Age Aint' Nothin' But a Humbler
During an impromptu trouble-shooting and resolution meeting this week, LevelTen’s President Tom McCracken brought up an interesting challenge facing LevelTen, and the web development industry as a whole: achieving organizational balance.
LevelTen is unique in its employee composition, with professionals ranging from 1 to 20 years of experience with web development and interactive services. Many agencies gravitate towards one extreme or the other:
- A.) An established organization with in an etched-in-stone way of doing things.
- B.) A collection of youngsters out to change the world.
Balancing youthfulness and maturity is an integral component of success in nearly any industry, but particularly in web development. Staying relevant, efficient and affordable can be a tough bar to balance on.
The Advantages of Youth:
- 1 – Firms or freelancers with thin portfolios can offer cheaper pricing to clients in hopes of undercutting competition and scoring some reputation-building work.
- 2 – There is the perception that young people are more “up-to-date” with the latest online marketing and development technology.
- 3 – Less seasoned firms are more likely to submit to client’s wishes, hoping not to rock the boat or cause any hiccups in the workflow process.
The Advantages of Experience:
- 1 – Experienced professionals are able to predict outcomes with more accuracy than those who are still taking their practice reps.
- 2 – Developers who have been in the industry for 15-20 years have taken their lumps and learned from mistakes. They are more likely to get it done right the first time because of past experiences.
- 3 – Managers who have run hundreds of campaigns and explored countless case studies know the historical differences between successful and unsuccessful companies. They are more likely to step in and make suggestions when they foresee potential problems.
We have established a well-blended team at LevelTen, equipped for many of the issues and challenges that combat successful web development. Are we perfect? No. But those agencies promising to be aren’t either. Remember that as you search for the firm you want to take on your upcoming projects.
