Sarah and I were on vacation this past weekend in Charleson, SC. We stopped in at this local seafood resteraunt called Hyman's Seafood for a bit of lunch (it's a great place, and if you're in the area you should go). In the sweetner tray at your table, there are these little cards that have different things on them. Most of them are pretty funny - a woman-speak translation guide for men, definitions of success at different stages of your life, etc. The one that really caught both of our attention was one which taked about attitude. Basically, it said that attitude is the most important quality in a person. It affects everything you do and say, and (more importantly) how you handle different situations.
I never really considered it, but I believe this is true. In business (and in life, really), your attitude says a lot about you. If you've got a defeatest attitude, then you're never going to get anywhere (and it will never be your fault). However, if you have a "go get 'em" attitude, you'll get places. I think you can probably tie the success or failure of a business directly to the attitudes of the employees - especially the ones in charge. Luckily, here at LogicSpeak, everyone has a understanding and winning attitude. We all have our opinions and disagreements, but we also know that we are all on the same team with the same goal in mind. So, there's a good bit of understanding and cooperation that is fostered here.
As developers, it's easy to get in the mind set of "my way is always the right way". While there are instances where that might well be true, there are probably just as many instances where other people have better ideas. If you are willing to listen and work through them, you'll get much further in the long run. I've found that if you have a learning attitude, you can do some pretty cool stuff.
Anyways, that's all I have for now. Who knew such wisdom could be found next to the Splenda in a seafood resteraunt? Oh well, until next time...