A friend sent me this blog post by Joost de Valk about how AI is changing what actually matters in development.

He writes, “…you can no longer compete on the bricks. To survive and thrive in this new era, you have to compete on vision.”

In other words, the amount or quality of the code I might write (the bricks) matters less and less as the primary source of value. Rather, the solution being offered, the vision for success, is the real differentiator for success in the days to come.

I’ve been thinking about this.

When I work with clients, the code quality still matters to me… I want to be proud of what I deliver. But that’s rarely been what makes a project successful for them.

What makes it successful is whether they can actually use it. Can they update their site without being scared? Can they hit publish without calling me?

The “bricks” are my problem to solve. The vision is what we need to agree on first.

That’s always been how I approach projects: Why does this matter to you? What does success look like? What outcome are we trying to accomplish? If you’re thinking about a new site or a migration, that’s where I’d start. Not “what platform” or “how much,” but “what are we actually trying to accomplish here?”

If we’re aligned on that, the rest takes care of itself.