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Pitfalls of Guaranteed Success

written by Allan Branch on May 1st, 2008


If you think success is guaranteed you will…
  1. Worry about Server Scaling instead of good UI.
  2. Hire people you don’t need instead of hiring the right people.
  3. Add features you don’t need instead of trimming the cruft.
  4. Your overall attitude changes and you…
    1. start believing you have all the answers.
    2. stop listening to users.
  5. You worry about what people will say instead of going with your gut.
  6. You opt for vanilla solutions instead of being bold.
  7. You turn into an asshole (might have already happened).

7 Responses to “Pitfalls of Guaranteed Success”

  1. buck May 4th, 2008

    well said.

  2. mae May 4th, 2008

    oh, how true!

  3. tom May 9th, 2008

    POW! Nice.

  4. james May 13th, 2008

    this is pleasantly thought provoking but waaay simplistic.

    1. ignoring server scaling leads to disaster, just as ignoring UI leads to disaster. (this should not be taken to mean that I think all resources should go into server scaling.)

    2. depending on the type of business, people may be much more likely to hire too many people out of fear of not getting the work done successfully during an up-blip in business than they are because they are thinking success is guaranteed. the result is similar but the motive isn’t the same.

    hiring the right people is always key, of course.

    3 + 4. yes, I support these. agree.

    5. gut is not reliable. if yours has been you have been lucky. you said it in number 4. trust your gut to start but plan to iterate.

    6. people go for vanilla out of fear more than anything.

    7. well, sure. :-)

    james

  5. Ben May 13th, 2008

    Right on!

  6. first premeier June 25th, 2008

    Nice Site! http://google.com

  7. Amy Hoy June 30th, 2008

    Thanks for this. In the midst of trying not to do #3 and #5, I’ve fallen prey to #7. The others aren’t an issue, but I got a little too excited fighting for my territory I think.

    I guess even tho I’ve finally internalized the “not now – maybe next release!” mentality, I have to remember that’s not really a conversation ender.

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