"Ten Lessons I wish I Had Been Taught", by Gian-Carlo Rota

What a delightful piece. I browsed a little more on the website and ran across the following gem:

When an engineer knocks at your door with a mathematical question, you should not try to get rid of him or her as quickly as possible. You are likely to make a mistake I myself made for many years: to believe that the engineer wants you to solve his or her problem. This is the kind of oversimplification for which we mathematicians are notorious. Believe me, the engineer does not want you to solve his or her problem. Once, I did so by mistake (actually, I had read the solution in the library two hours earlier, quite by accident), and he got quite furious, as if I were taking away his livelihood. What the engineer wants is to be treated with respect and consideration, like the human being he or she is, and most of all to be listened to in rapt attention. If you do this, he or she will be likely to hit upon a clever new idea as he or she explains the problem to you, and you will get some of the credit.

I think it applies equally to software projects.