Do you feel you can't speak up?

Don't be shy, it's not what you say that matters, it matters that you said it.

This might change your life... Might

If you want consistency, it means you're signing up for boring. Exciting is at the start and the end, not the middle.

When you solve a problem, is it solved forever?

 We forgot about problems from the past because they weren't our problems. But by forgetting them we all run the risk of repeating the mistakes of the past.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

 I'm struggling with this logic. Be mean to the middle so the fringes stop being mean to you?

Disarm and dismantle with love

Reasonable questions asked to the unreasonable in front of an audience.

Many unreasonable people don't seem so bad because they control the topics, the agendas, the narratives. You can't beat them at their own game or by bringing facts to a feelings fight. But if you ask them "normal quotations" they will reveal themselves quickly. But they will feel better (maybe) they will have lost some credibility with one side of the audience and gained with the other (that's good) and you come out handling the situation.

Oversimplified example

"I'm offended by that!"

Reasonable question - what is the feeling like?

"Offended, uncomfortable etc"

Reasonable question - how often do you have these feelings?

"all the time"

- All the time?

Then start to mirror

You say you want to do more arty things...

 https://youtu.be/zporICjkWHE

You're aiming for a perfect world?

 "Do you believe in Utopia in your lifetime?"

No

"What worldly problem which effects you are you willing to tolerate?"

The present "disaster" is also a future dream

If you can yell out you are oppressed and people take it seriously, you are not oppressed. You are blessed to have a voice and a choice.

Others around the world do not have a voice and do not have a choice.

Seth Godin Wisdom and the relationships of Client and Maker

A good spec

If you hand a good spec to three providers, you’ll get three variations back in return.

The way you know your spec is worthwhile is that you can live with the differences between them.

If it’s worth caring about, it’s worth writing down.

When we need to show our work

"Show me your work please" Like maths or science.
If you’re basing your proposal on facts, the scientific method, calculations and effectiveness, please show your work. Eagerly share your reasoning, your sources and how you came to this proposed plan. Even better, adopt a posture that welcomes improvements and corrections to your work, because after all, the purpose of your plan is to make change happen.

If, on the other hand, your proposal is based on belief and opinion, tell us. You’re entitled to both. And the rest of us are allowed to disagree.

When we confuse the two, it causes stress. When we feel the need to provide proof to back up our belief, we’re undermining both.

Paths not taken

And vs Or.

Leading a project is about causing the death of a million ‘ands’.

There was a long line at the ice cream stand, but the person in front wasn’t budging. The customer had narrowed down the choice to four flavors, but they were paralyzed, unable to choose.

It’s not because any of the flavors wouldn’t be fine. They were all good choices. It’s because choosing one flavor meant not having the other three. Getting an ice cream had turned into a dance with regret.

You can’t build a luxury car that’s also inexpensive, AND drives well off-road, AND is very fast AND super safe. You can’t create an event that’s intimate, open to all comers, proven, resilient for any weather, held outdoors and unique.

We focus on the frustration of losing an ‘and’ when we get nervous about the decisions we’re asked to make, when we are hesitant about commitment. And we obsess over the constraints we’ve already accepted because it slows us down and amplifies our fears.

Instead of focusing on what we’re building, we focus on the paths that are no longer open.

If we’re going to create anything at all, if we’re going to ship the work, the positive path is to look for the constraints and grab them. They’re the point. No constraints, no project. When we see them as stepping stones on the way to the work we hope to do, they’re not a problem, they’re a sign that we’re onto something.

Managing a project is the craft of picking this ‘or’ that. ‘And’ isn’t often welcome because ‘and’ is a trap.

Unavailable options

“What other colors do you have that are not currently in stock?”

There are always more options.

If exploring them is the goal, please explore. And sometimes, the unavailable can lead to a breakthrough.

But if the job is to simply get the work done, it might be worth pretending that the unexplored options don’t even exist.

How long will this take?

That depends.

Will the spec change after we begin?

Are we depending on supplies or inputs from other people?

Will the budget change?

Is this work that has been done by anyone before?

Is this work that has been done by this team before?

Is finishing it fast more important than doing it well or on budget?

Do you want to participate in the work (see the part about the spec)?

What are the incentives of the people working on the project?

How many different people are involved?

Are all the people, budgets and assets in place already?

Who is choosing the tools?

Pathfinding takes longer than path following. Discussions lead to changes in spec. Dependencies always add time.

What to count

So many choices. So many sorts of metrics, critics and measures.

Perhaps it makes sense to count things where the counting tells us how to do better next time.

And to count things that let us know how much risk we can take next time.

Or to calibrate our judgment about the market.

But it makes no sense at all to count things over which we have no control, and which teach us nothing about the future.

Counting our luck (good or bad) doesn’t make us luckier.

Pathfinding takes longer than path following

 

How long will this take?

That depends.

Will the spec change after we begin?

Are we depending on supplies or inputs from other people?

Will the budget change?

Is this work that has been done by anyone before?

Is this work that has been done by this team before?

Is finishing it fast more important than doing it well or on budget?

Do you want to participate in the work (see the part about the spec)?

What are the incentives of the people working on the project?

How many different people are involved?

Are all the people, budgets and assets in place already?

Who is choosing the tools?

Pathfinding takes longer than path following. Discussions lead to changes in spec. Dependencies always add time.

https://seths.blog/2022/08/how-long-will-this-take/