In a world where innovation moves faster than ever, clinging to yesterday’s workflows in the name of pride or nostalgia is a recipe for stagnation. There’s a persistent myth floating around many industries—especially in tech and knowledge work—that the “good old fashioned way” of doing things is somehow more noble. That writing code from scratch, configuring servers manually, or avoiding automation earns you more respect. But let’s be honest: what was once considered cutting-edge is now the bare minimum. Today’s “good old fashion way” is yesterday’s “easy button.” It’s time we embrace tools, abstractions, and efficiencies that let us move faster and think bigger. Street cred won’t pay the bills, but delivering value will.
Rethinking the “Good Old Fashioned” Work Ethic
The glorification of hard, manual labor in digital workspaces is outdated. Just because someone built their infrastructure on bare metal or hand-coded every single component doesn’t make their contribution more valuable than someone who used modern tools to accomplish the same results in a fraction of the time. In fact, it often signals inefficiency. We need to stop confusing effort with effectiveness. The goal isn’t to work harder—it’s to work smarter and deliver more impact.
There’s a dangerous allure to the idea that suffering through complexity builds character. It’s a mindset that rewards grind over growth, and it’s particularly prevalent in engineering and developer culture. But here’s the truth: no one gets a promotion for reinventing the wheel. True professionals aren’t afraid to let go of obsolete methods. They understand that progress comes from evolving, not proving you can still do things “the hard way.”
It’s time to redefine what real “work ethic” looks like. It’s not about proving how much pain you can endure. It’s about how effectively you can solve problems and create value. The best workers today understand how to leverage every available resource to move faster, reduce friction, and focus on the work that truly matters. That’s not laziness—it’s leadership.
Embracing Abstractions to Solve Bigger Problems
Abstractions are not shortcuts—they’re force multipliers. When you use high-level tools, platforms, or frameworks, you’re not “cheating.” You’re freeing up your time and mental bandwidth to tackle more strategic, complex, and valuable challenges. The engineers who built Kubernetes, Terraform, or React didn’t do it so you could ignore them and keep writing everything from scratch. They did it so you could go build the next game-changer.
Every industry evolves by building on top of previous innovations. No architect insists on quarrying their own stone. No filmmaker insists on manufacturing their own camera. So why do some developers still insist on building everything in-house? Abstractions exist to allow us to operate at a higher level of thinking. They’re the foundation of scale, innovation, and speed. When we embrace them, we’re not dumbing down—we’re leveling up.
There’s a reason the most successful companies adopt platforms and tools that abstract away complexity: it lets them focus on differentiation. If your team is still spending time on boilerplate tasks that could be automated or simplified, you’re not just wasting time—you’re falling behind. Embracing abstractions isn’t just a technical choice—it’s a strategic one. It’s how you move from being a contributor to a visionary.
Prioritizing Value Over Outdated Cultural Norms
The obsession with “street cred” in tech and business culture is a distraction. It’s performative and, frankly, toxic. Who benefits from a culture where people are judged on how much sleepless toil they endure, instead of the value they bring to the table? Not your organization. Not your customers. And certainly not you. It’s time to block out those outdated norms and focus on what actually drives results.
Value is the only metric that matters. Did you ship a product that customers love? Did you reduce costs? Did you help your team move faster and smarter? That’s what leadership cares about. Whether you used a low-code platform or wrote every line yourself is irrelevant. The market doesn’t reward effort—it rewards outcomes. And the faster we internalize that, the more effective we’ll become in our careers.
Let’s stop glamorizing burnout and start celebrating wisdom. The professionals who rise are the ones who know how to make smart decisions, not just hard ones. They use the right tools at the right time, focus on what moves the needle, and ignore the noise. That’s the real flex—not how many hours you worked, but how much value you delivered. Let the streets keep their cred. You’ve got a business to grow.
The days of gatekeeping innovation with pride and pain are over. It’s time to embrace a new kind of professional ethos—one that prioritizes results over rituals and value over vanity. The tools and abstractions available to us today are not signs of weakness but of wisdom. They allow us to step up, move faster, and take on the next big challenge. So let go of the outdated expectations. Block out the noise. And focus on what really matters: delivering value, growing your impact, and unlocking the next phase of your career.
