some knowledge they could gain. In simple words, they'll use their hard skills to assess the situation. But today, hard skills are not enough. And let me explain you this. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with many software engineers, and let me tell you, most of them are exceptionally bright individuals. I try to stay in touch and follow their career closely. There is one engineer in particular who comes to mind. He could easily spend hours debating the merits of React versus Angular, or intricate methods to optimize database storage, or diving into the finest details of JavaScript interpretation. Honestly, being in the same room with him sometimes made me feel like I was out of my depth. His ability to craft elegant solutions to complex problems was so remarkable that I found constantly putting off my other tasks just to review his code and learn something new. But as the years went by, and despite his impressive technical achievements, promotion seems to have passed him by, and he wasn't alone. I've encouraged many brilliant engineers who described their technical expertise, struggled to gain recognition, and move up in the career ladder. And even if you decide to explore opportunities elsewhere, it's not a secret that today's job market is highly competitive. Every job posting attracts hundreds of applications and dozens of interviews. All of these engineers were technically experts, and in today's environment, that's simply not enough. To stand out, whether you're seeking a promotion or a new job, you need more than just a technical excellence. You need a soft skills and a business acumen. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. How leveraging business insights can be your key to standing out in this crowded field. But, who am I to talk on this topic? nearly a decade ago, I first began my journey as a JavaScript engineer. Over these years, I had the opportunity to work in the wide range of environments from small startups to corporations, from product focus companies to outsourcing companies, and each of these experiences have shaped my perspective. And recently, two years ago, I was promoted to software engineering manager. So LifeSync Syncs provides managerial perspective as well as individual This gives me a good view of how business acumen plays a crucial role in our careers. Alright, before we dive back into the soft skills, let's briefly review the key actors in our projects. In any project there are multiple parties who shape the outcome, and each of these groups brings a unique perspective to the table and their input is crucial at different stages of the project. But when it comes to making decision, whose opinion matter most? The truth is that all of these opinions are matter, but not equally and not in every stage. When making decisions, it's important to prioritize these voices based on the context. So first and foremost, we have the customers. They are the ones who ultimately bring the revenue, so their needs and feedback are critical. Business leaders are also key players. They are the ones who took the risks, created the business, and set the overall direction. for listening. Without their vision and leadership, there simply would be no project to work on. Project managers comes next, cause they act as a voice of customers within our teams, translating customers needs into actionable tasks. And finally, we have tech teams. While our technical expertise is essential in bringing the project to life, it's important to remember that our decisions should align with overarching business goals and customers needs. In summary, while it might be tempting to focus solely on the technical side, by aligning our decisions with the priorities of business leaders and project managers, we can ensure that our work not only solves the technical challenges, but also drives the business forward and meets the customers expectations. Now, let's talk about how our skills are perceived in this context. For most managers and business leaders, they don't come from technical backgrounds. To them, your hard skills and ability to code and develop features are like a binary switch. You either can't develop a feature in time, or you simply can't. And once you demonstrated a certain level of technical proficiency, others might see you as capable of getting the job done. However, due to the lack of understanding of the complexity of the work, they might not fully appreciate the excellence in certain skills. On another hand, soft skills are more like a flaws, they exist on spectrum and can be easily assessed by non technical people. Your ability to communicate effectively, collaborate with others, and think critically are all visible and measurable. This is why once you reach the certain level in coding abilities, investing good time in developing your soft skills became crucial. These are the skills that will set you apart and will make your work visible and appreciated by everyone, not only technical folks. And this helps you advance in your career, when the technical expertise alone is no longer enough. This all brings us to the concept of business acumen. So what is this business acumen about? I would define it as a combination of several soft skills applied to the right context. And what soft skills are we talking about? Think about what's essential for starting and running a successful business. Problem solving. Every business is funded on the need to solve some specific problems. Next, we have communication. To be successful, you need to be able to deliver your ideas and solutions effectively. Next, we have critical thinking. Critical thinking, we have to understand the problems that we are trying to solve, and this is very essential. Leadership and proactivity. You need to take action and drive the initiatives to achieve the success. These are the same principles that apply directly to software engineering. If you think about each feature that you work on as a small business, you would see that the problem solving, communication, critical thinking, and leadership are just as crucial in our field. Having business acumen in software development means more than just writing a good code. It means to understand stakeholders needs, making decisions that aren't just technically sound, but also strategically smart, and anticipating the effect of your work. It's ability to see beyond the immediate technical challenge and grasp the broader implications for the business. This is what distinguish the good engineers from the great ones. Those who not only solve the problems, but do it so in the way that they can. that drives the business forward. And you might be thinking this is all sound very complicated and boring and I just want to write some software without getting caught up in the politics. But let me break down what business mastery really means in practical terms and you'll see it's not so complex. So at its core business is all about earning money. Even non profit organizations need to generate income not for profit, but to fund their operation and achieve their goals. And to do this, business owners employ us. That's a sad capitalist reality. But it's true. The main reason we have jobs is not to experiment with new frameworks or play with cutting