Principles of Doing Good Business

This list had been long brewing in my mind (for years), but the spark to enumerate my thoughts came after a business dinner where we were discussing the ins-and-outs of good communication practices in business. People forget, I feel, that "business" is a world away from our personal lives, at least in terms of how we interact with one another, yet all too often I find people taking things too personally when at work.

This list is software oriented, but I think most of applies to business in general.

1. If I come up with an idea/process that you don't like, show me where I'm wrong and grant me the same courtesy.
2. It's a business; don't take things personally. Let's put pride aside and work together to improve everyone's situation.
3. It's good to have an indifferent arbitrator — what's more indifferent than an independent suite of software tests that not only verify work done but also aid in design?
4. Faster corrections are better corrections, and faster, smaller, more atomic inputs are faster to correct if and when they go wrong.
5. Software is a team sport. Even solo coders need help. Shame slows things down and blame gets you nowhere.