This is why Joel Spolsky's writing is popular

Speak it, brother.

So the bottom line is that an Aeron only really costs $500 more over ten years, or $50 a year. One dollar per week per programmer.

A nice roll of toilet paper runs about a buck. Your programmers are probably using about one roll a week, each.

So upgrading them to an Aeron chair literally costs the same amount as you're spending on their toilet paper, and I assure you that if you tried to bring up toilet paper in the budget committee you would be sternly told not to mess around, there were important things to discuss.

Damn, I want to quote probably all of this article.

The world of programming is very just and very strictly ordered and a heck of a lot of people go into programming in the first place because they prefer to spend their time in a just, orderly place, a strict meritocracy where you can win any debate simply by being right.

And this is the kind of environment you have to create to attract programmers. When a programmer complains about “politics,” they mean — very precisely — any situation in which personal considerations outweigh technical considerations.

Posted at 2006-09-07 11:43:28 by Richard • Link to This is why Joel S…
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