Not good enough

A month ago someone on LinkedIn thanked a website and the person running it for helping them learn. They recommended others use the site. When people in my network commented on how the site wasn’t any good, I took notice. It reminded me of what Seth Godin said in ‘Not good enough’ is an easy place to hide:

The people who are paying attention are the ones who are trying. And shaming people who are trying because they’re not perfect is a terrific way to discourage them from trying. On the other hand, the core of every system is filled with the status quo, a status quo that isn’t even paying attention.

Seth Godin’s Blog

This is a really hard but important distinction to remember: It’s easy to criticize work in the name of peer review but end up on the bandwagon of not good enough. (There’s a fine line between effective peer review and unwanted comment).

One major lesson I’ve learned from interviewing testers is most aren’t paying attention. They aren’t looking around at how to improve. They don’t read blogs, books or take classes. So while it’s tempting to criticize the work people are putting out, it’s more impactful to reach out to those who are doing nothing and encourage them to try.

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