Arising from an early-evening-to-the-midnight nap after visiting my fourth project client this day. A client which is slowly becoming a favorite of mine lately.<\/p>\n
So what makes a client a good client? Or probably we should we use ‘favorite’ since ‘good’ is such an elusive term.<\/p>\n
In my part, food is one factor. Make that the first factor. Ah the influence of the previous boss still has this effect on me. Yes food. If one could make a version of the mongo beans in such a way that makes it so yummy, bitter and sweet at the same time… that’s something. Include adobo<\/em> in the table (Yes you’re reading things right adobo not Adobe and what the heck would Adobe be doing in the dinner table in the first place… and in case you have ingested too much silicon-based stuff lately, adobo is not ADODB), some crunchy, crispy, juicy and a little chili-tasting home made fried chicken, some fried fish plus two cans of coke and of course rice and that’s enough to add a few pounds on you while you’re updating the system you have created on site. If you’re living somewhere in this world and haven’t tried Filipino food yet, I suggest you try some and I’m sure you’ll be asking for more.<\/p>\n Another factor too would be that willingness to innovate. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a company with 270+<\/font> computers or in a company who has only one Pentium II in the midst. As long as the willingness and the mind for innovation is there, other things will follow. There is a quite phi-raised-to-the-power-of-e (in other words ‘huge’) difference too if you’re in a finance-rich first world country and when you’re in a rich-in-other-things archipelago whose economy has been struggling for the past couple of decades. I, without regrets, belong to the latter.<\/p>\n Third factor would be that certain invisible push that a certain client gives to make you strive to become a better programmer… a better developer… a better system analyst… a better person. That same invisible force that drives passion to your work and possibly squash the lady bugs that have been infesting in your system lately. That I think is one of the strongest factor in determining a favorite client on my part. Well next to food of course.<\/p>\n