re: Overpromising at the Office

quote:

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It depends on the customer.

People always want to please and avoid confrontation. Also, depending on the office environment, if your realistic expectation is unacceptable and someone else is willing to "over promise", regardless of the outcome, you will look bad.

It's basically the same principle as easier to ask forgiveness that permission. Once committed, you can't take it back.

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Not really the application I'm talking about.

If I ask someone when they can have something back to me, and they say in a week then I'll plan to review it and have it ready for those above me after that. But if they tell me they can have it by tomorrow and I then tell those above me that we can review by the end of this week then I have to get on this dude's arse for being late when it's only a time critical thing because he promised an unreasonable timeline.

They're putting it on themselves.