Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Endeavors have fine, precise adjustments. The details matter. There, however, is a time for details and fine, precise, adjustments. The early stages of work is not the time.

I wish I was smarter. I wish I knew all the details and adjustments and the little factors of success at the start of an effort. Alas, wishes are not reality. I am not that smart. I need time to learn. I need space for solutions that come when I know more.

Back in time, a person told me of a project where someone was specifying find adjustments at PDR (preliminary design review, something that occurs early in a project). That was way to early to be fine tuning solutions. There were too many unknowns. There was too much room for learning.

In my current job, I write documents that have strict limits on length. I have five pages for this and two pages for that. I don’t know what I am doing. I will learn as we go along. I draft four pages for this a one-and-a-half pages for that. I leave room for learning. Time will teach me. Then I will fill the blank spaces.

This is humility. I wish I was smart enough to draft a complete document with all the details. Alas, I am not. Leave space. Leave time for learning. We can do better.