A friend / ex-colleague recently asked me if I would be interested in taking up a position as an Architect (Software, that is) in a company that he was about to join. In his opinion, my strength was technology although I was most recently working in a senior leadership position (Director - Product Development). Although I feel there is some truth in what he said, it made me wonder. Would I really be able to do a good job as a Software Architect? After all, I've been so cut off from all forms of coding (Java or otherwise) that I am not so sure that I will be able to contribute effectively as an Architect, nor will I be able to compete against the hordes of young, energetic programmers that seem to be gushing out of the reputed Indian colleges (mostly IITs, NITs & BITS).
The more I think about it, the more I feel that the best analogy for my role would be that of a conductor like Zubin Mehta. I know how to read music (requirements) and translate that into tasks for different groups of instrumentalists (programmers, testers, analysts, managers). In order to produce good music, I need to hire talented musicians for my orchestra, equip them with high-quality instruments, ensure that they maintain them periodically, understand the strengths and weaknesses of each artist and position them appropriately to emphasize their music (or drown them out, as appropriate), understand the music and twirl my baton in the right way to ensure that every artist plays what is required, when it is required.
Now, is this analogy clichéd? I don't know. I know that I didn't steal it from anywhere, so I hope I don't get pulled up for plagiarism. Sure, there may be some holes in this analogy, but I thought it to be apt for what I feel my role is.
That's it...peace out!
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