Digital software building a more robust economy

By Scott Benjamin

To generate an economic revival, the Biden Administration may need more than the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act, continuation of Jerome Powell’s easy money policies, new roads, bridges and broadband and the ability to teach China a thing or two.

To defy the laws of economic gravity and make the Phillips Curve obsolete by sustaining low unemployment, low inflation and low interest rates simultaneously, it may take more than a public relations tour by Joe, Jill and Kamala.

Apparently the administration might also need to establish a jobs center in the White House where the senior aides get on their iPhones and increase the volume of software developers.

Jeff Lawson stated in his current Wall Street Journal bestseller, “Ask Your Developer” (Harper Collins, 278 pages), that in 2019 there were four times as many open software jobs as there were new computer science graduates.

Lawson is the founder and CEO of Twilio, based in San Francisco, which has a much-heralded billboard near Route 101 with the words, “Ask Your Developer.”

As of last summer the firm had 190,000 customers. Forbes has called it “the sexiest stock in the world.”

Yet, Lawson has said that frequently companies treat their software developers like “digital factory workers,” when it fact they often have the creative solutions expand revenue.

In a book review for ZDNet, Mary Branscombe wrote, “Most business leaders know far more about motivating their sales team than their developers, and media stereotypes of misfit geeks don't help. Code is creative, Lawson maintains, and developers are creative problem-solvers, and if you're handing them a detailed product requirements document rather than engaging that creativity it's likely to divert into side projects – or a new job. Readers don't get instructions on how to design a better requirement specification process, just examples of letting developers investigate problems and work them out. Lawson spends much more time explaining how to encourage experiments and deal well with failures, so you don't discourage those creative developers, but also know when to shut projects down. “

Proceeds from “Ask Your Developer” are being donated to youth organizations NPOWER, Year Up, Smash, and Black Girls Code “to ensure that developers and technologists reflect the diverse world.” Additionally, the Twilio Impact Fund is donating $100,000 to each of those organizations.

Lawson recently answered questions via e-mail from Patch.com.

Patch: “Ask Your Developer” states that in 2019 there were four times as many open software jobs as there were new computer science graduates. Why are so few people graduating from college with computer science degrees when we have been in a digital economy for several years?

Jeff Lawson: This really speaks to the incredible, growing demand for coding skills that has come as a result of the world’s move to digital. Every company is becoming a software company - that is retailers, airlines, banks, etc. The way we reach our customers in the modern economy is through digital channels. Software developers are the builders of these digital experiences -- and the demand for their skills is more coveted and more critical to every company’s survival than ever before.

Patch: Are other developed countries experiencing obstacles in harnessing the power of their software developers?

Jeff Lawson: This is a challenge and an opportunity for every company - no matter where you are based. The need to digitally transform your business is not just a necessity in the US. Software has enabled companies to become more agile and better serve their customers across industries, those companies - both startups and incumbents - that embrace this change will succeed and those who do not, risk becoming obsolete.

Back when companies first started to incorporate software into their business plans, the choices were build vs. buy existing out of the box software. But today companies need to be more agile and respond quickly to changing customer needs, the choice now is to build software that will continue to adapt with the business or die. In order to do this successfully, we need to unlock the power of our developers - the builders of that software.

Patch: What has been the response to “Ask Your Developer” from business executives?

Jeff Lawson: The response has been great. I wrote the book because I had been having this conversation with executives from every industry for years. What I heard was that every company wants to evolve and remain relevant but lots of leaders don’t know how. I think of Ask Your Developer as a playbook to help leaders understand how to become great builders of software - an essential skill for every company that will operate in the future digital economy. The biggest takeaway I’d like business leaders to learn from Ask Your Developer is developers tend to be an underutilized resource in companies, the key is to tap into their creativity and allow them to solve your company’s biggest problems. Unleashing the creativity of developers is the key to innovation, no matter what industry you are in, and I believe that is why the book has been received positively within the business community.

Patch: In a recent New York Times column, University of Washington History Professor Margaret O’Mara wrote that even though a couple of major companies – Oracle and Hewlett Packard – are moving some of their operations from California to Texas, Silicon Valley, with its vast resources, will continue to thrive. Do you agree?

Jeff Lawson: Silicon Valley has bred and cultivated some of the most successful and innovative companies in the world. I fully understand, respect, and support the desire to seek out more affordable locations when the opportunity presents itself. California and the Bay Area have some issues to work through, and no place is perfect, but I agree with Professor O’Mara that Silicon Valley will continue to thrive.

What San Francisco needs now - as small businesses are desperate for a lifeline, average Americans are food insecure, workers are losing their jobs, homes and loved ones to this nasty virus and shelters and hospitals are overrun - is for leaders to step up and give back. Silicon Valley leaders need to commit to helping our community not only get through this pandemic but to emerge stronger, more equitable, and more sustainable for all. Twilio is staying put in the Bay Area and I’ve asked my colleagues, friends and fellow CEOs to do the same. There is a reason Silicon Valley has become such a successful hub of innovation, the Bay will continue to thrive as existing companies that are committed, like Twilio, continue to grow and new residents and companies will find their home and success here.

Patch: Would more companies thrive by placing emphasis on an engineers’ mindset as the tech titans have done over the recent years in which there is greater attention paid to inventing products?

Jeff Lawson: Companies that enable creativity and innovation from all parts of the business, not just from developers, will be successful. I have an entire chapter dedicated to this in my book: Experimentation is the prerequisite to innovation. You can create an environment where your employees are encouraged to experiment and possibly fail while ensuring your company doesn’t lose in the end. There is a smart, structured way to experiment, here are a few highlights from the chapter:

To start, all potential experiments need to have a big potential impact and a way to measure success, no matter how small the experiment may start. Additionally, leaders must run several experiments at the same time, don’t put all your efforts into one - you must diversify. Adjust your view of failure, it’s a learning process, if you aren’t learning from a “failed” experiment that would be the true failure.

Patch: Do you think that the increase in online commerce during the pandemic will continue afterwards, and what is the potential impact on brick and mortar stores and the business real estate market?

Jeff Lawson: The move to online shopping or digital first interactions was already happening. The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation that was already occurring within companies. It’s our belief that the solutions built today in response to COVID will become the standard for the future. In fact, based on research Twilio released earlier this year, 92% of companies reported that COVID accelerated their move to the cloud. The same research reported nearly half of companies say better customer experience and satisfaction are the top benefits of digitizing customer engagement. This new way of interacting with customers is not going away anytime soon and it will enable businesses that do it right to thrive.