The advice I stopped giving
A short list of things I used to repeat in advising calls, and what changed my mind.
I do four advising calls a month. Over a couple of years, I noticed a short list of things I used to say, that I now do not. The list is not because I changed my mind on the underlying truth. It is because the advice did not survive contact with how people actually heard it.
What I no longer say#
"Just ship it." It is true, and yet I have watched it license bad work. The version that survives is "ship the next decision, then look."
"Hire slow." It is fine in principle and useless in practice. The honest version is "wait until you can describe the role in one sentence with no buzzwords." That is the actual constraint.
"Talk to your users." It is right but it has become a slogan that means nothing. I now say, specifically, "schedule one user call this week, on your calendar, the same way you would schedule a tooth filling."
Why I changed#
The change is not in what I believe. The change is that I now distrust advice that is short enough to fit on a hat. People nod, repeat it, do not act on it, and feel like they have already engaged with the idea. The slightly longer version forces a decision.
What I still say#
"Show me the screen." "Read this back to me." "What is the smallest version of that you could ship by Friday." These have never failed.