Leaders Are Tool Builders: Why I Wrote My Own JavaScript UI Framework

Leaders Are Tool Builders: Why I Wrote My Own JavaScript UI Framework(iteration.maiwriter.com)

14 points by kennyfrc 2 years ago | 21 comments

MrVandemar 2 years ago |

"Leaders are tool builders" reads like someone trying to convince themselves of their own marketing hype. It's a generalisation that certainly doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Martin Luther King, for example, was a leader, and he's not known for his tool-crafting prowess.

Some leaders create tools. Some people who aren't, or wouldn't consider themselves to be leaders, make tools.

Communitivity 2 years ago | |

Sometimes as an engineer we think of things only in terms of engineering. A tool isn't limited to a chisel, or a linter. Other types of tools include algorithms, economic theories, coping mechanisms, and strategies. When I think of a tool..ok, after I am done thinking of some PHBs I've had and some current political candidates, after that..I think of a thing that facilitates performing some activity for yourself or for others by making it some combination of easier, faster, cheaper, better performing. The 'for others' part is critical, because that is big part of leadership, in my mind.

With that in mind, was Dr. Martin Luther King a tool builder?

His area of focus that he's most known for is civil rights.

He created, and taught, strategies for non-violent protest, strategies for bringing disparate communities together so they had a louder collective voice. He crafted speeches that inspired people of all walks of life at the time, and continue to inspire 60 years later (His 'I have a dream' speech was in 1963), and I think will inspire people at least another 60 years. He treated all people equal. In his later years he spoke out against the Vietnam War. and called for a bill of rights for all Americans. The very pattern of his life is a tool, a model for young men in how to behave, how to protest, how to live.

While many, many people worked toward this goal - a great portion of the credit goes to Dr. Martin Luther King for the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

I would count myself as have lived a great life as a leader if at the end I have achieved a tenth of the tool building Dr. Martin Luther King did.

jjj123 2 years ago | | |

So anyone who’s a role model is a tool builder? Seems like a stretch to me.

stephenr 2 years ago | |

A good number of people who call themselves leaders are in fact tools

csomar 2 years ago |

The author is getting a bit of heat, and I think rightfully so. Here is the "tool" he's all bragging about: https://github.com/kennyfrc/cami.js/blob/master/src/cami.js

The whole thing is 250 Loc half of which is comments. And not to discount on that (Redux itself is not that big, though the ecosystem is). But this tool/project could be just a few blog posts where the author explains the patterns/libraries he is using.

It also doesn't help that his blog post/tool has the highest concentration of buzzword language you can expect. Please don't do that.

dvt 2 years ago |

I understand building something novel (even if it's crazy), but this is just yet another framework using observables + redux pattern. It's been done to death, and imo I don't even think it's that good of a paradigm, in spite of it being everywhere these days.

To be a leader, you need to have at least some opinionated design decisions. This is just bandwagoning at its finest. (Bring back global objects!)

politelemon 2 years ago |

The reasoning feels 'off' to me. They created a framework because the author wanted to be a leader, and because Meta's initial motivation was their ad manager... but those are philosophy/ideology reasons, not actual technical reasons. React is indeed complicated that is true, however other frameworks exist, which are also popular, and easier to work with, and to find answers for. I feel that's a pretty important factor - if you are spending your people time on building and maintaining a framework, that's time not being spent on other parts of the business.

beardyw 2 years ago |

It is sad to me that there seems to be a need to justify not using existing tools. Everyone should feel free to do their own thing within a community. This is a good example poorly expressed I my opinion.

vcryan 2 years ago |

I had been wondering what leaders are, thanks!

eatonphil 2 years ago |

Many of us who like to learn software internals have built a JavaScript framework once or twice. And for that spirit of digging into how things work, I applaud the author! Maybe in time they'll be digging into how compilers and web browsers work.

I can't explain why exactly I think it's hubris to introduce this at your workplace, but I at least wanted to cheer on the effort to learn how things work under the hood.

kugelblitz 2 years ago |

“For non-technical folks, Cami.js is a code library that aims to maximize developer productivity - providing the power of Meta's React.js with the simplicity of lightweight libraries like jQuery. I wanted a framework with React's capabilities without all the complexity.”

I don’t think non-people will understand this. Seems to be aimed at that product owner, who has done some hobby programming for 2 months and keeps up with the buzz words so to be able to say “hey, I’m like one of you devs!”

blueboo 2 years ago |

I think the title is another sensible variation of tech leads as workflow-unblockers, corner-uncutters and process-robustifiers. For all of these functions, however, you still need good judgment.

I do wonder what exactly this particular choice, a micro framework, unblocks? I’m reading some broad concerns about the provenance of React but it’s not clear that’s grounded in a need of the team.

There are some challenging dynamics on the horizon for this team…I’d be keen to hear how this goes, six or twelve months on.

_heimdall 2 years ago |

I wonder if the author really meant thought leaders, not just leaders.

At least in the web dev space, framework and tool authors are often looked to as thought leaders.

There's definitely something to be said for an opinion after taking action and learning the lessons of building a framework, but it does set a perverse incentive to build yet another framework if you want your opinion to be heard.

endemic 2 years ago | |

Right, kind of a “put up or shut up” sort of thing. Easier to listen to/take seriously someone who has actually written the code.

cushychicken 2 years ago |

Turns out the only way to get more heat on HN than submitting your JS code is to imply that you are a leader. Who knew?

_lex 2 years ago |

Leaders build systems that build tools.

They sometimes build the tools themselves if communication /finding help would take more effort and time than diy.

Any other deployment indicates waste (e.g. ego / needing to show off your awesomeness, or needing to upskill yourself because you aren't the right skill-shape for the job) or a company starved for capital that is sacrificing the long term for the short in order to survive.

thesaintlives 2 years ago |

So writes someone who is not a leader. Leaders are organisers amongst many other things. Tool builders not so much..

davexunit 2 years ago |

Offputting title. Absurd AI generated image in the header. A maybe kinda neat little project that in this context makes me think "...OK?"

gnrlst 2 years ago |

If his JS library is as well thought out and as his writing is logical then it must be among the worst UI frameworks ever created.

marklubi 2 years ago |

Now we have n+1 problems

morbicer 2 years ago |

Nice ego buddy. Are you going to write form validation, i18n, date picker, request fetching and caching and myriad other libraries for your team?

You know why other leaders choose React? Because other people wrote that shit already and their team can focus on the business domain.