And this is where the rubber meets the road. Are you tired of the stupid decisions that limit the quality of the software you deliver? Are you tired of the ridiculous and arbitrary deadlines you have to deal with that ultimately result in software going out the door, with your name on it, that you consider to be, to put it politely, sub standard? And are you tired of losing argument after argument over this in countless meetings? Then it's time you pulled your head out of your, er, compiler! Companies who pay you to develop software are businesses, and they will only respond to arguments that have their basis in business! Learn a new perspective, and prevail!

I never use one word where thirty will do. It's a personal shortcoming. Particularly because in this case, what I've taken many words to relate can be summarized quite succinctly. Your job is not about software. It's about business. Grasp this one simple concept, and apply it in all of your interactions. Every time you attempt to promote your agenda to those who have the power to do something about it, stop and ask yourself these questions. Does what your proposing make sense from a monetary and business perspective? Will the person you're speaking with see value in it from their point of view? Or are you speaking only in terms of software?

I realize that it seems a bit strange to de emphasize technical issues when what you're trying to do is improve a technical product, but at the end of the day, everyone else shows up at the office for the same reason that you do. They're in it for the money, and business is the path to obtaining it. Speak from this perspective, and you'll be amazed at how much it improves your ability to deliver the next Killer App. Compared to dealing with people, debugging is the easy stuff.