Architect = Asshole ?

Is it possible to be an architect on a big project and not have people perceive you as an asshole? Managers think you are an asshole because you keep sticking your nose into their business. You may tell them that you want certain things scheduled earlier to mitigate technical risks. You may want to integrate the system as soon as possible to mitigate technical risks. You need to procure sufficient capacity to start performance testing early.

Programmers hate the architect. If they are smart, they have a huge "You can't tell me what to do" complex. If they're stupid, then they have a huge "Why do we have to do things this way" or "I can't believe you're making me rewrite this" complex.

I think this is a more specific instance of the general truism - if you want anything to get done, you have to be a little bit of an asshole. You can't piss off everyone, but you can't make everyone happy either.

Speaking of assholes... Planning to see Christopher Hitchens at a bookstore on Thursday. This is one contrarian, bitter sounding, European bastard. But the guy is razor sharp and not afraid to speak the truth as he sees it. Seems to spare no one.