We Forgot to Think for Ourselves and It Slowed Us Down
Article summary
We Forgot to Think for Ourselves and It Slowed Us Down When We Stopped Asking Why It didn’t happen all at once. A runbook didn’t make sense. A design review felt empty. Team updates became status reports instead of real discussions. We were still working, but we weren’t thinking. When something broke, we didn’t stop to understand it. We just tried to hand it off to someone else. We thought we were being efficient. But really, we were losing our edge. Why Buying Strategy Doesn’t Work It’s tempting to think strategy is something you can get from outside, a consultant, a new tool, a fancy framework. But when our systems changed or things got hard, we realized we didn’t know how to think through it ourselves. We were following advice, not making decisions. Why You Can’t Let Others Think For You Vendors don’t know your system. Consultants don’t live with your failures.
Read Full Article on MediumPractical takeaway
The main idea behind We Forgot to Think for Ourselves and It Slowed Us Down is to help teams move from broad theory to clear, repeatable decision making. When teams apply this thinking, they reduce ambiguity and focus on improvements that deliver measurable momentum.
Example scenario
Imagine a team facing competing priorities. By applying the ideas in We Forgot to Think for Ourselves and It Slowed Us Down, they can map dependencies, identify risks and choose the next move that produces progress without destabilizing their system.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to redesign everything instead of taking small steps.
- Ignoring real constraints like incentives, ownership or legacy systems.
- Creating documents that do not lead to any change in code or decisions.
How to apply this in real work
Start by identifying where We Forgot to Think for Ourselves and It Slowed Us Down already shows up in your architecture or delivery flow. Then pick one area where clarity would reduce friction. Apply the idea, measure its effect and share the learning.
Signs you are doing it correctly
- Teams make decisions faster and with fewer disagreements.
- Architectural conversations become clearer and less abstract.
- Changes land safely with fewer surprises or rework cycles.