I start with the question “How would you be able to tell that this problem had been solved?” and repeat it two or twenty times in different words until someone actually tries to answer it.
I handed a client my pen and asked whether it was a solution to their problem
Bleakly funny. Thanks for that. I usually retreat (probably with an angry or pained look on my face) when I notice I’m not really being heard. But sometimes it’s better to play and explore.
(nods) It’s kind of critical in a systems engineering role.
Only vaguely relatedly, one of my favorite lines ever came from my first professional mentor, about a design he was proposing: “It does what you expect, but you have to expect the right things.”
Bleakly funny. Thanks for that. I usually retreat (probably with an angry or pained look on my face) when I notice I’m not really being heard. But sometimes it’s better to play and explore.
(nods) It’s kind of critical in a systems engineering role.
Only vaguely relatedly, one of my favorite lines ever came from my first professional mentor, about a design he was proposing: “It does what you expect, but you have to expect the right things.”