It is intrinsically difficult for the know-nothing money guys to trust people whose expertise is of a vastly different order -- across various dimensions such a

It is intrinsically difficult for the know-nothing money guys to trust people whose expertise is of a vastly different order -- across various dimensions such as technical difficulty and creative explorative engineering -- than what it takes to make deals on a golf course. All they know is that the longer it takes us, the more money it costs them. And they don't want to know why, they just want us to wave the magic wand and deliver our systems, even though our best estimates are really just "guess a number, then multiply by three and add five." Their entire job is to wring money out of the peasants, even when we're well-paid, well-intentioned, and hard-working engineer-wannabes who love what we do. Hell, most people (including us) don't realize that every new significant software project is an sublime artistic endeavor cut from whole cloth with rusty, bent scissors in the dark on a bumpy train ride, under fire. It doesn't help that many of our peers are just paycheck-earners who only try their best to do the least they can to deliver the barest-minimum of quality, for the sole purpose of getting a better job somewhere else. I've never looked for a job while I had one. I call that "being honestly committed to the job"; the mediocre of the world (most people) call it "not playing the game". "So sick of complacence." --RATM