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by ChrisMarshallNY 73 days ago
Maybe. I tend to focus on "blockers," and things that can go wrong, first. I suspect a lot of people want to be buttered up, before the problems are discussed (i.e. "That's a really great idea! Have you thought about how often the hinge is stressed?")

I'm a bit "spectrumish," so I sometimes miss the niceties.

The Japanese were not reticent about discussing problems. It was fairly brutal, but we made great stuff.
1 comments
genxy 72 days ago
Discussing and solving problems is different than firing off Thought Terminating Clichés to kill someone's project.

You do have to get to a working system, even if it is on a naive happy path before you can start preparing for the things that can go wrong.

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ChrisMarshallNY 72 days ago
Agreed, but it’s been my experience that anything that isn’t enthusiastic agreement, is considered “negativity.”

When I encounter someone that is so fragile, that they literally fall apart, if we aren’t cheerleading, then I can’t work with them. I’m a creative, myself[0]. I’m familiar with the process.

It’s my experience, that we often can’t see things that will kill the project, until we start drilling into the details; sometimes, not too far. Finding these things is not a death sentence. It’s the first step to success. They exist; whether or not we choose to see them.

If your feet are wet, and you see pyramids, you’re in de Nile (or a fountain in Vegas).

I have learned that this kind of introspection needs to happen, as soon as possible. It’s the way that I have been trained to work, and I’ve been shipping stuff, for my entire adult life. Shipping is not for the faint of heart. If your idea is meant to be displayed on a refrigerator, then you have the luxury of chasing off disagreement. If it's supposed to be something that people stake their careers on, and pay for, then we need to have a thicker skin.

[EDITED TO ADD] A practical reason for finding the issues early, is who will be solving the problem. The earlier you find the problem, the more likely the person addressing it, will be creative. They will have more room to work, and they will be more invested in the vision, as opposed to the implementation. Late fixes are ugly.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40917886

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