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> I don't know if I maybe lost a few nice business opportunities because of my attitude regarding this, but maybe at least I had more time programming new featu

by jfasi 12y ago

> I don't know if I maybe lost a few nice business opportunities because of my attitude regarding this, but maybe at least I had more time programming new features for my customers that way. This is an awful attitude to have. Firstly, business is the art of reaching mutually beneficial agreements with people. Part of what makes a good business person a good business person is an ability to navigate the potentially frustrating waters of professional communication. Consider the exchange the author laid out. He repeats the same thing over and over again (give me details please), assuming the other person will pick up on the passive aggressive repetition and begin to do things on his terms. Instead of accommodating this person's communication style, he blows them off. Notice this: he blows off the opportunity not on its substance, but on his impression of its messenger. If the guy wants a phone call, roll your eyes privately, give him a phone call, and blow him off ten minutes in if the opportunity doesn't seem worthwhile. Secondly, there's this idea that time spent programming is the most productive, and anything that subtracts from your precious programming time is a waste of time. This is a tricky point, and I'm going to head off all the impassioned comments stating that programming actually is sacred by saying: sometimes the biggest gains can be made through design and development, but sometimes not. Witness all imperfect products that represent successful businesses because their leadership knew when to devote attention to development and when to pull off and devote attention to business. If he were a programmer being paid for his programming time, it would be absolutely the case that any time spent not programming was a waste. However, the post clearly states that he's in charge of the product, and yet he seems to have budgeted little time and apparently no attention to furthering the product. If doing product work is such a waste of his time, it would be in his best interest to bring on someone who will do that full time for him, allowing him to focus on programming full time.

pyalot2 12y ago
I'm pretty sure it's meant hyperbolic. But we've all had this , it doesn't end with a phone call either. If somebody who wants something from you can't summarize in a few written sentences what they want from you, it's exceedingly likely no amount of writing or talking is gonna remedy that. If you engage clients like that, you'll end up being very, very sorry.
- jfasi 12y ago
  I agree with you when it comes to clients. Clients want to hire you to do a specific piece of work, and in that case vague, open-ended agreements are indeed poison. When it comes to partnerships, however, the mutually beneficial agreement might not be immediately obvious. It's entirely possible that a "get to know you" sort of conversation will be necessary, will turn out to be very fruitful, and would be impossible to have over email. Also keep in mind, they're vetting you as much as you're vetting them. They want to get a feel for you as a potential partner, and if you behave like the author from the get-go, it's likely not in their best interests to not work with you. To my second point, if you say you're in charge of product development, it's your job to dive into these sorts of conversations on the off chance they might develop into meaningful partnerships. I can be annoying and frustrating, and it certainly can seem wasteful to someone with an engineer's mindset, but that's why it's a job and not a hobby. Expecting people to come to you with perfectly-fitting opportunities gift wrapped in exactly the communication style you use will keep you from ever achieving anything.
  - kreeben 12y ago
    So the most grownup thing to do would be to just agree to meet the guy, yes? I can agree with that. But why not answer a few questions like, are you prospecting for people to hire? Are you looking for a partnership? What kind of partnership? What software are you interested in? I have tons, see. No, nothing, you can give me nothing? Alright, bye.

by jfasi 12y ago

pyalot2 12y ago

I'm pretty sure it's meant hyperbolic. But we've all had this , it doesn't end with a phone call either. If somebody who wants something from you can't summarize in a few written sentences what they want from you, it's exceedingly likely no amount of writing or talking is gonna remedy that. If you engage clients like that, you'll end up being very, very sorry.

jfasi 12y ago
I agree with you when it comes to clients. Clients want to hire you to do a specific piece of work, and in that case vague, open-ended agreements are indeed poison. When it comes to partnerships, however, the mutually beneficial agreement might not be immediately obvious. It's entirely possible that a "get to know you" sort of conversation will be necessary, will turn out to be very fruitful, and would be impossible to have over email. Also keep in mind, they're vetting you as much as you're vetting them. They want to get a feel for you as a potential partner, and if you behave like the author from the get-go, it's likely not in their best interests to not work with you. To my second point, if you say you're in charge of product development, it's your job to dive into these sorts of conversations on the off chance they might develop into meaningful partnerships. I can be annoying and frustrating, and it certainly can seem wasteful to someone with an engineer's mindset, but that's why it's a job and not a hobby. Expecting people to come to you with perfectly-fitting opportunities gift wrapped in exactly the communication style you use will keep you from ever achieving anything.
- kreeben 12y ago
  So the most grownup thing to do would be to just agree to meet the guy, yes? I can agree with that. But why not answer a few questions like, are you prospecting for people to hire? Are you looking for a partnership? What kind of partnership? What software are you interested in? I have tons, see. No, nothing, you can give me nothing? Alright, bye.