What is an IT heretic?

What is a heretic? Here's one definition:

Someone whose opinions, beliefs, or theories in any field are considered by others in that field to be extremely unconventional or unorthodox.

Here's another one:

Someone who holds or adheres to an opinion or belief that contradicts established teaching, especially one that is officially condemned by authorities.

OK, so heretic has been a pretty strong word down through the ages (think burnings at the stake) and I've never actually been called a heretic at work. I have often felt like one, however, when I've had and promoted views on IT that are considered unconventional or contradictory to established teaching.

So what is an IT heretic? Let's say it's someone who is willing to take an unorthodox position or use an unorthodox approach with the goal of producing some positive change or innovation. This last point (“producing some positive change or innovation”) is important – it's not enough to take a contrary position for it's own sake, you have to deliver results. There are lots of cowboys out there who just want to be different for the sake of being different. A true IT heretic embraces things outside the mainstream to affect change in the mainstream itself.

To do this you have to be willing to stand up for your beliefs in the face of criticism from the IT mainstream, have confidence in your reasoning, and trust your instincts. IT often suffers from a herd mentality. Things are often done a certain way because “that's the way it's always been done” or “that's what most IT shops are doing”. Being an IT heretic is about not following the herd. It's about trusting your own judgment about whether or not the herd is going in the right direction and acting accordingly.

IT is a very immature industry by historical standards. By this, I mean that IT professionals have a lot less historical context to draw on than, say, a carpenter or a farmer. Despite that, it does seem to be an industry that wants to be very set in it's ways. The low level technology is changing quickly, but the attitudes and approaches are often resistant to change. This, in turn, impedes the rate at which we properly harness or exploit new technologies.

We need to solve this with attitudes and approaches that embrace change. We need more IT heretics.