edge technology, but to contribute to the financial success of our organizations. And in a software company, making money means attracting and retaining more clients. As simple as that, more clients, more money. To achieve this, a few things are crucial. Understand client's needs. You need to know what your clients wants and you need to figure out it fast. It involves listening to their feedback, analyzing market trends and anticipating their future needs, solving client's problems. Once you understand what clients need, the next step is to solve their problems. And again, speed is of the essence. The faster you can provide the solution, the more competitive you become. And iterating. Finally, it's not enough to just release a solution and call it a day. You need to continuously iterate, refine, improve, and adapt your software to changing client needs and market conditions. And we need to do it fast to stay ahead of the competition. This cycle of understanding, solving, iterating at the speed is the essence of how the software companies succeed in the marketplace. Now you might wonder, what about all of these business analysts, product owners, and project managers? Isn't this their job? And you are right. These roles are specifically designed to focus on understanding business needs and translating them into actionable tasks. They spent years learning and mastering these skills. Your job isn't to replace them, but to act as a bridge between their strategic vision and your technical execution. Here is where your technical expertise becomes invaluable. While business analysts and product owners excel in identifying what needs to be done, They often lack of the technical knowledge to understand the best way to solve this. For example, have you ever been in a situation when the project manager tells you that the change is very small because a similar change was made in another project, but you realize that in reality it's not that simple and it might require significant architectural changes? This is a perfect example of where your technical knowledge comes into play. By understanding both the business goals and technical constraints, you can propose a better solution that meets the business needs. while also being efficient and feasible from a technical standpoint. This is a win situation. You're helping the business to achieve its goals while you're ensuring the technical implementation is sound and sustainable. This is what business acumen looks like in practice for a software engineer. Leveraging your unique position to connect the dots between business strategy and technical execution. Now let's talk the way how you can develop the business acumen skills. First step in mastering business acumen is to truly understand the industry your company operates in. This means more than just knowing the technical details. You need to learn the language of your industry, the specific terminology that is commonly used. Understanding this glossary will help you to grasp the requirements more effectively and communicate more fluently with non technical colleagues. Additionally, take the time to learn about the key aspects and regulations that apply to your industry. Every industry has its own set of rules and standards that can significantly impact how business is done. By familiarizing yourself with this, you not only improve your understanding of why certain decisions are made, but also increase your value as someone who can foresee potential challenges and opportunities. One practical approach is to read industry articles regularly or even take the course related to your field. Whether it's through online platforms, industry publication, or professional development courses. Explaining your knowledge beyond, expanding your knowledge beyond just software will make you a more rounded and insightful contributor. Next, it's crucial to understand the internal structure of your company, and most importantly, how it makes money. This might seem straightforward, but it can be more complex than it appears. For instance, the revenue model might not be immediately obvious, especially in larger organizations or those with diverse product lines. Start by learning who your customers are. Are they individual consumers, other businesses, or perhaps government entities? Then dive deeper into understanding how your company earns revenue. This could involve subscription models, direct sales, partnership, or other streams to get the information and engage with departments within your company, such as leadership, project management, and sales. These teams are often more than happy to share insights about how the business operates because they know. When the tech team understand the business model, everyone benefits. One of the simplest yet most effective ways to develop business acumen is by listening proactively, especially during company town halls and other board meetings, this session often covers strategic goals, company performance, and future plans, essential insights for anyone looking to understand the business better, instead of just having these meetings on the background, as usual, make a point to actively listen. Take notes, ask follow up questions. If the opportunity arrives and reflect on how the information shared might impact your work, you'll find that many of your answers to your questions could be followed in these discussions, providing you with a cleaner sense of direction and purpose in your role. When the new feature I handed over to you, don't be afraid to ask why initialize. This might be feel a bit awkward, but it's a powerful habit to develop by asking why each feature is being implemented, you start to understand the reasoning behind it. What problem is it solving and why is it important now? Over time, you will see the bigger picture without even needing to ask. You'll develop an instinct to understanding the motivation behind the feature requests, which allows you to align your technical solution more closely with the business objectives. This understanding transforms your role from simply executing tasks to contributing strategically. As you start connecting the dots between the motivation and the proposed solution, you might come up with even better ideas. Perhaps a technologically superior solution, or a faster approach, or something that achieved both. I have to admit that someone who is a little bit lazy, there is nothing more satisfying than taking just a long boring task and proposing a minor update to existing project that solves the problem just as well if not better. And when everyone agrees to your proposal, it's a win. Don't hesitate to share your ideas. It's your opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and show how deeply you understand both the technical and business sides of the equation. Even if your idea is not as good and not getting picked up, expressing it is far better than just staying quiet. It shows that you're thinking critically about how to improve the business, which is exactly what this business acumen is all about. Finally, one of the best ways to accelerate your development in business acumen is to find a mentor. But don't limit yourself to a technical side. Seek out a mentor from a non technical department or even someone