Grace Hopper was a masterful innovator. Here are some of her techniques, adapted from Kurt Beyer's thoughtful biography which is the source of the quotes below.
1. Omnivorous
Learning
The hungry-minded versatility that typified Grace Hopper remains a hallmark of innovators in every field today.
From her early days as a
mathematics professor through her long corporate and military career, Grace
Hopper was an insatiable, omnivorous learner.
She audited university classes in a wide range of fields, “… became
quite an expert in military affairs … and mastered the machinations of a
variety of diverse industries, ranging from insurance to aerospace engineering. As a result, her mind was informed enough to
transcend her own intellectual discipline.
She had freed herself from any particular methodology, and could
approach problems from a variety of angles.” (p 316)
2. The Power
of Inexperience
Challenge, naivety, hubris and drive have always been potent forces for invention and innovation.
Hopper often challenged the least experienced
members of a team with the most difficult technical problems. “Experts have difficulty seeing beyond the
borders of their specialty.” Young,
inexperienced programmers did not know that they were supposed to fail, and had
“the ability to look beyond ‘what is’ and grasp ‘what could be’.” (p 315)
3. The More
Minds the Better
The power of sharing data, code and ideas through open source development, user groups, and other collaborative enterprises were all presaged by Grace Hopper. She was also instrumental in founding the ACM (see p 165.)
“Hopper believed that the process
of invention should not be confined to herself, her staff, or even her
company. Information flowed smoothly
between her team and other organizations, with Hopper serving as the conductor
of invention rather than its dictator.” (p318)
“Throughout the 1950s, she played
the role of facilitator, gathering technical, economic and social feedback
about automatic programming and embedded what she learned in the next iteration
of design.” (p321)
4. Risk, Resilience
and Irreverence
Grace Hopper was tough, determined, resilient and ready to assume considerable risk to push through her ideas and projects – the classic profile of an innovator.
Grace was also human, and her
accomplishments – like those of most innovators – “came at considerable
personal cost. Pioneers such as Hopper
are faced with far more than technical conundrums. They must deal with a variety of social and
psychological pressures… the technical pioneer must manage not only his or her
own doubts, but also the doubts of colleagues, investors, managers, end users
and a skeptical public. Being an
inventor is in many ways an act of faith:
faith in one’s own technical abilities, faith in those who work
alongside faith in the ultimate vision and purpose of the project.” (p 176)
5. Inventor as
Promoter
Paving a path and selling the vision make innovations start, and stick. This is true both within development environments, and in the world beyond.
“ ‘We had to introduce some kind of
system and discipline to it,’ Hopper recalled, ‘and that’s how I eventually got
put in charge of them. I realized the
things that had to be done and I pounded on management until they too accepted
the concepts.’ ” (p 220)
During the 1950s and beyond, much
of Hopper’s time and energy was dedicated to “spreading the gospel of automatic
programming through lectures, articles and conference presentations.” Historians note that Hopper and other
inventors “were responsible not only for the invention of new technologies, but
also for the integration of those technologies into the economic, political and
social fabric of society.” (p 318)
6. Go for It!
Hopper was forward-thinking, action oriented, optimistic and inspirational. Throughout her life, she blew through obstacle after obstacle, in relentless pursuit of her goals. I remember well her challenge:
“I have one piece of advice for you young people,” she announced. She smiled briefly, then glared at us, each one of us. “DO IT!” she commanded, loud and abrupt. “If you want to accomplish something, just DO IT. Don’t make excuses. Don’t ask permission. By the time the authorities have caught up with you, you’ll have it working, and they’ll be too glad to have it to care.” (source)
Innovators everywhere, and all the rest
of us, owe a lot -- from pivotal technical advances to ongoing inspiration – to the great
Grace Hopper.
Happy birthday Grace, and thank you.
Happy birthday Grace, and thank you.
