What we can learn about building software from Tom Petty

I’m a software developer, so I spend a lot of time sitting at a desk every day (and night). I’m usually listening to music of some sort, and my all time favorite artist/band is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. To give you all the reasons why that is would require a blog post all it’s own.

However, one of the reasons is because Tom Petty has such a great respect for the people that laid the path before him. I imagine it’s part of his principles because it’s reflected in his music. You can hear The Byrds, The Beatles, Dylan and Johnny Cash all through Petty’s music. Weaving themselves, with his own inspirations, into that distinct Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sound we all know and love.

Now here’s some trivia you might not know; Johnny Cash, in his last years, did a string of albums produced by Rick Rubin and American Records. The second one in that series, released in 1996, is called “Unchained” and the backup band on that album is none other than Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Tom Petty sings the backup harmony vocals on most of the songs. There’s no top billing on that album for Petty and the Heartbreakers. Their name and photo do not appear on the cover.

Here’s the takeaway I get from all this; Tom Petty’s reverence for the masters of his art, and the integrity of the industry itself, earns him the respect of those same masters … not to mention the recording labels as well as the fans. If you’ve never watched the documentary “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, I highly recommend it.

So what’s my point here? What’s to be applied to software development? Here’s three ideas that I think apply.

Be humble. Learn from the kings.

Over his lifetime, Johnny Cash released 96 albums and 153 singles. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (as of this writing) have released 16. Petty also has 3 solo albums and a handful of albums with The Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. Johnny Cash is one of the kings of country/rock and I imagine that Petty understands that the Man in Black knew how to create and sell music.

When you’re building software, pay attention to what the greats did before you. What are the kings of software doing? What’s Amazon doing? What’s Google doing? What’s Facebook doing? It’s ok to take a look around and learn from them. Chances are good that they’re going to know something you don’t. They’ve done the research, had the experiences, and have the resources and customer base to know what they’re doing.

There’s a reason they built their software the way they did. Figure it out, learn from it, and innovate it into your own style.

Have principles, be passionate about them, and stick to them.

When the song “Don’t Come Around Here No More” came out, people raised an eyebrow at Petty’s work. That song is far different than the style of any of his prior music, and it made you wonder where he was going. But you know what? People listened to it. And it became one of his greatest hits.

People can tell if you’re passionate about what you’re doing. If you’re passionate about the software you build and you pour yourself into it, it shows. Even if what you’ve built is a little unexpected, if people have bought into your principles they’ll give it a chance.

Software is only great if people like it.

You have to know your audience and fulfill their needs. The vast majority of people that like Tom Petty’s music don’t care (or even know) what kind of guitar he plays (in the photo at the top of this article he’s holding a Rickenbacker 335). They like his music because of the way it makes them feel. It’s all about the experience.

Building software is the same as making music. If people who use your software don’t have a good experience with it, they won’t like it and they won’t use it. And it won’t matter what nifty tool you used to build it, or the platform or framework it’s built on. You can’t convince people to use your software because you think it’s cool. You have to build something they like.

Now, that’s not to say the tools aren’t important. They are. Sometimes you can’t get that particular musical sound you’re looking for without a specific type of guitar. But if you know your audience, then you know what that sound needs to be before you pick up the instrument.

Conclusion

Be humble, be passionate about your principles, and listen to your audience. It doesn’t matter whether it’s music or software. These are the reasons why, after all these years, Tom Petty is still filling auditoriums with his music.