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andrewksl | 4 years ago

I guess the difference between an overthinker and having foresight is the rate of false positives?

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xyzelement|4 years ago

That's a great way to put it.

There right balance of action and caution is the thing that enables you to move forward quickly without blowing up.

It also "takes all kinds" on a team since different people have a knack for one or the other. The problem happens because most people fall in love with their preference and are blind to its downsides.

A quick tell is - whenever someone's justification for something blowing up is "oh but I have a bias for action" -- they are basically oblivious to their recklessness and underthinking. Whenever someone says "oh but I am much more cautious and thoughtful than these cowboys" they are oblivious to how little they do (vs could be doing) because they are paralyzed by overthinking.

The person I like to work with is the one who says "man, I have a bias for over/under thinking but I try to catch myself in situations where it's not appropriate"