Do Not Agree to Deadlines You Know You Cannot Meet
Agreeing to a deadline you know is impossible only delays and magnifies the problem — negotiate honestly instead.
13
Common Mistakes
Don't Hide a Problem Hoping It Will Fix Itself — It Won't, and It Gets Worse
Problems at work almost never fix themselves — surface them early while they are still small and manageable.
6
Multiply Your Time Estimates by 1.5 — You Will Still Be Optimistic
Pad your time estimates by fifty percent — you will still occasionally run over, but you will miss far fewer deadlines.
20
Don't Share Your Current Salary — It Anchors the Conversation Against You
Your current salary has nothing to do with your market value — do not let it set the ceiling for your next offer.
5
Don't Gossip at Work — It Always Gets Back to the Wrong Person
Workplace gossip always travels further than you intend and damages your reputation more than theirs.
7
Don't Be Afraid to Ask "Stupid" Questions During Your Probation
Your probation period is the only time when basic questions are fully expected -- use it to fill every knowledge gap you can.
10
Never Badmouth Your Previous Employer in an Interview
Speaking poorly about a former employer reflects more on you than on them -- stay professional and forward-looking.
6
Do Not Accept a Vague Role with Vague Success Criteria
A role without clear success criteria is a role where you can never truly win -- clarify expectations before you start.
6
Apply Even If You Don't Meet 100% of the Requirements
Most job postings describe an ideal candidate, not a minimum threshold -- don't screen yourself out.
12
Negotiating Your First Raise Is Scary — Do It Anyway
Asking for a raise feels uncomfortable, but staying silent guarantees you will be paid less than you are worth for longer than you should.
15
When a Metric Becomes a Target, It Stops Being a Good Metric
Optimizing for a number often destroys the value it was meant to capture.
6
Being Able to Spot Flaws in Others' Reasoning Doesn't Make You Immune
Spotting others' biases is easy; seeing your own requires a fundamentally different skill.
10
Naming a Bias Does Not Remove It
Knowing about a bias does not protect you from it — you still need active systems to counteract blind spots.
7
A Bad Process Can Produce a Good Outcome — That Doesn't Make It a Good Process
Judge decisions by their process, not their outcome — luck is not a strategy.
20
If Someone Keeps Moving the Target, They Were Never Planning to Be Convinced
When every answered objection spawns a new one, the person was never open to being convinced.
5
"It's Natural" Doesn't Mean It's Good
Natural is a description of origin, not a certificate of quality.
22
Do Not Mistake a Label for an Explanation
A label describes the pattern; an explanation reveals why it exists.
12
Reading About Clear Thinking Is Not the Same as Thinking Clearly
Knowing about biases and actually avoiding them are different skills entirely.
5