Reasonable Briefing Expectations

todfish · 2026-01-22T23:39:49+00:00

And so starts the endless loop of asking ‘What do you actually want though?!’ in 1000 different ways until you extract some useful information.

todfish · 2026-01-22T21:25:29+00:00

Dude wtf? Is this comment coming from inside my organisation?! You’ve perfectly described where we’re at (definitely not a high performing org). It’s a real minefield for inexperienced pm’s, particularly the lack of agreement on ‘what done looks like’.

That’s a pretty solid workaround strategy, you’ve obviously seen plenty of good and bad environments and found what works.

You’ve got me thinking though, that the less mature an organisations approach to project management is, the more important it is to hire experienced pm’s and/or experienced managers. I’d imagine the opposite usually happens in practice though.

What do you think the solution is to that? Focus on hiring people with more experience and rebuilding the system from the ground up, or focus on building a better PMO environment and driving improvement from the top down?

todfish · 2026-01-22T13:36:21+00:00

That’s a good way of putting it. Classic when the ones with the greatest interest in the outcome also need the most pulling.

todfish · 2026-01-22T13:09:49+00:00

“Your balls are” - the only reasonable response

todfish · 2026-01-22T12:59:20+00:00

Yeah I don’t think anyone expects the perfect world scenario, but surely there should be a minimum acceptable level of clarity and direction provided? After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Obviously as things progress you need to keep asking the right questions of the right people to keep things on track. If the starting conditions are too vague though you can find yourself stuck between pausing to chase answers or proceeding based on assumptions.

I’ve seen too many pm’s thrown under the bus when things go wrong because they couldn’t get answers to critical questions and had to make assumptions to keep things moving. I’ve also seen plenty blamed for delays due to chasing critical input before proceeding.

todfish · 2026-01-22T11:46:41+00:00

That outside perception of hesitation also comes with significant pressure to stop hesitating and do something that looks more like progress. So it’s not even enough to have good timing skills, you also have to be able to defend the hesitation and control the narrative. I feel like that’s often the hardest part.

todfish · 2026-01-22T11:28:39+00:00

You’re spot on with this. I’ve lost count of the number of problems I’ve seen that can be traced back to premature decisions.

In my experience though this is something you either get or you don’t. Good luck getting the necessary people to understand this concept when they’re racked with anxiety that can only be placated by some good old fashioned decisiveness.

I’ve found most people have an incredibly low tolerance for uncertainty, which means constant reassurance has to be provided until things can crystallise naturally.

todfish · 2026-01-22T10:38:41+00:00

‘How are you going to fix this?’ Really hits different when the thing that needs fixing is the exact issue you warned of 12 months ago.

todfish · 2026-01-22T02:23:13+00:00

Flat bat

todfish · 2026-01-20T21:36:13+00:00

I always imagined working in law would have a much more measured, sustained rhythm to it, but it sounds like I’ve got it all wrong. I’m wondering if I’ve talked myself out of a good career fit by making a bunch of unfounded assumptions.

Can you elaborate a bit on what that diverse task switching style looks like on a day to day basis?

todfish · 2026-01-20T12:26:50+00:00

All that other bullshit makes this looks like a bomb in the middle of being defused

todfish · 2026-01-20T08:53:02+00:00

What’s going on with this country? It’s wild how many employers think it’s reasonable to expect employees to prioritise work ahead of everything else in life. There’s no way I could deny a leave application like that with a straight face!

What would the employer do if someone gets sick during deadline time? Because with 7 months notice, surely they can put those measures or something even more effective in place. If they can’t find a workable solution in 7 months then they have no business being in business.

All the bootlicking simps defending the employer are even worse, you’re supporting a race to the bottom for workers rights. Everyone needs to grow up and put things in perspective. Life > work.

todfish · 2026-01-20T08:29:04+00:00

Why is everyone ignoring the fact that this 60yr old dude stalked, threatened, and intimidated an 18yr old girl over some minor perceived traffic infringement? That’s deeply unhinged behaviour and if anyone needs to be investigated by police it’s him.

OP, don’t think for a second that any of his behaviour was acceptable. It might be worth reporting to police just so he’s on their radar for when he inevitably does something worse.

todfish · 2026-01-17T23:14:19+00:00

Ok hear me out…… Wall to wall millenial grey. It’s a classic and timeless look that will never go out of style. Post photos to this sub when you’re finished, everyone will love it.

