no right answer

I’m going to change your entire worldview.

Let’s talk about our feelings. I want you to read the two questions below, paying close attention to your feelings. I don’t care about the answer to the questions, just your feelings.

1. What are the advantages of using a version control system like git?

2. Should we switch over to using git for our project, even though it will disrupt our current timeline for customer delivery?

Question 1 has a clear cut answer. It probably made you feel confident and maybe even giddy with happiness, because there are well-known advantages to using git. You could answer it in your sleep.

Question 2, on the other hand… Yikes. I don’t know about you, but it made me feel a little uneasy just writing it.

On the surface, question 2 may actually seem like the easier question to answer. After all, it could technically be answered with just a simple Yes/No. But you and I both know that it is a loaded question. There are so many variables to take into account: how much will it disrupt, what’s the impact, how are our finances, are we using Linux or Windows line endings… etc.

There’s no clear right answer. And we hate that.

We are used to always having exactly one correct answer. Our whole lives we’ve been trained to be precise, accurate, and exact. Like an assassin, but for differential equations.

No wonder we start to sweat a little when we get asked a fuzzy question like that.

The reality is — being a manager is about constantly being in situations where there is no right answer. So let’s get to the actionable way of actually learning to recognize these situations and how you can approach answering these questions.

As the saying goes, here’s my three-step framework:

1. Weigh the pros, cons, and side-effects

2. Make the decision, justify and stick with it, but...

3. ...accept when you are wrong and be open to change

Shall we practice?

Imagine someone comes to you and tells you that the onboarding for new users has a bug that affects Android users with MacBooks. Then, someone else tells you that existing users’ data is being erased anytime there’s a solar eclipse.

What would you do? (note: “stop imagining” is not an option)

Both options can arguably be correct, but they are directly in conflict with each other because there are a limited number of engineers available. So at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what decision you make, follow the framework above. Weigh the pros/cons, make a decision, and accept if it turns out to be wrong.

Another note here: don’t feel like you’re alone in this. Go seek help and conversations so you can take everyone’s perspective into account for your decision. You can talk to your engineers, your boss, even your rubber duck. No decision is made in isolation.

Be confident when making your decision, and remember that even the best decision-makers in the world get it wrong sometimes. The only way to get better at making decisions is to make more decisions.

Yes, it’s important to stick to a decision you’ve committed to. But It’s even more important to be flexible enough to change your reasoning when the circumstances change. Keep an open mind. No one likes a stubborn mule.

It’s a fine line. And now you know how to walk it.

-Vigs

P.S. If you found the git pun in this email, reply back and I’ll tell you if you were right.