We tend to focus our energy on design, testing, and writing code, but programming is the easy part. It’s the one part that we can’t eliminate, but it’s the one part that we can relatively easily learn to master. Programmers have the habit of undervaluing the other aspects of their work, even though those often interfere with their ability to design, test, and write code! I’d like to offer an overview of the key ideas that have helped me most in my career, related to improving design, organizing work, and navigating people.