What really is it that makes these people just so much more valuable?
But to the extent that nuanced sensibilities matter, I would add (alongside the sibling post):
- An ability to think about things intrinsically, combined with a hidebound indifference to hype, trends and groupthink of any sort.
- And synthetically, across disparate areas such as product design, usability, economics, social context, etc.
- A certain appetite for risk when it is most beneficial (e.g. in spotting people who have significant potential but who don't fit the expected mold); and correspondingly, a distinct aversion to risk in areas where it matters most (e.g. backups, unethical behavior, etc).
"Exploratory Experimental Studies Comparing Online and Offline Programming Performance" by Sackman, Erikson, and Grant. Communications of the ACM. January 1968.
- Appreciation for software craftsmanship and a hunger to constantly learn how to write better software
- Does not follow dogma, but instead understands when to strategically apply or not apply certain processes and tools
- T shaped knowledge graph that's ever growing
- A strong intuition for what actually provides end-user value, but also pays attention to and cares about the finer details that most overlook