Unlocking The Key Principles

I've been doing a ton of writing lately and throughout the drafts I reference many different concepts which I refer to as the Key Principles. I've written about many of these at length, but I've never publicly shared my personal list. Even after this entry, I still haven't. But I'm publishing a small sample that will show up in many upcoming posts so they can be used as a reference. I'm including just a small description of each for context. Perhaps I'll find time to cross-reference them with the larger posts on each topic. (uh huh) This entry will get updated if needed to reflect the links in the upcoming posts.

This also introduces a couple of conventions I've started using in my drafts. An example is the use of [subtext]. This tag will summarize and restate the previous section, usually in axiom form or slang.

Manage Up, Drive Down
The people you are responsible for should be aware that you take responsibility for them. How their actions reflect on you should be a significant part of their decision-making. Keeping them focused on following your agenda as foremost will recursively embed this principle.

The people you are responsible to should be aware of which responsibilities you are taking on and those which you are not. Focus on understanding and following their agenda. Clearly articulate when you see conflict in their agenda and support them in resolving it (read: time, attention, information). If it fails to be resolved, be clear about the implications of not addressing that conflict.

[subtext]The things which interest my boss, fascinate me.

Praise in Public, Criticize Quietly
This only applies to personal accomplishment or growth. Performance that affects a team or behaviors that can be observed by people you wish to influence are excepted. When you are trying to influence others (for example teaching), you need to acknowledge individual performance in view of those who need to learn. See: Communicate Consequences Clearly.

[subtext] Allow people to save face and time to absorb bad news privately.

Often Wrong, Never In Doubt
Leaders who are indecisive aren't leading. If you don't have a vision, you need to get one quickly. Ask for help, solicit options and opinions, then make decisions. Once you've committed, stick to what you've decided. If it becomes evident that a wrong choice was made, own the decision and fix it promptly. But until that point, you need to act like you have the answer.

[subtext] The more confidence you have, the more confidence others will give you.

If It Isn't Written, It Isn't Real
[alternative] If you didn't measure it, you didn't do it.
[alternative] If you didn't write it down, it didn't happen.
Talking and waving hands is fun and easy, but is not a replacement for writing things down and having people review it. When it comes to setting down standards or communicating expectations, having a written record will flush out conflicts and allow individuals to preemptively check their standing so they can save face. Because writing takes work, it encourages you to focus on efficient communication. To avoid challenges to your writing, focus on quantifiable metrics and hard facts.

Trust, But Verify
We need to trust to move quickly. But blind trust is another word for an unverified assumption and it can set us up for failure. Give your resources the benefit of the doubt, but don't hesitate to ask for proof of the facts. If you ask others to trust you, give them ways to check your facts independently and without a having to ask. When it comes to successful collaborate, most of trust is perception. If you display a lack of trust in someone (say, by second-guessing) be prepared to find that the reciprocal trust is eroding as well. See: Rely on Tests, Not Opinions.

[subtext] The more trust you show towards others, the more trust others will show towards you. But don't be stupid.

Everything Temporary Becomes Permanent
Change always has a cost, and we only make temporary things to save costs today. We usually underestimate the future costs because we forget about the costs of dealing with the temporary until the future arrives. When it does arrive, we've usually sunk so much cost into it and built so much around it, that it becomes cheaper to simply leave things alone. Don't fight this, just plan that any road you go down, you will likely stay on for a while. This means don't show things to users or customers unless you are willing to ship or start supporting them as they stand.

Communicate Consequences Clearly
Always be broadcasting your expectations so that those you work with know how support you. For those who work for you, ensure the examples of consequences (positive and negative) are frequent and obvious so they will factor into their decision-making. If you reward generously, this should be well understood. Make sure the results of bad behavior are well understood. This is not always the same as explaining the outcomes from failure, because there are many times that failure is an acceptable result. See: A Process Is Not An Outcome.

[subtext] Always show the horse the carrot and the stick. Which to show first, depends on the horse.

Something Is Only As Simple As Its Explanation
[alternative] You only know that which you can teach.
[alternative] If you have to write it down, it is too complicated.
[alternative] If you can't explain it simply, you can't simply program it.
[alternative] The likelihood of failure is equivalent to the ambiguity of your expectations.
There are several versions and applications of this principle, because the concept is so foundational. When you need something done, you should be able to explain it in clear terms to the uninitiated. If you can't do that, don't expect them to understand your expectations. If you are working with someone who can't explain their expectations succinctly and clearly, you should be careful.

