I do say it quite a bit - but this is still something I've got to learn to do more often. Even though I try to say "no" when I know I can't do something, I have still been feeling over-committed lately. So it's time to start saying it more often.
But the fact that I feel over-committed is just a symptom that I'm saying "yes" too often - the real problem is that I'm lying to whomever I'm making promises that I can't keep. In this week's chapter from
My Job Went To India, Chad Fowler sums it up:
Saying "yes" is an addictive and destructive habit. It's a bad habit masquerading as a good one. But there's a big difference between a can-do attitude and the misrepresentation of one's capabilities (extra emphasis mine). The latter causes problems not only for you but for the people to whom you are making your promises. If I am your manager and I ask you if you can rewrite the way we track shipments ... by the end of the month, someone probably asked me if it could be done by then... So, armed with your assurance that you can make the date, I run off and commit to my customers that it will be done.
When you lie about your capabilities (even though it's not malicious), that spreads itself throughout an organization, and harms everyone.
Most importantly for you,
it damages your reputation. Whereas the man who says "yes" only when he is truly capable may feel bad about having to say "no" more often than you, he will come to be known for his honesty and accuracy in prediction while no one will trust anything you have to say about such matters.
The point is that
you need to have the courage to speak up on the job. You need to say yes when you can do something. You need to say no when you can't do something. And as Chad notes at the end, you need to speak out against bad decisions:
As a manager, I make decisions or strong suggestions all the time. However, I don't hire my employees to be robots. It's the ones who speak up and offer a better suggestion that become my trusted lieutenants.
How guilty are you of over-committal and non-committal? I may have learned to not keep quiet, but I still have some work to do regarding the scheduling of -- and commitment to -- tasks in general.
Update: Coincidentally, Reg Braithwaite related The Battle of Britain to software development telling us about
Marshall Dowding and his refusals to be pressured into saying "yes" yesterday as well (along with personal stories).
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This was one of the reasons I decided to work for myself. In my last job, I would tell my boss "I don't think I can get this done by that date" and he would commit to it anyway.
Now, I try to meet my clients needs as best I can but they know that I will tell them what I can and can't do. I have had clients tell me how helpful it is that they know that I will tell them if I don't know how to do something.
I still sometimes tackle projects for which I don't really have enough experience, but my clients know that to be my situation going in and set their expectations appropriately.
Posted by
Steve Bryant
on Apr 11, 2008 at 12:39 PM UTC - 5 hrs
@Steve: I'm not horrible at it (not that you said I was). I've been pretty good at getting everything I commit to done - My problem is I'm working too hard to do it - a lot of that pressure is school, where I don't get asked when I can be done. But I try not to let that affect my work-related estimates, and that's where I'm getting in the most trouble from overworking myself to meet deadlines I compelled myself to make.
@Reg: I saw that in my feed reader and laughed at the coincidence! Each Friday I cover one of the chapters in Chad Fowler's My Job Went to India (in order), and how it relates to me and what I've tried to accomplish since first reading it - so it was very funny we were on the same page.
Thanks for the link - I think people who follow it will find it rewarding to read. I always like writing which can relate some seemingly unrelated item to software development, and you did it well with Stuffy Dowding. I'll also recommend it above.
Posted by
Sammy Larbi
on Apr 12, 2008 at 09:57 AM UTC - 5 hrs
I've just learnt this the hard way. I was asked to do a project an suggested we use Flex 3 as I was enthusiastic about using this technology for a project - too enthusiastic!
I committed to a deadline I couldn't make, the client got annoyed, my boss got annoyed, they ran out of patience and outsourced it. I was essentially hammered into the ground with it.
I'm very lucky to keep my job, but at a cost, I'm on review every 2 weeks and many responsibilities have been taken away from me. My career is now at an all time low and I'm now a nervous wreck!
So, yes... say NO!
Posted by Anonymous
on Apr 17, 2008 at 10:02 AM UTC - 5 hrs
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