Friction is better than fiction.
Truths can be uncomfortable, conversations difficult, and confrontations undesirable. All are better than comfortable fiction.
Inside the team, raise it in the room, not after.
With clients, tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. That's what they're paying us for.
Be hard on the problem, soft on the person.
The point is clarity, not catharsis. Honesty is not cover for being a dickhead.
- 01If you'd say it in a sidebar after, say it in the room before.
- 02With clients, name the thing they don't want to hear before they pay us to discover it.
- 03Drafts get honest markups. Diplomatic edits help no-one.
- 04The check: am I softening this to be liked, or because the precision matters?