MANY PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE THAT MY JOB EVEN EXISTS… (EXPLAIN MY DUAL JOB) AND THEY'RE RIGHT, IT DOESN'T EXIST ON ANY JOB BOARD, BECAUSE I INVENTED IT. IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK. EVERYONE HAS HEARD THAT BUSINESS FOLKLORE / LIFE LESSON ABOUT "DO ONE THING AND DO IT WELL"? I THINK THAT'S COMPLETELY IDIOTIC -- 1, BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE GOOD AT, 2. THE PEOPLE WILL GET REALLY BORING, AND 3. WHEN THE ECONOMY CHANGES, YOU'RE TOTALLY FUCKED. SO THERE ARE SOME VERY PRACTICAL REASONS TO USING A HYBRID APPROACH. THE HYBRID APPROACH WORKS FOR ME BECAUSE 1. THERE ARE VERY REAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BOTH SIDES OF MY JOBS THAT MAKE THEM MORE SIMILAR THAN YOU MIGHT THINK, AND 2. BECAUSE THE ABILITY TO BOUNCE BETWEEN MULTIPLE ROLES MEANS I ALWAYS HAVE AN ESCAPE ROUTE AND I AVOID BURNOUT + BOREDOM BY CHANGING GEARS. WHEN I TOLD SOMEONE FROM A STARTUP ABOUT THIS TALK HE SAID, "OH I HAVE TO COME SEE THAT SO I UNDERSTAND WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT -- THE HYBRID PEOPLE I'VE WORKED WITH DON'T SEEM TO BE AS PRODUCTIVE IN EITHER AREA AS A SPECIALIST." AND HE'S EXACTLY RIGHT. HERE'S WHAT A HYBRID IS *NOT*:
IT'S NOT TWO PAIRS OF EYES / HANDS IN ONE BODY (FOR ONE PAYCHECK).
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE TWICE AS "PRODUCTIVE" IN TERMS OF # OF COMPS OR LINES OF CODE
Just like everyone else, Hybrids CANNOT do two (or three) jobs at once. IT'S MORE LIKE X-RAY VISION -- PRACTICING AT BEING A HYBRID MEANS SEEING THROUGH THE SURFACE TO THE COMMONALITY IN EVERYTHING, BEING GREAT AT NEGOTIATING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THINGS, AND DEALING WITH LOTS OF NEWNESS AND CHANGE ALL THE TIME. FOR THE CD / BOSS, HIRING A HYBRID IS LIKE REMOVING FRICTION. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES NOW HAPPENS AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT! IT'S LIKE LISTENING TO SOMEONE HAVE A CONVERSATION IN THEIR SLEEP. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE OTHER PERSON WILL SEEM TO HAVING ONE HALF OF AN ACCELERATED CONVERSATION, WITHOUT PAUSING FOR THE OTHER PERSON TO RESPOND, WHICH IS OF COURSE BECAUSE *IN THEIR HEAD*, THEIR BRAIN IS RESPONDING AT SYNAPTIC SPEED, AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO FORM THE WORDS. CERTAIN KINDS OF THINGS LIKE INNOVATION / PROTOTYPING, WORK REALLY WELL. THAT'S THE HYBRID ADVANTAGE. SO I SAID HYBRID APPROACH, SO WHAT IS IT? JUST LEARNING TWICE AS MUCH? NO. NO NO NO. BE TOTALLY LAZY. SUCCEEDING AS A HYBRID (OR IN LIFE, IMHO), IS ABOUT FINDING AND USING METAPHORS TO TRANSFER WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW INTO NEW UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT NEW THINGS. metaphor is the foundation of learning -- we come to understand something new in terms of things we already know -- we map new onto the old. HERE'S ONE OF MINE -- CODE IS MORE LIKE LANGUAGE (than it is like math). SO THIS IDEA OF ONE BRAIN CONTAINING BOTH A DEVELOPER + A DESIGNER WAS INTERESTING -- IT LED TO SOMETHING THAT WAS KIND OF GREATER THAN THE SOME OF THE PARTS, OR IF NOT "GREATER", DIFFERENT. KIND OF LIKE HOW LEARNING A 2nd LANGUAGE MAKES A 3rd MUCH EASIER AS A DESIGN+DEVELOPER HYBRID ITS YOUR JOB TO *TEACH* PEOPLE HOW TO WORK WITH YOU! Designer's tools are creativity and empathy -- hybrids get to use those tools to plug into other people's knowledge and connect / contribute. SHARE AND TEACH *BEFORE YOU'RE READY*
Document and share your experiences while you’re STILL ACTIVELY LEARNING… help others while you’re still filled with wonder. AND REMEMBER, IGNORE THA HATERS.
Interviews as a hybrid will be tough if you don't have a very crisp story to tell and good work to back it up.
Have a "pitch" for yourself that's compelling and committed (not waffle-y)
Live your pitch. Treat it as a design problem: you are the product and you have ten seconds to pitch it. CLOSING THOUGHT : HYBRID = VERY FULFILLING. CEO MBTI CENTRALITY.
EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED :-)