Engineer's meeting advice: never guess, say 'I haven't validated that yet'

_jaydeepkarale · x · 2026-10-31

When asked a technical question you can't answer, don't say "I think it should work" and vanish for three days. Better: "I haven't validated that scenario yet. I'll check the failure cases and share a recommendation by tomorrow."

Guessing saves five seconds but can cost the team five days. Admitting a knowledge gap isn't incompetence — pretending you don't have one is worse. The best engineers know when not to guess.

Related event: Engineers Advised to Admit Uncertainty Rather Than Guess in Meetings(2 posts)→

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