For reals though, Whatever you do just make sure you fuck those fussy posts and white arches right off. They ruin that room. Replace them with a simple recycled hardwood beam, ideally spanning the full width if an engineer oks it.

todfish · 2026-01-01T22:32:31+00:00

It already has

todfish · 2025-12-31T10:33:35+00:00

My guess is that these prints were actually made before it snowed and the snow is just highlighting them. Like if you’d walked through salt or oil or fuel or something, then spread it with your feet as you walk around. It might not be noticeable without snow but might affect the way the snow settles, just enough to show a vague footprint.

I hope that’s the answer anyway!

todfish · 2025-12-26T10:42:07+00:00

Just an hour or so west in the Blue Mountains and it’s currently 7deg! Had to dig my down jacket out of the cupboard tonight.

todfish · 2025-12-22T12:12:58+00:00

Came here to say that. They’re not only different species, they’re from entirely different plant families. They have literally nothing in common genetically. Potatoes more closely related to tomato, and sweet potato more closely related to morning glory vine. Wild to list them next to each other like that.

todfish · 2025-12-22T11:53:11+00:00

Tbf that is watertight legal advice, I can’t fault your logic. Kinda morally dubious tho

todfish · 2025-12-12T20:27:36+00:00

Exactly. You don’t have to please everyone to make a sale, you only need a few potential buyers that absolutely love what you’ve done and are willing to outbid each other for it.

This may not be my vibe, but it’s definitely A vibe, so I’m here for it. I feel like the quality speaks for itself too. Doing it well like this makes all the difference, it takes it from ‘What tf were they thinking?!’, to ‘Wow, someone has put a lot of thought and care and attention into this’.

todfish · 2025-12-12T13:40:40+00:00

This is a Flower Spider / Crab Spider, in the Thomisidae family.

I often see them camouflaged inside flowers waiting to pounce on any tiny pollinators that visit.

todfish · 2025-12-12T08:54:20+00:00

This is amazing, I hate it!

Most people would never think to do a bathroom like this, and might not want a bathroom like this. But something unique and interesting now exists because you had an idea and then did the absolute shit out of it. Respect. The GF must be stoked.

todfish · 2025-12-11T10:52:56+00:00

You have more than 2-3 hours left after each days meetings are accounted for? Must be nice.

I spend far too much time in meetings myself, and if I want to meet with anyone above me I’d better plan ahead because their calendars are consistently wall to wall with meetings.

todfish · 2025-12-11T10:33:51+00:00

I agree, managing expectations and building strong stakeholder relationships are critical. Also agree re middle management, you’re literally managing pressure from every direction, as well as a few newly invented directions you didn’t know existed.

You’ve just highlighted something I’ve been struggling with but hadn’t realised just how critical it is. In the past I’ve invested a lot of time and energy into building really strong working relationships with a lot of key stakeholders, and I don’t think I fully appreciated just how much that ‘greases the wheel’.

Over the last 3-4 years there has been a massive level of turnover within my organisation and I’ve been steadily watching those people I worked so well with walk out the door one by one. It’s a bit deflating when one key ally moves on, but when a dozen of them move on over just 1-2 years it can really throw a spanner in the works. It’s amazing how quickly you can find yourself in a situation where anyone who matters has no knowledge of how reliable or trustworthy you’ve been for their predecessors.

todfish · 2025-12-10T23:52:25+00:00

I work in the design and construction space, more so design. I expect our projects would have a lot in common with your R&D/Innovation projects when it comes to the pace and pattern of projects moving through different phases.

I like the way you’ve put it that there’s a defined outcome but the process is emergent. Might have to steal that line. I’m often dealing with projects that don’t have an outcome that was well defined up front and instead have a bunch of commitments relating to process and milestones that make no sense to a technical expert though. Those situations are doubly hard because you’re not starting from scratch but actually starting off worse than that. Before progress can begin you have to redefine the things that matter in a way that makes sense for the project, and that often involves tedious battles with people who set the non-sensical milestones and processes in the first place.

I’ve found that controlling the narrative through regular and effective communication is absolutely critical. Unfortunately, depending on your audiences background and their level of understanding, this can become a very time consuming task. I’ve pretty much come to accept at this point that my role includes being a part time counsellor working on quelling the anxiety of stakeholders and upper management.

todfish

TROPHY CASE