When the decision goes against you
Unit 8 of 8 · Lesson 2 of 3Index
Friday morning, the roadmap review. You argued that the premium tier should wait until connected banks actually show transactions. It was a good case. Maya picks the premium tier.
Say it plainly once, then back it fully
- She picks the other one01
She picks the other one
- Going along, quietly02
Going along, quietly
- Say it once, in writing03
Say it once, in writing
- Then back it fully04
Then back it fully
- Delete the alibi05
Delete the alibi
How Amazon handled it
Leaders disagree and commit too, out loud. The commitment is what makes the disagreement safe to say.
Amazon, 2016
In his 2016 letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos wrote about decisions where he and a team saw things differently.
He described approving an Amazon Studios original he was not convinced by. He told the team he disagreed and would commit anyway, and that he hoped it became the most watched thing they had ever made.
Public commentary. No affiliation.
Doing it with AI, and where it breaks
Draft the note, then have a model flag every sentence that reads as passive aggressive or as building an alibi.
You will not spot your own hedging. That is the whole reason to run this pass.
Here is my disagree and commit note [paste]. Do not rewrite it. Quote every sentence that sounds passive aggressive, hedges, or exists mainly to protect me later, and say why.
Build it
A disagree and commit note you would actually send.
The worked solution
Stuck, or want to compare?
There is a worked solution. Try the build first. Reading it before you have attempted anything is the fastest way to learn nothing.
Checkpoint
If you did the build, these take two minutes. If you cannot answer one of them, that is the part to go back to.
Moving on marks this lesson complete. Finish the build first, it is the part that counts.