Clarity Under Pressure
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Expert judgment fails fastest where errors are hidden.

Gary KleinStreetlights and Shadows, 2009

Drift is a chain of permission slips. In a release that is halfway out and already being noticed, each one is small, defensible, and easy to repeat.

In a release that is halfway out and already being noticed, the shortcut will be framed as temporary. Temporary decisions have a way of turning into the operating mode, especially when they make next week easier. You see it in a risky bet defended as “confidence” because backing down feels costly. Keep it calm, concrete, and small; the goal is a move you can repeat, not a speech you can admire.

Gary Klein is a reminder to audit the argument, not the intention. Write the stop line now: what evidence ends the attempt, and what you will do when it appears. Save it where decisions live.

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