Don't fall in love with your tools

One of my favorite mental models:

Simplified, much of human endeavour follows this path: feel hunger, see mammoth, gather people, plan, create tools, kill the mammoth, enjoy dinner. Or, in even simpler terms: recognize challenge, collaborate on a plan, create tools, solve.

Over time, as challenges repeat, humans specialize, deepening expertise in specific tasks. With this specialization comes a narrowing focus. The arrow maker masters their craft but, with limited bandwidth, pays less attention to the bigger picture. Thus, experts become craftsmen, proud of their tools but primarily focused on refining their part of the solution. Repetition rewards optimization, which in turn rewards specialization – a depth-first pursuit, often at the expense of breadth.

In today’s tech landscape, we face an overwhelming abundance of tools. Many tech professionals are self-taught, entering the field through hands-on problem-solving rather than formal theory. Their first contact with tech is toying with tools, that is what tech feels like for many. They enjoy how the tools feel in their hand. This practical background demands that tech leads keep this bias in mind and actively broaden their perspective – and that of their teams: the task is fundamental, and tools are just one part of the solution, adapted to an organization’s unique needs. Yet this hierarchy is often overlooked.

The goal is never an ideal solution, but the best solution within a given context. Losing sight of context can render technically well-constructed solutions useless for their intended purpose.

Tools only become solutions through collaboration. Too often, social and organizational dynamics are neglected by those fixated on tools, leading them to miss truly optimal solutions.

A good craftsman values their tools, taking pride in their development and skill. A master, however, knows their tools but can set them aside when needed – because they do not fall in love with their tools; they love the craft itself.

It’s not about the tools you use; it’s about solving the real problem. It’s about hunger and mammoths, not the arrow.