It's Done

When a stakeholder asks for a change to the software I’m building, my typical responses are, in order: “Got it.” Then: “I’m working on that issue.” Finally: “It’s done.” Here’s an alternative: skip the first two conversations and go straight to the third. As soon as you can, just do the thing, and respond with: “It’s done.”

It’s a variation on the idea of “Underpromise; overdeliver.” In this case, by waiting to respond, I’m promising nothing, the most under of underpromises. And I over-deliver by shipping when the stakeholder is least expecting it.

A related parable is A Message to Garcia, a short story by Elbert Hubbard. Hubbard tells the tale of American Lieutenant Andrew Rowan, who was tasked by President McKinley to deliver a secret message to General Calixto García in Cuba just before to the Spanish–American War. Instead of belaboring how he might accomplish this herculean task, Rowan disappears… and gets it done.

Writing software has lower stakes than a carrying a secret wartime message, but we can still learn from this technique. Hubbard writes:

It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this or that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies; do the thing - “carry a message to Garcia!”

When you can, skip the conversation and just do it.

Two important caveats. First, this only works when your leaders are patient. They can’t be expecting instant feedback. And, you must move quickly to honor that contract. A certain breed of leader will never accept the delay, but more than you might think can be persuaded to appreciate the tradeoff.

Second, the instructions have to be clear. It doesn’t serve anybody to quickly and decisively do the wrong thing.

This technique creates shorter interactions with less back-and-forth. And it establishes you as the type of programmer who gets things done.

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