Everything is Negotiable

Erik Andersen
Oct 28, 2020
Photo by Joshua Ness on Unsplash

Just because a stakeholder asks for something by Friday, doesn’t mean it needs to be done by then.

Just because a customer asks for a feature, doesn’t mean you have to build it that way.

Just because a boss asks for you to take an additional task, doesn’t mean you have to take it.

You have to dig deeper -

  • Why the Friday deadline? Oh, because they want a week to review it after you’re done? How about the Monday or Tuesday after then?
  • Why the feature request? Oh, because they’re experiencing a pain point in a certain area? Well, how about these x, y, or z other approaches?
  • Why the additional task? Oh, is this the priority now? If so, I’m going to have to drop x, y, or z other in-progress tasks.

You’re not “pushing back”

You’re asking for clarity

And clarity ensures the right solution is built on the right timeline without overburdening anyone.

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Erik Andersen

Senior Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience. Also an independent coach, teacher, and public speaker. My opinions are my own