[subtext] Don't expect people to be successful at a task that you can't easily explain.

Rely on Numbers, Not Opinions
When possible, make decisions with objective information not subjective perceptions. Asking someone if they are making progress is different than asking what percentage of the tasks are complete today. Instead of saying the build is complete, publish the number of projects compiling/components deployed/tests passing. We all have good days and bad days, we guess with varying degrees of accuracy, but numbers are precise. The way to get numbers is by using tests and quantifiable metrics, anything else is just opinion.

[subtext] One good test is worth a hundred opinions.

A Process Is Not An Outcome
In the age of commodity, this is borderline heresy. If the desired outcome can be obtained by a rigid process, it should likely be automated. When it comes to anything requiring higher intelligence and creativity, blindly following a process is a quick way to fail. This is not to say that intelligent and creative individuals do not need boundaries, conventions, and standards; they surely do. But following a process is only managing to failure. Only the least creative and the unskilled will tolerate a process that mandates how those skills are applied. Allow individuals to find their own way by giving them clear criteria for success. They will likely surprise you and surpass those expectations.

[subtext] Choose good people, give them clear criteria to succeed, and stay out of their way.

There are quite a few more and much can be written about each of these, but that is for another time.

Comments welcome.

Getting Somewhere

A friend of mine recently got promoted to a CTO job for decent-sized technology company. As is sometimes the case with big undertakings, we sat down for a beer to bounce some ideas around. Part of why he's as good as he is at his job is because he asks for advice from those with experience.

Through the course of the evening I found myself coming back to some earlier post-mortem writing I'd done about some large corporation restructurings. We also compared the results of some big reorganizations of which we'd been on the side-lines, to their present day situations and what we could find of the road they traveled. Eerily enough, the steps the successes made weren't that different from my Creation in Chaos checklists. The paraphrased version goes something like this:

Head Down
When it comes to earning trust, the quickest way is with results. Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks. So start walking. Don't publicize your plans, don't invite dialog outside of those conversations in which you absolutely need to engage. Save your energy, kill idle speculation, and don't give room for rumors. You were chosen for the job for a reason, so start proving people right. If you don't have a vision, make crystallizing it your first priority but keep that process to yourself. Be direct and transparent with your organization, be direct and opaque with everyone else.

Assemble the Team
What you need most are the resources marshaled around you to get things done. So find out who you can count on, who has skin in the game, and who needs to go. Pick some champions, equip them well and unleash them. To do this you need to have a clearly defined inner circle. Set clear priorities, make sure they know and respect the ground rules of the new game. Give them regular and consistent chances to provide input and a forum to keep your thumb on their pulse. This will mean reducing the layers within the organization and if necessary trimming the organization. The evidence in history shows that you will have to do these reductions anyway, one way or another. So it's best to be upfront about what it takes to be in the inner circle, and eliminate those who aren't. Give them packages, help them along as best you can, but do it quickly and transparently. Your long-term success relies on this.

Find a Focus
This step needs to be done in parallel with the previous one. Success is always predicated on focus. Pick the 3 or 4 things that are already driving your (and the organizations success) and reinforce their priority. Make sure your team is in the loop to identify this list, and align the troops and the funding around these items. At the same time, pick the 4 or 5 things that are impeding your goals and find out how to bury them. Whether it is sucking time, money, or attention, the worst of this lot need to get bullets in the brain, fast. Again, get the team in on the process to identify these, but don't let them run the show. Don't get side-tracked by history, sacred cows, or personal agendas. Keep laser-focused on hard facts, raw data, and make note of anyone who isn't slicing the fat alongside you. Chances are they should be the next neck under the axe.

Lower the Bar
When it comes to planning and setting goals, keep them simple and attainable. Nothing will impede your forward progress like unrealistic goals, or worse, goals you fail to hit. Until you have your feet under you and track record behind you, under-promise and over-deliver. Give your people soft pitches that they can knock out of the park. Let everyone claim some successes so the mood can recover. Give people time to refine the basics, learn the new game and become efficient at delivery on the focus items.

Rinse and Repeat
When you have some successes, and the situation begins to improve, it is time to publicize the results. Go back to the beginning, examining the team, the focus items, and the success criteria. Raise the bar a little, add some new items to focus on, grow the team, and give your people new challenges. Remember that it is a process and each step needs solid footing so you don't fall.


While these may seem to apply only for organizations, they are the same steps we follow when constructing a life plan or any self-improvement process. I welcome your comments and success stories.