The Big Dumb Developer

I hate being disappointed. I love Jimmy John's Sandwiches. The bread is great, the meat is great, the cheese is great, it's about two miles from the office - so it gets a lot of my lunch business. They advertise their delivery service and its no-minimum-for-delivery a lot. My boss and I have tried it out a couple of times and were pleased with the results - a quality sandwich delivered fast.

Yesterday, we wanted Jimmy John's and didn't have time to drive there. So, we called them up, and were told we were outside their delivery area. This is not what we expected. "Did you change your delivery area, because you have delivered here before?" "Well, generally it is, but we are busy today and don't want to drive over there for 2 sandwiches." Disappointing! I hate being disappointed. We ate at Quiznos instead. The bread wasn't as good, the meat wasn't as good, the cheese wasn't as good, and they don't deliver - but I was not disappointed. I got exactly what I was expecting - no disappointment.

Jimmy John's set my expectations higher than they could consistently deliver. As a result, I am disappointed and will be heading to the Quizno's more often. Quiznos understands what Jimmy John's does not:

People hate disappointment.

As a software professional, you need to realize this. If you want to be a successful developer, don't disappoint your boss. You boss has certain expectations of you: meet or exceed these expectations and you will please, otherwise you will disappoint. And people hate disappointment.