More Things I've Learned Along the Way

Occasionally, when I learn something, I think, "I wish I had known that years ago." Maybe it would have saved me pain and trouble, or helped me find more joy and happiness, or maybe it just appeals to me. Whenever this happens, I write it down, or at least I mean to write it down. Many of them do get away. Here's the second installment of some that didn't get away.

• It's way better to cancel a meeting that shouldn't happen than to hold a meeting that shouldn't have happened.
• If you phone someone only when something is wrong, they'll eventually learn about Caller ID.
• Ask questions only if you think the answers (or nonanswers) will help.
• Turning the other cheek is a good way to get slapped again. And maybe that's a good thing.
• When people interrupt each other, rudeness isn't always the only reason. Some interruptions are strategic.
• When somebody consistently does something wrong, your understanding of what they're trying to accomplish might be incorrect.
• When an expert tells you it's impossible, take heed. Experts who exaggerate aren't experts for long.
• Humor is everywhere. Even in things you're embarrassed you laughed at.
• Humor helps some people get over the rough spots. Others find it most unhelpful. How wondrously different we all are.
• People who take credit for the work of others soon run out of others.
• The young have a huge advantage over their elders. They haven't yet learned that there isn't time enough to learn all of what they haven't yet learned.
• Three kinds of people who don't learn: the unwilling, the unable, and the soon-to-be-unemployed.
• Dogs understand us. It's what they do for a living.
• Get a scanner. Electronic hoarding Dogs understand us.
  It's what they do
  for a living.is better for the environment than hardcopy hoarding.
• Many of my mistakes eventually proved right. And many things I thought were right eventually proved to be mistakes. So, being sure I'm right can be a mistake. I think.
• Some people contribute much more than they get credit for; some contribute much less. The trick is figuring out which is which.
• Some people contribute much less than they think they do. Way less.
• Being loyal to an organization that's incapable of being loyal to you is just dumb. Same for people.
• You get good only at what you practice at, but practicing at something is no guarantee you'll get good at it.
• Don't practice at anything you don't want to get good at.
• Getting angry at inanimate objects hardly ever motivates them to do better.
• Taking time out to think usually saves time in the end.
• On days when nothing is going right, I remind myself that most things actually are going right. I'm just too messed up to notice them.
• Trees know how to make do with whatever comes their way. They have to.

I'm sure more will come to me. When I get a bunch, I'll send them along. First in this series  Next in this series  Top    Next Issue

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And on May 1: Antipatterns for Time-Constrained Communication: 2

Recognizing just a few patterns that can lead to miscommunication can reduce the incidence of problems. Here is Part 2 of a collection of antipatterns that arise in technical communication under time pressure, emphasizing those that depend on content. Available here and by RSS on May 1.

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