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The challenge: Don't speak in future tense

56 pointsby adityakothadiyaover 15 years ago

9 comments

davidwover 15 years ago
Two out of his first three quotes are not actually in some form of future tense. "We are", and "I am getting ready" are both present tense, albeit of differing forms. Of course, he's correct that they're talking about things that will materialize in the future.
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ojbyrneover 15 years ago
I have worked remotely a lot and I've always tried to reduce the overhead of communication by actually doing stuff rather than saying I'll do it, etc. I.e. rather than<p>I'll look at it<p>....<p>Looking at it<p>....<p>Working on it<p>....<p>Done.<p>I try as much as possible to do<p>&#60;longer delay&#62;<p>Done.<p>Mostly because of "The Mythical Man-Month." Some people don't deal well with it, though.
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matt1over 15 years ago
Another interesting thing to pay attention to is how often people talk about what's wrong and that it needs to be fixed, but fail to provide a road forward.<p>Example:<p>"This web page is horrendous"<p>(everyone nods)<p>"We need to find a way to make it better"<p>(everyone nods)<p>"Now moving on to the next topic, we're moving too slowly..."<p>It's rare to find a person that suggests solutions to problems rather than just pointing out that they exist...
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lurkinggrueover 15 years ago
This also plagues local sci-fi fandom. I always hear about the cool new idea that person is never going to finish or even start.<p>The thing is the person got the some attention and endorphine rush from said attention.<p>Why go though the actual work?
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NathanKPover 15 years ago
He claims that "announcing your plans makes them less likely to happen" yet many people, including me, hold the exact opposite opinion, that announcing your plans makes you more likely to work toward them.
oscardelbenover 15 years ago
"Remember that announcing your plans makes them less likely to happen."<p>I partially disagree with this. When I publicly commit that I'll do x thing, no matter what, I'm more likely to do it because otherwise people would think that I'm only a charlatan.<p>I think talking in public about your idea is very important <i>especially</i> if you have to do some kind of report at the end.
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mawover 15 years ago
This is easy if you're speaking in English: <a href="http://english-jack.blogspot.com/2007/09/if-they-will-only-listen.html" rel="nofollow">http://english-jack.blogspot.com/2007/09/if-they-will-only-l...</a>.
tjpickover 15 years ago
sounds like he actually meant that people are full of shit.
dbzover 15 years ago
I'm going to regret how many down votes I get on this comment.<p>=/