What a “software engineer” can learn by a bad haircut

… and how any bad outcome works to teach us anything.

Have you noticed how London has an incredible number of barber shops? Up to my street corner there are 6 barbers and hairdressers in 100 m radius.

I had my hair finally cut last Saturday, my usual shop is run by Tony, a 53 years old Cypriot very friendly guy, and a polish girl in her late 40s, Lara.

For some reason I do prefer Lara’s cut, but Saturday she was serving another client and I had Tony scissors on me. In his gentle approach Tony asked me if I wanted to be really shortened. Yes I had very long hair after lockdown, even having it done by DIY it led them to grow much longer than normal.

It was only when the process was over that I recall why I do not like Tony’s cut while I love Lara’s.

Tony asked me how deep he should cut by showing me the length of hair using his fingers to mark that length.

Lara never did that, she gets what I have in mind by placing more high-level questions: “How would you shape them?” “Would you like them very short on the neck as usual and longer upstairs?”

If you think a minute hers high level questions match with the WHY and WHAT, and she knows how to reach the expected outcome.

Tony’s questions are more micromanagement style: “Shall I cut here?” He is less keen to care of the big picture and proceed autonomously to hit the output, probably he likes more precise instructions (hence, if you do not like the outcome: you told me to cut here!). His questions are about the HOW.

When Lara cuts me the outcome is what I had in mind, when Tony does my head appears in its rounded melon’s shape.

What’s wrong? Tony should be able to satisfy me more while Lara is getting onboard more risk as she try to guess my idea. But Lara hits better results while Tony are poorer.

The reason is simple in my brain of PM: I’m not a hairdresser, even if I cut my own hair during lockdown it doesn’t make me a barber at all. I do not own any skill on how to cut hair aiming for a specific result! And I do not want to learn them either.

When a client asks me for a CRM implementation I do not ask how many fields he or she wants in it or how to design the processes. Few days ago a client was insisting: if you put an open text field there, we can use for that purpose… Well, if someone knows me, you already know what I think: I’m not keen to obey when thing are placed this way.

First I need to know the purpose: what you want to achieve and why.

When I know it, I can suggest the solution that maybe is about to use an open text field in that position, but just maybe. Because I’m aware about the possible issue:

What if I do what the client says and the result is not useful?

Does the client knows what implications are connected with that “simple” action s/he suggests?

Has the client idea of how UX work and how it does affect the quality of data in the system?

I didn’t know how the length of the cut that Tony asked me to decide would shape my damn head, If I would I didn’t need someone to cut my hair.

Lara knows what I need, she is capable to grasp my desire, my needs and requirements on a higher level and deliver what I was expecting. And she always exceeds my expectations, she care about details, trimming and cleaning with a dedication which I rarely experienced. I do not need to micromanage her, I can trust she gets why I want it and what is the final purpose of it: not to appear like a melon.

Thanks Tony to remind me the value of questioning and the ability to grasp client’s needs well beyond the how.

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