Layers of Innovation

Dan Goslen
7 min read1 day ago
Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash

Software companies love to talk about innovation. Whether they are building a product that will “revolutionize the way teams do X” or will “disrupt the market”, there is real value in convincing investors that a company is doing something unique and innovative.

You’ll also see this idea on job postings or in advice on how to grow your career. “To get to the next level, you must innovate, challenge the status quo, and bring new ideas to your teams.”

But we’ve also heard the tried-and-true adage, “Don’t reinvent the wheel” or “Don’t forget the basics.”

How can you reconcile these two ideas as you chart a course for growth in your career?

In my experience, this comes down to learning that innovation is just like many software architectures: it’s built in layers.

Layers of Innovation

What I mean by layers of innovation is that there are different “forms” of innovating in software.

You could be building a new product that changes how teams communicate still utilizing a (now conventional) cloud architecture. Or you could be rebuilding an existing application by moving it to the cloud to save on cost via Lambdas or other pay-as-you-go services.

You could also be working on an internal platform or foundations team, where you…

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Dan Goslen
Dan Goslen

Written by Dan Goslen

Jesus follower | Husband | Dad | Software engineer. Helping devs build better teams

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