The best possible reaction that you'll get is a politely disingenuous "Thank you"... More likely you'll get some form of "Mind your own business" delivered with various levels of hostility based on the strength of the artist's self-esteem.
The creation of art is intensely personal... Art is an extension of the artist - created primarily to satisfy the artist's need to create. Art is presented to the public - not shared with the public. The artwork may be sold - but it always belongs to the artist.
What does this have to do with Programming?
For many programmers - Programming is their Art... and that's the root of many of the conflicts that you will have with programmers.
There's an anecdote about Frank Lloyd Wright: The story is that he attended a dinner party in a house that he had designed, and before leaving he had rearranged the furniture back to his original plan. Wright couldn't let go... The house was held hostage to his vision rather than released and allowed to become a home. Wright liked to preach that "Form follows function" - but in this case he totally forgot the true function of a home.
When you have to provide negative feedback to a programmer - focus on conveying the big picture: What do you really need? Instead of focussing on how the current software does not meet your needs, challenge the programmer's inner artist to create something that will fulfill your needs... You'll probably be much happier with the results.
No comments:
Post a Comment