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A Real Go-Getter
© 2003 Esther Derby
This column originally appeared in STQE Sep/Oct 2003
It’s 8:00 AM when Laura runs into her boss, Seth, the VP of Development, in the
hallway. “I need to see you in my office later this afternoon, Laura. You’re going to lead the next release of the FooFrame product,” says Seth, as he dashes off to a meeting. “It’s out the door December 1st!”
As Laura walks to her desk, part of her is excited that Seth has confidence in her. Part of her is worried: Seth has a habit of dictating tight deadlines on projects with long feature lists.
Laura is pretty sure that Seth will want her to commit to delivering the feature list on the spot when she meets with him in the
afternoon, and she doesn’t want to be caught in a bind, promising something she’s not sure she can deliver.
At 10:15, the manager for the FauxFrame product, Beth, stops by. “Hey, Laura, I hear you’re going to lead the next release for FooFrame! Congratulations!”
Beth leans over. “Let me let you in on a little secret though,” she says conspiratorially. “Seth is a go-getter, and he likes to have go-getters around him. When he asks you if you can deliver by the date he wants, tell him ‘Absolutely yes!’ “Commitment is what Seth wants to see. If you go in with a cando attitude, you’ll have immediate credibility.”
“I don’t know, Beth,” Laura says. “Based on what I’ve seen before, there’s going to be a long feature list and a short schedule. What if I don’t believe I can deliver what he wants?”
“Well,” says Beth, “once you have the facts, you’ll have to go back and tell him you can’t do it. But the thing is for you to establish credibility early, so he’ll believe you when you come back with the plan that shows you can’t do it.”
Just before lunch, Josh, the QA lead, stops by. He’s heard the news, too.
“Seth is going to try to pin you down to a date before you’ve had a chance to think,” he says. “Don’t commit to anything until you’ve had a chance to study the feature list and develop a plan. Seth is a fool to expect a solid commitment without any planning. After you have a plan, you can prove to Seth that what he wants is not possible.”
Gosh, Laura thought. They’re giving me opposite advice. What should I do? Laura decides to call her mentor, Penny. Laura tells Penny what Josh and Beth have each advised.
“Who should I believe?” Laura asks.
“Josh and Beth are both partly right and partly wrong” Penny says. “You shouldn’t commit without planning. Neither should you make Seth feel foolish for wanting to deliver the product quickly. It may be unreasonable to deliver the entire feature list by December 1st, but Seth isn’t foolish or unreasonable for wanting that.”
“So, what should I do?’ asks Laura.
“Start by understanding what’s at stake in shipping the product by December 1st. Then tell Seth that you’ll do your best to deliver a credible plan. And tell him when you’ll get back to him with more information.”
“What if Seth presses for a commitment right then?” Laura asks.
“Don’t blame Seth for wanting a commitment, but don’t do something you don’t know how to do - predict without planning,” Penny advises.
“Ok,” Laura says. “I’ll tell him I understand why it’s important, and that I don’t know how to give him the assurance he wants without first planning. Then I’ll tell him what I can do -spend the next two days doing my best to find a way.”
“That’s right,” Penny said. “If you over-promise and under-deliver, you’ll lose credibility with Seth. If you under-promise and over-deliver, Seth may still label you a pessimist, and your days will be numbered. Give him your best effort to deliver a credible plan. Seth can’t ask you to do more than your best, can he? ”
Credibility doesn’t come from promising the moon nor from drawing a line in the sand. Credibility comes from working to create a project that meets the company’s needs, that the company’s employees can deliver. Laura’s best course (and ours, too) is to be honest with management and commit in stages, once she can make a credible prediction about what is possible.
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