Ask HN: Can you help a developer understand the business language?

2 points by mactunes 2 years ago | 3 comments

Hi HN,

I was wondering: whenever I (a developer) have had meetings with "business people" in my company, it seemed like they were speaking a completely different language. Yes it was English, but words like "business proposition", "value add", etc. always made it hard to follow.

Although I've managed to follow along and participate in these discussions I often feel like the alien in the room.

I'm curious. Why is this? Who teaches the secret language of business. All kidding aside: are there any books, youtube videos, etc. that I can read to get better at this?

Many thanks!

GianFabien 2 years ago |

I'm an engineer who worked as a business analyst for a decade.

Most of those terms are important sounding jargon signifying nothing (sorry for the Hamlet-like quote).

There are stack of books in the "business" section of any library or bookshop. But I wouldn't waste my time and money on them.

Just focus on the important details, such as how the topic of conversation impacts upon revenue, profit, cost-savings, customer behaviour, staff motivation, etc. If the conversation gets too murky for you, ask questions to clarify the relevance to any of the above areas.

Don't blame me if you get un-invited to meetings after asking such questions. The 80-20 rule applies -- 80% of biznoids are flapping like crazy to look important and valuable.

cratermoon 2 years ago |

Do you have product manager? Ask them. Showing interest in the business side will get you noticed.

nh23423fefe 2 years ago |

Every professional domain has a vocabulary. You can ask the person who said something you didn't understand a question when you don't understand something.