The reality you have vs. the reality you expect. Honor them both.

Musing for:

The reality you have vs. the reality you expect

Short-term failure comes from expecting more than the reality you have.

Long-term failure comes from accepting less than the reality you expect.

❌If I expect customers to read a 100-page manual to learn a new app but that’s not the reality I have, the next rollout may fail.
✅My customers’ behavior is outside my control, so I must change my expectations.

❌If I expect an app that doesn’t need a 100-page manual but I’m silent when the app is confusing, the product may eventually fail.
✅My app is within my control, so I must not accept less than I expect.

❌If I expect my software to run on infrastructure that never goes down, installations will occasionally fail.
✅100% uptime is not an available reality, so I must change my expectations.

❌If I accept catastrophic or permanent consequences in my software when the infrastructure is temporarily unavailable, the product may fail long-term.
✅Expecting the software to recover when the infrastructure returns is inside my control, and I shouldn’t accept less.

But it’s not always that easy to know whether you should expect more than what you have. Knowing the difference is what makes you a leader.

❓In your team, what realities do you need to accept, and where do you need to expect more? 🤔

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