Post #1682356

2026-04-21 13:12 UTC

One of my most unpopular takes is that most folk who work in developer community type roles could learn a thing or two from salespeople

Replies (2)

@sue@glasgow.social 2026-04-21 13:13

Or even anyone attempting to influence a community, aspiring people leaders, activists, anyone with political aspirations

Open ##1799079
@benfry@information.garden 2026-04-22 11:40

@sue Yeah, we have a family friend who is scary good at sales and it's extremely humbling to watch him work. He's not technical, but is very successful, even in gnarly technical environments like digital forensics. I also think frequently about Bob Metcalfe saying “I didn't make money /inventing/ ethernet, I made money /selling/ it” and how much drudgery and legwork was involved in the first several years of what eventually became a such a huge success that (especially technical) people tend to take it for granted. I don't aspire to be either of these people, but it's grounding to see the disconnect between having an idea and building it, versus engaging others in it, whether encouraging their participation or purchase.

Open ##1799087