Learning to Program as an Executive

I don't need to code, but I'm learning. My interest in learning to code comes from two places. One is just a frustration of not being able to iterate my own ideas. It's a similar frustration my grandmother must feel when she can't just get up from the table and leave, but instead has to wait for "help" to move her.

However, seeing that my "big idea" is BricaBox, and that I both have a highly technically competent business partner in this endeavor and that I would likely not gain coding skills fast enough to contribute significantly to the code-base, the other reason to learn to code is to be aware of my surroundings. This last part is the same issue a traveler is confronted with. If you're going to stay somewhere for a week, you may learn a few phrases. If you're going to move to a new country, better you learn the language than depend on a translator.

Well, I've clearly moved to techie-town, and I don't want to sound a dumb tourist -- so now I'm learning to program.

Is this a good move? I asked DFJ Gotham's Mark Peter Davis (on his blog) to analyze. Here's his conclusion. See his site for more:

In sum, you don’t need to have all of the skills required to run the entire company by yourself. Nobody is superman. The key is to recruit partners and employees that complement the areas where you are not strong. It's the collective skill-set of the management team that counts.

Thanks Mark.