There are 2 ways to evaluate something else: with data or with perceptions. Almost everyone judges by perceptions. Unfortunately this is not limited to middle s

There are 2 ways to evaluate something else: with data or with perceptions. Almost everyone judges by perceptions. Unfortunately this is not limited to middle school cafeterias, single bars, or amateur hours. Some of the biggest culprits are the people you would least expect it from: founders, managers, entrepreneurs, users, and customers. The is one sure-fire antedote to this: data. And the best data is a precise project plan, with every detail, and always up to date. I lost track long ago of the instances someone "important" accused me or someone on my team of "not working hard enough" or "not appearing to be doing enough". My response is always the same: whip a current hard copy of the project plan out of my back pocket, throw it onto the desk, and ask the same question, "OK, exactly what is the problem?" This shuts them up every time. They may not like it, but they always STFU. "Bill not moving fast enough for you? He's responsible for ORP560. 2 weeks ahead of schedule." "Sue not here enough? She's in Wichita this week. Just implemented RESERVES. Already saved us $200,000." "Don't like how Gary talks to the customer? Here are 14 examples (right here on the page) where the customer was wrong and Gary straightened them out. How would you suggest he handles it?" I can go on and on. Many of us skinny introverted geeks have had to find a way to counter the slings and arrows of ugly decision-making by perception with a hacker's solution: maintain the data to counter the perception. It's the best thing that I've ever found that actually works.