New Programmer's Survival Manual

Tip 29

Put Yourself in the Company’s Shoes

[​​Black Belt] Once in a while, you’ll want to mentally check in with the company’s big-picture goals. Do you understand why and where it’s going?

Let’s say you’ve joined a company that’s setting out to change the world. When your product ships, it’ll revolutionize the way people communicate, keep track of their kids, and do their laundry. That’s fine and good, but your product is not the underlying reason the company exists.

“Why are we here?” is perhaps the biggest of big-picture questions. Its answer, however, is simple: the role, the underlying raison d’être, of any company ...