The Dalai Lama often says that focusing too much on what makes us different divides us, and focusing on what we share as humans unites us. While I don't disagree, I think this view is a bit simplistic. Differences don't have to divide us. We can also use differences to bring us closer together. Take a soccer team for example. The defenders have different skills than the attacking players, and the midfielders have different skills yet again. The coach probably thinks a lot about how to utilize the strengths and weaknesses of his or her players for the best of the team. This kind of thinking emphasizes differences, but on good teams it is used to bring the team together, not to separate it. Why? Because the fact the we have different skills, and that neither of our skills alone are sufficient for the task at hand, show us that we need each other. It is the same for good software development teams. Maybe I am good at writing code and automated tests, but I'm not good at communicating with upper management.…