A little bit about human stupidity and irrational behavior

Only the universe and human stupidity are infinite. Although about the first I have doubts. (c) Albert Einstein

Surely, you had a moment in life when you needed to draw seven red lines that should be strictly perpendicular, and in addition, some need to be painted in green, and some more - transparent?

As a rule, people set such tasks with a very serious expression on their faces. This is well illustrated in the following ingenious video, shot based on an equally brilliant story :



What to do if you are in this situation? We will not consider the option to quit, although this is often the only simple and correct option.

More complex options that immediately come to mind are to take at least 80% of the prepayment to discuss every detail, to write everything on paper before approval and to approve with the customer, make a prototype, etc. Sounds rational. But why does this almost never work?

The problem is that if a person behaves irrationally, then none of the rational approaches will most likely work.

In practice, this will mean that the prototype will be constantly redone, the initial requirements and approvals will be lost, and the next discussion will add more questions than give answers.

- Are you dumb? What does gladiolus have to do with it? She is in a blue skirt. In the 16th century, it would have been burned at the stake. They ask you why? .. And you have to answer - “Because gladiolus” (c) KVN team “Ural dumplings”

Most often, the cause of irrational behavior (in ordinary situations) is ordinary stupidity.

Should I argue with a fool? Most likely not, because during the discussion he will lower you to his level, where he will win on his territory. What do you need to do?

First, you need to evaluate what will take more time - to do as requested or to prove your case? I used to mainly choose the second option, but over time I realized that this was a waste of time, which often ended in having a high FQM, but no customer .

Secondly, you need to try to translate as much as possible all oral discussions into paper - make a summary of the meetings, fix all the agreements and compromises by email or in the documentation. This, at least, will make a person a little more responsible in what is said.

And finally, you need to evaluate the amount of possible profits and losses in the case when you still decide to finish the project in conditions of complete uncertainty and in the case when you decide to break the contract in the middle of the project without receiving payment. Sometimes it turns out that the second option is much more "profitable."

And how do you behave when you are in an irrational situation?