Pretty much the worst thing that can happen to any geek is for a project they are working on to be cancelled. If its something they have already put a lot of work into and believe in, then it isn’t surprising that it hurts them. I think most of us have been there at one time or another … its canned, and you have an anger inside that is too big for what just happened.

This has happened to me on a number of ocassions, and each time I feel that I brought it on myself. I’m a great believer that if something is to be done, it should be done properly. Which means that when I get given a glimmer of hope that something can be improved or replaced, I push too hard to get too much changed. This makes my superiors (or their superiors, depending) uneasy and they pull the plug.

As I get older and gain wisdom (hopefully!) throughout my working life, I hope that one of two things will happen. Option one is that I’ll care a bit less, remember that this is my job and not my life, and keep it in perspective. The other is that I’ll get better at making my managers feel like they are in control at all times and that this is all their great idea. Ronald Regan is supposed to have said

it’s amazing what you can get done if you don’t care who takes the credit

And I think that’s true. Perhaps I need to fly further under the radar when I’m working on something interesting?