Recently I have been working on my curriculum vitae and decided to add a section regarding my engineering principles. I was thinking about what was important to me when it comes to system design and implementation and an analogy came to mind.
The hole may initially look square, but after going through the process of making the peg it may become clear that the hole is in fact round. In this case, it is often better to make a new round peg than it is to try and make the square one fit (which may not always be possible, or worse, is possible if done with a crowbar and duct tape). In other words, it is important to be able to free yourself from the burden of existing design/implementation and start from scratch, armed with the knowledge attained during the previous effort. This is something that many engineers are unable to do: let go of their cherished work and begin anew.