The other night my daughter helped me take out the trash and afterward I said, “Thank you, you were a big help!”  
She replied, “My pleasure!”

I was floored.  What three year old responds with “My pleasure?”  Then it dawned on me, she witnessed time and time again Chick-fil-a workers respond to customers with “My pleasure.”

As engineers, we are constantly trying to solve the next problem.  But what mark are we leaving on others?  My mentor Joel Goldberg taught me an invaluable lesson.  

Think of your customer as the next person to take over your code.

That one lesson changed the way I code; from a hacking to engineering.  Not only that, I've found well crafted code has a real impact on the bottom line.  Bug defects dropped and coworkers are able to quickly learn my code.  

That one phrase changed the way I think, the way I design, the way I craft code.

If Chick-fil-a can leave that kind of imprint on my daughter serving chicken, what mark will you make on the lives of those around you?