I’ve found some of the most useful people on forums like StackOverflow, have very little experience
actually shipping product.
They are often my “go to” people, for things like the correct way to do stuff, or for rabbithole exploration of technology/technique, but it comes more from a place of theory, than it does, from practical application.
This is not always a bad thing. In fact, it can be a very good thing.
I’m very much a “get the job done” type of chap. I get my hands dirty, and regularly get stuff out, and into the world.
But I don’t give myself a lot of time to learn esoteric theory or optimization. I do the thing, but maybe not as well as it could be done, or as effectively.
That’s why I appreciate some of these folks that spend all their time, exploring the whys of the techn[ology|ique]. I’ll buy their books, take their classes, or read their posts, and apply the fruits of their work to mine. One of the authors I respect the most for his amazing knowledge of the depths of Apple tech, had, the last time I checked, just one, rather silly, app on the App Store; but he’s written multiple books, and been a major presence at a lot of conferences.
There’s also a lot to be said for effective communicators. Knowing stuff can be worthless, if there’s no way to transmit the information. Writing books is really difficult. Writing books that people want to read, even more so.
Being a good speaker is also a valuable skill. There are folks with minimal expertise, that I can listen to for hours, and people that really know their stuff, that are great soporifics.
If someone can explain something to me, quickly and clearly, so I “get it,” then that person is valuable to me.
In turn, someone like me, can take their theory, and turn it into a real “thing”; handling all the repetitive, “boring” stuff that is required to get it out the door.
There’s a lot of looking down of noses, between “doers,” “talkers,” and “thinkers,” but I’ve found it’s best to have respect for each other, and combine our strengths.