John Cutler says that he loves exploring the complexities of product development. He does deep dives into topics like cross-functional collaboration, incentives, sociotechnical systems, patterns, and continuous improvement.

You've heard the Abraham Lincoln quote: "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Product development geek John Cutler ties this philosophy to a superpower that is available to all teams. By first intentionally slowing down to plan, practice, and refine their methods, teams gain the unique ability to act quickly, decisively, and determinedly when called to do so.

He calls practitioners of this art Skeptoptimists.  "Skeptoptimists", he writes, "assume shit will happen but are also optimistic that the team will eventually prevail. We love thinking slow—messy exploration, pre-mortems, red teaming, going deep, running simulations and scenarios, and discussing risk and 'problems.' But instead of wallowing there, we know how to kick things into gear and act quickly and decisively—pivoting as necessary. Act fast."

This fits my philosophy of "listen first" perfectly.

ARTICLE: Skeptoptimism – Thinking Slow, Acting Fast