outside of the company. A mentor will, with a different perspective, can provide invaluable insights into how the business decisions are made, how to communicate with more, more effectively with non technical colleagues, and how to position yourself as a key contributor to the company's success. This relationship can open up new ways to thinking, how you can bridge the gap between technical expertise and business strategy, making you a more well rounded and impactful professional. Alright, at its core, business acumen is all about ability to understand the needs of others and deliver solutions that addresses those needs. It may take some time while until you start seeing these needs of different parties, but here are some shortcuts for you. In startups, the focus is often on innovation, speed, and adaptability. You need to implement your products fast, and you need to be willing to pivot based on the customer feedback and market shifts. The need here is for agility, a solution that can be implemented rapidly, often with limited resources, to test ideas and iterate based on what works. Tech depth is not only norm, but necessity. Big companies prioritize stability, scalability, and optimization. Their focus is on maintaining what they already built while carefully expanding and optimizing. Here is a need often for robust, tested solutions that can handle large scale operations without disruptions. When working on this or with big companies, the emphasis should be on creating reliable, efficient systems that align with existing processes and can support future growth. Product companies focus on building and maintaining their own products. The goal is here to create value through innovation, user experience, and long term customer satisfaction. Their needs here is often to deep understand of the domain of the project and the strong focus on quality and user feedback. When you're working with a product company, focus on understanding the product lifecycle, user needs, and long term vision. Outsourcing companies, on the other hand, provide services to businesses, often working with the projects for a variety of clients, their primary need is efficiency and delivery, completing project in time within budgets and to the client expectations, the emphasis on meeting client expectations and managing resources effectively to maximize profit margins with outsourcing firms. The priority is delivering high quality work efficiently and managing clients responsibilities. Relationships carefully. Okay. Project managers. They can take a task by converting customer's needs into actionable requirements that could be done with allocating the smallest possible resources and time. As an engineer, one of the best way you can support your PM is by helping to find the most effective path to solution. This means identifying ways to achieve the desired outcome with the smallest possible resource allocation and within the shortest timeframe. It's about finding the sweet spot where you meet the customer's needs without creating unnecessary complexity or burden on the team. Business leaders, they focus on driving company strategic vision and ensuring profitability and fostering long term growth. They make a high level decision that align with company goals, manage risks, and allocate resource to maximize returns. As an engineer, You can support business leaders by aligning your work with these strategic objectives. This means understanding the company goals and ensuring your technical decisions help achieve them effectively. Focus on delivering solutions that meet both immediate needs and long term business goals. Always keeping your eye on how your work contributes to the broader success of the company. Now let's talk what benefits you can get once you master your business acumen. Mastering business acumen directly contributes to your company's success. When you understand how to align your work with the business goals, you'll help increase overall performance. And boosts of performance can lead to more revenue of the company, which often translates into bigger salaries and bonuses for employees. In short, when your company wins, so do you. Next is when you focus solely on coding, your impact may only be recognized within the tech department. When you are proactive and engaging with PMs, leaderships, and of even sales team, you start to build a broader network of your advocates. These connections can significantly boost your credibility even in areas within your primary expertise like technology. This positive visibility can lead to more opportunities for promotion and make your valuable asset to the company, improving both of your retention and advancement prospects. It's hard to overestimate this as it boosts your confidence a lot too. Understanding business arguments also gives you an edge in job interviews. Most behavioral and culture fit interviews are really about assessing how well you match the business needs of the company. By understanding these needs, you can present your achievements as a solution to their challenges and address their challenges. This is not only increase your chance to landing the job, but also helps you to determine if your role is a good fit for you. Developing business mastery in your current role offers a risk free way to practice running a business. You get to learn the ins and outs of the business operations, business strategy, and decision making without the personal financial risk. This experience is invaluable. If you ever decide to start your own business down the road. So let's get back to the story when we started. You are faced with a choice, tackle the technologically challenging task that excites you, but only benefits a small group of advanced users, or focus on the simpler, less glamorous task that would improve the overall experience for a majority of your customers. The answer here lies in understanding the broader impact of your work. While the complex tasks might be more personally fulfilling, the simpler tasks align more closely with the business goals, enhancing the user experience for most of the customers, driving greater satisfaction and ultimately contributing to the company's success. The lesson here is clear. Sometimes, the base choice isn't about technical excitement, but the one that delivers the most value to the business and its users. As we wrap up, remember that mastering business acumen is about making decisions that align with a bigger picture. It's not just about technical skill. It's about understanding your impact and the impact of your work on the company's success. To develop this mindset, start by learning more about your industry, understanding your company structure and goals. and being proactive in finding the most efficient solutions. Engage with other departments, ask why for each task, and think about how the contributions can drive the business forward. I would love to continue this conversation and support you in developing your business acumen. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn if you're interested in learning more about business acumen for engineers. Thank you for your time today, let's keep pushing forward both technologically and strategically and create the real impact in our work. Thank you.