“Dumb” failures vs “what are you going to do?” failures

Jason Yip
Apr 2, 2024

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“Dumb” failures are obvious failures that suggest a lack of care.

Stopping “dumb” failures is expected. It’s hygiene.

“What are you going to do?” failures are sophisticated failures that seem impossible to prevent, so people tend not to fault you that much for missing them.

Stopping “what are you going to do?” failures can bring delight… if people realize that you are doing it.

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Jason Yip

Senior Manager Product Engineering at Grainger. Extreme Programming, Agile, Lean guy. Ex-Spotify, ex-ThoughtWorks, ex-CruiseControl