What brings out the best in you?
- Challenge. I like to be challenged, mentally. And, yes, Governor Perry, that does mean you can do more pull-ups than I can. But I like to have opportunities where I can work through a problem, and find a simple, creative answer.
- With that, I do appreciate constructive feedback, criticism. Sometimes it can be curt, of course, but you do have to have a point about something better. I think back to a final from college, where I wrote a rather compelling brief addressing the question as a tort. My professor came back with something along the lines of, “your argument is solid; you should have used the UCC.” In doing that, she revealed that there was a part of that coursework I’d missed. I was incredibly angry with this professor, but it made me go back and review the oversight I’d made. The initial approach is sometimes the wrong one. That’s okay, and that’s why you engineer things in the first place! Full disclosure: finishing this up after work, and touching a raw nerve. (Yes, I know mine are frayed, but the metaphor is the same.) The prescription provided me is probably incorrect. After considering the problem, I suggested a different approach. “I’ll have to look at it.” But I left knowing my idea will likely be cast aside until this particular individual needs something to make him appear brilliant to someone else. That brings me to;
- Proper attribution. If I do something right, give me the credit for it. If I fuck something up, point it out. I’m okay with it either way….