3 ms·

One of the strongest skills as a business facing developer is being able to say no.

sz4kerto 3y ago
Many people misunderstand this. Just saying 'no' and being firm won't make you successful, it's not a very useful. Saying 'no' while convincing others that 'no' is actually the best strategy is a great skill.
- yoyohello13 3y ago
  I like the redirection strategy. Find something easier to do and convince them it's better. Same strategy works for training dogs.
- BurningFrog 3y ago
  A good way to say "no" is, "yes, but then the thing I'm working on will not be done".
  - cchi_co 3y ago
    [dead]
epiccoleman 3y ago
https://grugbrain.dev/#grug-on-saying-no https://grugbrain.dev/#grug-on-saying-no > best weapon against complexity spirit demon is magic word: "no" > "no, grug not build that feature" > "no, grug not build that abstraction" > "no, grug not put water on body every day or drink less black think juice you stop repeat ask now" > note, this good engineering advice but bad career advice: "yes" is magic word for more shiney rock and put in charge of large tribe of developer > is ok: how many shiney rock grug really need anyway?
- Yodel0914 3y ago
  It site is an amazing and hilarious encapsulation of pretty much every conclusion I've come to after programming professionally for 20+ years (except maybe generics)
  - epiccoleman 3y ago
    I remember, early in my career, being excitedly shown the "Agile Manifesto" by a bearded older dev. I recently caught myself excitedly showing grugbrain to a younger dev, quoting the microservices section - and realized that I've come full circle, and now I'm the old bearded dev passing on some piece of thing that I found inspirational / exciting.
- bitwize 3y ago
  when mysterious packages (new sandals, new animal skins, etc.) keep arriving at cave door for mrs. grug, grug not save very many shiny rock. also, wolves and sabretooth tigers get hungry, need grooming, need vet, etc. picky about food too, want expensive organic stuff. sometimes mrs. grug buy animal skins for wolves even though they have perfectly fine pelts of their own. and don't get grug started on lil' gruglets (which this grug not have). then no pile of shiny rock for rainy day, when shiny rock stop coming and cave mortgage is due. shiny rock very important. get as much shiny rock as can without compromising values. happy mrs. grug = happy grug.
aledalgrande 3y ago
Stakeholder management is an art and sometimes you have to say "yes, but here's your choices"
nprateem 3y ago
And people tend to trust you for it since they admire your honesty. Often pretty rare in companies full of people sucking up for promotion.
jimbokun 3y ago
I have a feeling that the ability to say “no” may be one of the key abilities that good human developers have over coding AIs. Knowing how to figure out the actual business need and realistic technical solutions, as opposed to just saying “yes” to the initial request, without really understanding feasibility or the real requirements.

Many people misunderstand this. Just saying 'no' and being firm won't make you successful, it's not a very useful. Saying 'no' while convincing others that 'no' is actually the best strategy is a great skill.

yoyohello13 3y ago
I like the redirection strategy. Find something easier to do and convince them it's better. Same strategy works for training dogs.
BurningFrog 3y ago
A good way to say "no" is, "yes, but then the thing I'm working on will not be done".
- cchi_co 3y ago
  [dead]

epiccoleman 3y ago

https://grugbrain.dev/#grug-on-saying-no https://grugbrain.dev/#grug-on-saying-no > best weapon against complexity spirit demon is magic word: "no" > "no, grug not build that feature" > "no, grug not build that abstraction" > "no, grug not put water on body every day or drink less black think juice you stop repeat ask now" > note, this good engineering advice but bad career advice: "yes" is magic word for more shiney rock and put in charge of large tribe of developer > is ok: how many shiney rock grug really need anyway?

Yodel0914 3y ago
It site is an amazing and hilarious encapsulation of pretty much every conclusion I've come to after programming professionally for 20+ years (except maybe generics)
- epiccoleman 3y ago
  I remember, early in my career, being excitedly shown the "Agile Manifesto" by a bearded older dev. I recently caught myself excitedly showing grugbrain to a younger dev, quoting the microservices section - and realized that I've come full circle, and now I'm the old bearded dev passing on some piece of thing that I found inspirational / exciting.
bitwize 3y ago
when mysterious packages (new sandals, new animal skins, etc.) keep arriving at cave door for mrs. grug, grug not save very many shiny rock. also, wolves and sabretooth tigers get hungry, need grooming, need vet, etc. picky about food too, want expensive organic stuff. sometimes mrs. grug buy animal skins for wolves even though they have perfectly fine pelts of their own. and don't get grug started on lil' gruglets (which this grug not have). then no pile of shiny rock for rainy day, when shiny rock stop coming and cave mortgage is due. shiny rock very important. get as much shiny rock as can without compromising values. happy mrs. grug = happy grug.

aledalgrande 3y ago

Stakeholder management is an art and sometimes you have to say "yes, but here's your choices"

nprateem 3y ago

And people tend to trust you for it since they admire your honesty. Often pretty rare in companies full of people sucking up for promotion.

jimbokun 3y ago

I have a feeling that the ability to say “no” may be one of the key abilities that good human developers have over coding AIs. Knowing how to figure out the actual business need and realistic technical solutions, as opposed to just saying “yes” to the initial request, without really understanding feasibility or the real requirements.