What's Wrong with Being Right?!

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What’s Wrong with Being Right?! Chris Powers Engineering Manager at Groupon @chrisjpowers http://chrisjpowers.com/blog Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Where I’m coming from Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Being “right” vs. “Being” right Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Looking Ahead: Being “Right” What does “right” mean? Why is being “right” hard in tech? What forces convince us we are right? Why do we want to be right? How do we decide as a team what’s right? How can we measure “rightness”? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Looking Ahead: “Being” Right How does ”being” right hold us back? How do you bring others to your way of thinking? What do you do when no one agrees with you? How do you handle being wrong? How do you handle being right? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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What does “right” mean? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Matt Emmons Olympic Marksman 50 Meter Riﬂe 3 Positions Athens 2004 Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Drilled it! Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Oops. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Right execution requires decisions that are rooted in the correct context. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Values Knowledge Skills Priorities Problem Space Budget Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Given the same knowledge, context and experiences, everyone would make the same choices. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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“Right” without context is dogma. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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What is right for... Me My Relationships My Team My Organization My Community My Industry Tuesday, December 17, 13

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What are you optimizing for? ??? ??? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Why is it so hard to get it “right” in tech? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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We usually build new things. Unknown unknowns are everywhere. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Tech is constantly changing. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Communication of context is lossy. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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We still think we’re right. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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We trust our own experiences more than the experiences of our colleagues. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Feeling “right” sets us up for conﬁrmation bias. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Our value calculus is heavily inﬂuenced by our personal context, which no one else has. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Easier to speak than to listen. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Why do we want to be right? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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School Work Right answers. Wrong answers. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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We conﬂate Not Right WRONG! with Tuesday, December 17, 13

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“There’s only one right answer.” RIGHT! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Afraid admitting you don’t know something communicates weakness (though it doesn’t). Tuesday, December 17, 13

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We associate trust with being right. If you can’t trust yourself to be right, who CAN you trust? Now with 100% more rightness! Tuesday, December 17, 13

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If you’re scared about uncertainty... How do you think project managers, clients and executives feel?! Tuesday, December 17, 13

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We are heavily incentivized to be right. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Value conquering over collaboration. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Some people and organizations want to punish you so you will “learn a lesson.” Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How do we make the decision as a team? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Clearly Prioritize Success Metrics Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Communicate Risk Tolerance How much risk is acceptable? What can we experiment with? What can and can’t we break? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Reduce the Need for Consensus Tuesday, December 17, 13

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For Quick Concensus Try “Fist to Five” Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Deal Breaker - Let’s Talk I Have Big Concerns to Share I Have Small Concerns to Share Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Agree, No Discussion Needed I Will Work for This Idea I Will Lead This Initiative! Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Collaboration Contracts Explain Consult Collaborate Advise Inquire Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Collaboration Contracts Explain Consult Collaborate Advise Inquire JOE SAM EVA JIM LEA Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Collaboration Contracts Explain Consult Collaborate Advise Inquire JOE SAM EVA JIM LEA Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Collaboration Contracts Explain Consult Collaborate Advise Inquire JOE SAM EVA JIM LEA Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Collaboration Contracts Explain Consult Collaborate Advise Inquire JOE SAM EVA JIM LEA Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Make Decisions Get Data & Feedback Tuesday, December 17, 13

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The Goal: Lower the Stakes Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How can we measure? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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SCIENCE! A/B Experimentation User Tracking Business Metrics Analytics Tuesday, December 17, 13

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A/B Testing with Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Tracking/Metrics with Tuesday, December 17, 13

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A/B Experiment Tips Tuesday, December 17, 13

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A/B Experiment Tips Identify and collect key metrics. Determine the amount of allowable risk. Start with low traffic, have roll-out and roll-back plans. Ensure an unbiased test population. Be aware of conflicting experiments or events. Know your traffic and user patterns. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How does “being” right hold us back? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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“Why didn’t you give me the beneﬁt of the doubt? Well... because I though I was right! Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Whoever is Most Combative Wins Tuesday, December 17, 13

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“Being” right disincentivizes iterative thinking. “What’s the point of iterative development and A/B testing when I know I’m right?!” Tuesday, December 17, 13

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There’s Value in Limited Consensus Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How do we bring others to your way of thinking? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Not this. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Listen. What are you missing? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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What is your unique insight? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Not just tech decisions, but trust decisions. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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No one should “Fall in Line.” Identify concerns. Communicate clearly. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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If No One Agrees With You Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Your colleagues are not crazy. What context are you missing? What have you failed to communicate? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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People naturally side with the clear communicator, not the “righter” person. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Buy-in Is Not Optional. Work towards resolution, limit need for consensus. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How should we handle being wrong? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Understand the data, retrospect and learn. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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The Goal: Lower the Stakes Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How should we handle being right? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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GK Chesterton Author 1874 - 1936 “What is wrong with the world today?” Tuesday, December 17, 13

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“Dear Sir, I am. Yours, G.K. Chesterton.” Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Selﬁsh Motivations It’s what’s wrong with being right. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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How do you use your “right”? Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Brutal Honesty. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Truth in Love. Tuesday, December 17, 13

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Every time you say you’re right, you’re telling people you’re a leader, and asking them to follow you. Tuesday, December 17, 13