pushing back + saying no

[Jenn Chen]

hi guys!

have a somewhat more process-related question.

so, we all work hard. there's also a lot that each of us wants to do.

was wondering — what are your strategies for pushing back against unreasonable demands / hours in the workplace (or from clients)?

how do you establish boundaries (and potentially prevent unreasonable demands?) between work and personal life, either in the workplace or in your own time management?

how do you keep yourselves happy and productive?

would love to hear your thoughts :)

j

[Jaireh Tecarro]

1. I listen to podcasts and other items of interest that keep me stimulated and interested in design. 

I look at blogs like Notcot to see that good design still exists and marvel at how these things ever saw the light of day, knowing the great pain and effort it takes to ever extrude a good product

2. I build good working relationships with my cross functional team. I try to get my managers to commit to making me "own" a discreet clear project. Usually I am really happy when I can get these kinds of setups but the ambiguity involved with needs of company versus resourcing is always a pain. I generally am always working on two big projects, and then 8 small ones, and then 2 putting out fires one. 

3. You have to build credibility before you can push back, that is why option 2 is so important. 

Generally I find that I have to prove my credibility with any new work partner I have whether that is a new PM, a  new team , a  new boss. Once I have proven myself, I can get more negotiation leverage but it takes time to build those relationships. 

4. If I am too overwhelmed, I tell my boss and usually they block and tackle for me for the other cross functional teams. Problem is though, bosses and bosses bosses might not know the full picture and when cross functional teams complain, it makes me look bad. Luckily if you can build some kind of subtle "reputation" this can help you for a while. 

5. I heard reading Seneca stoicism is one of the best handbooks for surviving in corporate life. I also really like the Brazen Careerist. 

6. Find good work allies. The only success i've had in work is having good relationship with my direct boss, and getting good <true and honest> collaborations with someone else with a core competency other than mine. My successes have been if I get a really good engineer paired up with me or with a really good PM.  

I would also like to hear other people's advice

Jaireh

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "El Corazón de la Design" group.
To post to this group, send email to corazo...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to corazondesig...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/corazondesign?hl=en.

[Jenn Chen]

great advice, jai! i'll have to check out some of those books...

for me (including advice i need to take myself):

1. i totally agree on building good work allies and credibility. be respectful and supportive of others, and they'll often reciprocate. help out others when you can (and when you feel happy doing so), and be active and involved in your community/team: show interest in others' work, give feedback, go to social events.

2. manage expectations. explain (calmly and patiently!) why the path demanded/suggested is unrealistic or why you are pushing back. explain pros/cons of their suggested path and provide an alternate path (also with pros/cons). 

3. negotiate. get to a point where you can both agree ("do we agree that the goal is to allow users to purchase quickly?") and go from there ("well, we won't be able to know how users will behave until we do some user testing.") listen to the other person and consider their point carefully. make sure they do the same for you. if anyone is getting worked up/upset, point it out. "why don't we talk again when we've had a chance to calm down."

4. bring up rainy-day/worst case scenarios, often deadlines are assigned w/o realizing full complexity/failure points.

5. always ask for deadlines and prioritization when being asked to do something new. "when do you need this? is this more important that project x you asked me to work on yesterday? project x will be delayed a day if i work on this now." make it clear what you're focusing on and what trade-offs you'll have to make.

6. stop saying yes as a knee-jerk reaction. if you're unsure, ask to either talk it out with the person requesting/your team or take a little time to re-assess.

7. explicitly schedule fun/break time in your calendar. at the very least, try blocking out your lunch hour. working all the time does not make you a productive person.

8. bitching with other people helps me tremendously to get initial frustration out — just make sure it doesn't get nasty and gossipy, it's usually easiest to bitch to people you don't work with, plus it helps to know you're not alone ;)

[Chris Turitzin]

So, since I've never worked in a larger organization (frog doesn't really count), my thoughts come mostly from managing clients expectations.

This has been an issue, since it is so easy to say 'yes' to a client. Especially, when they are paying you. Learning to say 'no' is an important skill to learn (and how to say 'no'.)

Here are my bullet-ed thoughts to add:

1. Assume that you are a badass

It goes a long way in respecting your time and type of work you do. Assuming that you are a badass makes you turn away "bad work" and lets you maintain composure when you say "my hourly rate is $500/hr".

2. Always make additional requests a compromise

One practice we have been developing is to plan for about 10% wiggle room in scope, so you can accept some small feature adds (and appear to be a good partner). Larger requests always come at a cost of something else: higher cost, or cutting other features. It reframes saying "no" into an choice that they can make.

3. There is NOTHING an employer can offer you that is worth your own well-being

Raises, titles, blah blah. If you need to work less to have a better life, then do it. There are also many many studies out there that say working long hours doesn't increase productivity, just increases the perception of productivity. Here is a good one for argument fodder: http://lunar.lostgarden.com/Rules%20of%20Productivity.pdf

[Carina Koo]

I agree with Chris, it all boils down to priorities.  And how you frame it -- You don't say "no", you say:

"Sure, I can do that for you, but not now, because my plate is full with more important things, and they're more important because XYZ."  And that may include getting sleep.

or, "Sure, I can do that for you, but my plate is full with more important things, can we kick some of those things off?"

Not that I'm good at this, of course this is all easy to say, harder to do :p