[thdrdt]

I think what you mean is: the best programmers I know add value to the company.

As a freelance programmer I had to learn this. Companies don't give anything about the language, the VCS, the LOC, spaces or tabs, or anything unrelated to them.

You just add value to the company by creating great software they can use. This also means software that can be maintained and updated.

Some people in this thread complain about the "They don’t complain about business constraints". But when you start complaining about their business constraints, how can you add value to their business? You can only add value when you think about how you can create something that works best for them to keep those constraints. And ofcourse this includes discussing constraints when you are sure you have a great idea to make them better, but most of the time other people thought better and harder about those constraints than you did.

Edit: maybe it is unclear what you mean by "business constraints". In my mind you are talking about the company business, but others might thing about programming business logic.