[dave_sullivan]

It's a tough balance--at some level, if you're starting a business, you've got to be pretty stubborn--otherwise you'd just take everyone else's advice and get a job like "everyone else in the world". But you've also got to be flexible and open-minded enough to know when you're wrong, and be able to admit it. And if you want to keep people on your side, give credit where credit is due!

I laughed when you mentioned people not taking advice only to later take the advice but believe they came up with it themselves. It's really annoying when it happens to me, but I've certainly done it myself. I'm not sure why it happens that way exactly, but I try to be aware of it at least and always try to be very gracious for anyone taking the time to offer advice in the first place, whether I take it or not. And later on, when I end up taking the advice anyway, I really do try my best to not believe I came up with it myself.