I havn't played ... in years

I'm learning now that the game is never as good as you remembered it.  Games you loved years ago always seem even better now, because you forgot the crappy parts you couldn't stand.  Games you hated years ago got worse since then, because the few things you actually enjoyed were likely forgotten too.

So the point of the note today?  Give it a try again.  Reread that core book again, turn on your PS2 again, tug out that old board game and get some friends who all remember it to try a game again.  It's not what you remember, and frankly you're not who you were either.

Without an eidetic memory, nothing is how you remember it, really, and the more years that have passed, the more that changes, it's like playing whisper down the lane with yourself.  So get going, play it again, Sam, and see if it's really as bad, or as good, as you remember.

It starts with saying hi...

So I was driving home and passed this guy on the street, selling flowers.  He actually looked a little silly, and perhaps a bit unstable, as he was waving like a friend, nodding hellos to everyone that drove by, in both directions, including me.

Then as I drove by another day, and he was doing the same thing, and another and another, I realized that the man was a customer service genius, not crazy.

Before long I was waving back and smiling as I drove by.  If you treat people like your friend every time you encounter them, eventually they FEEL like a friend, and, in his case, are more and more likely to buy something from him one of these days.

So remember that next time you're talking to your clients.  Think of ways to make them feel like they're not just a paycheck to you, make them your friends, and you'll keep a better relationship with them than you ever thought you could have.

Be Helpful

Today's post is pretty simple.  No matter how new you are at development, someone's newer. No matter how little you know, someone knows less.

So what do you do?  Do you gloat, and snicker at how pathetic they are?  Well, maybe, but you shouldn't.  How about you help them.  How, you ask?  Forums.  Face to face, chatrooms.  There are lots of places you can find those that need your help.

You're a gifted developer, you're skilled at SQL, you're amazing at hardware design.. whatever your strength, take 5 minutes every now and then to share it and see who might need a hand.