Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 1675 answers
Specify the result you want, not the exact steps to get there. This preserves autonomy and invites better solutions.
Specify the result you want, not the exact steps to get there. This preserves autonomy and invites better solutions.
Specify the result you want, not the exact steps to get there. This preserves autonomy and invites better solutions.
Specify the result you want, not the exact steps to get there. This preserves autonomy and invites better solutions.
Choose one task you currently delegate — to a person, a tool, or an AI agent. Write down how you currently specify that delegation. Separate your specification into two columns: outcome statements (what the result must achieve) and method statements (how to achieve it). Now rewrite the delegation.
Specifying outcomes so vaguely that the delegate has no useful guidance. 'Make the report good' is not outcome delegation — it is abdication. Outcome delegation requires precision about the result: what the deliverable contains, who it serves, when it is due, what quality threshold it must meet,.
Specify the result you want, not the exact steps to get there. This preserves autonomy and invites better solutions.
Delegation without verification is abdication. Build lightweight checks to ensure delegated work meets your standards.
Delegation without verification is abdication. Build lightweight checks to ensure delegated work meets your standards.
Delegation without verification is abdication. Build lightweight checks to ensure delegated work meets your standards.
Delegation without verification is abdication. Build lightweight checks to ensure delegated work meets your standards.
Delegation without verification is abdication. Build lightweight checks to ensure delegated work meets your standards.
Choose one delegation in your life — a tool, a habit, a person, a system — that you set up more than a month ago and have not checked since. Design a verification protocol for it using the three layers: a signal (one number or artifact you can check in under sixty seconds), a sample (a deeper.
Confusing verification with micromanagement. Micromanagement monitors the process — how often someone checks in, what methods they use, whether they follow your preferred sequence. Verification monitors the outcome — does the output meet the standard you defined when you delegated? When you cannot.
Delegation without verification is abdication. Build lightweight checks to ensure delegated work meets your standards.
Trust your agents and systems — but build verification into the process, not as an afterthought.
Trust your agents and systems — but build verification into the process, not as an afterthought.
Trust your agents and systems — but build verification into the process, not as an afterthought.
Trust your agents and systems — but build verification into the process, not as an afterthought.
Pick one system, tool, or person you've delegated a recurring task to. Define three things: (1) What does 'working correctly' look like in concrete, observable terms? (2) What is the cheapest verification check you could run — something that takes under 5 minutes? (3) At what frequency does that.
Two symmetric failure modes. First: you skip verification entirely and call it 'trust,' which is actually abdication — you've given up oversight while retaining responsibility. When things go wrong, you're surprised and blame the delegate. Second: you verify everything at every step, which is.
Trust your agents and systems — but build verification into the process, not as an afterthought.
A tool is a delegated capability — it does something you could do, but faster, more reliably, or at greater scale.
A tool is a delegated capability — it does something you could do, but faster, more reliably, or at greater scale.