I was not exposed to Godard until my freshman year in film school. And, as soon as I saw it, I was blown away. The way he could play with conventions to make a

I was not exposed to Godard until my freshman year in film school. And, as soon as I saw it, I was blown away. The way he could play with conventions to make a point with the film medium which could not be expressed in any other way; it was mind blowing. I also remember attempting to mimic what he was doing along with some of my fellow students. When we proudly brought our work to a film critique, the professor let all the other students speak first. The critique from other students was overwhelmingly positive. Then, finally, the professor spoke up. "You all need to get this through your head: Before you can break the rules you need to understand the rules. You don't understand the rules yet." Godard understood the rules and knew exactly how to break them. I've taken that advice with me throughout my software engineering and product development career. It has served me well, to check my ego at the door.