Anand has done an interesting post on the principle why “less is more”.  He is talking from his consulting experience, but it doesn’t limit to consulting alone.  I can relate to him. Especially this one,

Third, you’ve got to be brave enough to shut up, or say “I don’t know”. Initially, this was tough for me, but I learnt from a friend. I always thought him not-so-smart, but honest. He’d ask, “But why?” and when I’d explain, he’d say, “I don’t understand it.” After two hours of trying to get him to understand, I’d realise that I was the one who never got it in the first place. After a while, I got into the habit of being very prepared before I explained anything to him.

Saying “I don’t know” doesn’t make people think less of you, I’ve found. I know a lot of people disagree with me. One of the most consistent feedbacks I’ve received in the first half of any project or firm I’ve been in is, “He should speak up.” Dammit, I don’t have anything to say! If I know something, I’ll say it. If not, I’ll shut up. Now, despite this feedback, no one’s quite objected to me. And in the second half, they’re always amazed at how much I’ve improved based on the feedback.

The feedback had nothing to do with it, of course. I just happen to know more in the second half of a project.

Using unnecessary buzz words and bloating a proposal document is all too common now in software industry. Sometimes it goes upto the extend that it makes me sick. Yesterday I was watching CNBC and one senior manager of a software company was saying - “this strategic acquisition of rival will position us to provide holistic support to our clients” or something like that…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 6:12 am and is filed under Inspirational. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.