You like stories, so here’s one on the current subject.
I had a programmer on staff who came from IBM during its glory days. He was jaded. Worked his 9:00 - 5:00 and went home. Didn’t get involved in politics. Kept to himself. Did his job. (I spent many hours on the floor of his office soaking up his incredible knowledge and experience, which curiously he would share with me.)
We had a problem that nobody wanted to tackle. “Can’t be done,” everyone said. I went to him, presented the problem, and told him that he could work on it as time allowed if he wanted or he could refuse it. He said he’d consider it. I left him alone.
A week later, he stopped by to tell me that he had some ideas. I asked if he wanted to share them with me. “No,” he said and walked out. A couple more weeks passed. I stopped by to check on regular duties and asked if he’d given the problem anymore thought. “Yes,” he said and offered nothing more. I left him alone.
Management asked if I’d made any progress on finding a solution. I told them who was looking into it and that I would keep them posted. They said I was making a mistake.
A few more weeks passed and I decided that he needed a little push. I stopped by to see what, if anything, he’d considered and if he had any recommendations for me. “Have a seat he said.” I did. He went to the white board and gave me an overview of one of the most elegant solutions I’d ever seen him or anyone else propose.
I grinned and asked how long will it would take. “It’s finished he said.” He handed me a document detailing the solution and a CD containing the code.
Needless to say, management was surprised and extremely pleased. Later that week, he stopped by on his way out and asked, “You got anything else like that that needs solved?”
“I’ll have it on your desk in the morning,” I told him.