Anticipate Interpretation
Yes, your words bend on impact and they have an important effect.
So Tod [A stakeholder] and I were talking about a feature to implement, but whenever I would approach him with a critical decision, we would get tangled up in details and we could never arrive at a conclusion. We challenged each other’s opinions and kept talking in circles, wasting precious time.
We often stepped away and agreed to pick up the conversation Monday.
Monday always came, but the conclusion never arrived.
That’s because critical decision-making is hard. There is a lot of nuance to conversations, which makes each interaction extremely unique and important. It’s your job to create context and be a light of clarity for the other people on your team.
All of this really comes down to how well you can communicate clearly, and according to a mentor, is the second half and arguably the most important part of your job.
Conversations in the work place shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes, and nobody likes people who talk too much (I would know). Use this to avoid waiting til Monday so you don’t drop the ball.
Every job is two components: gathering information and sharing information. This is like finding out there is a huge bug in your code that you have to share with the right developer, or seeing green in his teeth and telling him.
You wouldn’t over complicate this with $10 words, unless u actually get $10 for each of them. In which I would intentionally utilize grandiloquent verbiage to maximize my pecuniary remuneration. (That’s like $30)
And since you’re just sharing the human truths you’ve discovered while working, it’s as simple as:
This is a known truth, everyone should keep this in mind while at work.
My job is to lead us to what the customer wants, and Tod just wants to know that I made sure he can trust my judgment, that each step is measured, his time will not be wasted, and his work will be valued. Most people process information best from these perspectives, and they can even be improved with personalization. Again, your job is not over until everyone is on the same wave about what we’re doing.
Here are a couple things I think about while building and working in small teams:
Anticipate Interpretation
You are not talking to yourself, so there are really important things to keep in mind about this other brain you’re interacting with:
Important things
- Does this person know everything I assume they know?
- What kind of day is this person having?
- How much information is too much new information?
Does this person know everything I assume they know? You wouldn’t talk to your grandma like you talk to your co-founder. Don’t use the same examples and euphemisms. This is the case with every conversation, it’s just not as obvious. Take time to understand how this person thinks but also take note of what they know or seem to know. This will help you create a proper context to make them comfortable while getting new information.
What kind of day is this person having? No one wants to talk to someone who doesn’t pass the vibe check. Think about the current situation and their emotions. Do you know how they’re doing at the moment? Start there to see if the conversation is even worth having at all. If the person you’re meeting with’s head is somewhere else, you’re better off talking to my cousin Ray.
How much information is too much new information? People are generally overwhelmed with current tasks or problems and are comfortable with their current workload. Even Will from Good Will Hunting couldn’t see through his own fog; it’s important to keep this in mind when you’re putting out those typical daily fires or communicating requirements for a Sprint.
Generally, it’s important to lead with 1 big idea, which is exactly the next big point
Lead with a big idea, not a document
Don’t focus on the words, focus on the idea. Good words stem from good ideas.
This idea basically takes advantage of the fact everyone can remember one thing really well. If you’re pitching Q2 to a co-founder or selling fair food, you need to keep it simple and recallable. Since everyone is a kindergartener at heart, words like “good” and “bad” will do, but generally, you can let the numbers or a chart do the heavy lifting/convincing.
Simply reinforce the one idea with direct examples of positive and negative outcomes stemming from it. Your message will grow potent as you connect more to the root. This makes recalling the information faster, and you get the benefit of related thoughts and other truths.
Delegate Disagreements
It didn’t need to be Sophie’s choice.
Think about the last time you went on a vacation (I know, a while ago), but think about what you ordered for dinner on any of the nights. Maybe you remember a specific item? Or how good it was? But ultimately this decision isn’t important and becomes irrelevant after morning coffee.
Now think about how you feel while you’re deciding what restaurant to pick with friends. Overwhelmed by a decision you’ve made hundreds of times — sometimes even downloading an app to decide.
If ordering stresses you out, just ask my cousin Ray who’s been touring the TGIFridays menu for the last 12 years. Arguing with yourself in your head about what might be the best thing to order is stupid– especially when everything at every restaurant is really good and you don’t have the scoop.
The scoop is that long term judgement sculpted by experience. If you want to know what the best thing on the TGIF menu is, Ray has a valuable opinion. If you want to know if your neighborhood grocery delivery app looks and feels right, ask a few of your neighbors. Delegate tough decisions to people with more information than you do, or who can at least ask the right questions.
Then you can worry about getting those questions in a format that your whole team can digest. People tend not to appreciate when you overly convolute matters. If your exposition, rife with complex terminology, obfuscates the intended message on the PRD, and will inevitably seek further clarification from you. (See what I mean?)
Final thoughts on all this (at least my own)
This is all a very logical way of thinking and doesn’t factor in emotions which usually make the clear decision hard to find, especially with people you feel comfortable around. Things like a designer’s ego I project to cover up the occasional feeling of imposters syndrome or separating residual emotions from prior engagements.
This is something I feel like I’ll always have to be working on but as I move forward, I’m excited for good clear conversation and those evenings at TGIFridays with Ray.
