Check If the Team Is Solving Too Many Problems
Added 2026-11-04
Too much work in progress slows everything; count active items first.
The team is busy but progress is slow (context below). Do: 1) count the items currently in progress; 2) judge which can pause without hurting the goal; 3) name three hidden costs of parallelism — switching, waiting, coordination; 4) recommend a maximum number of concurrent items with reasoning; 5) say how to decide which one to stop first. Do not just say "focus".
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
并行不是效率，是让所有事情一起变慢。
Try tweaking it
- Ask what evidence would overturn the judgement.
- Have it argue both sides with three reasons each.
What you should get
- A decision table: assumptions, evidence, counter-evidence
- A next action with an observable signal
Common mistakes
- Asking only "should I?" and getting equally valid answers both ways.
- Never asking for counter-examples, so you only hear support.
How to check the output
- It states what evidence would overturn the conclusion.
- Both sides are argued, with assumptions marked as such.
Where it works
- Good for: splitting a decision into assumptions, evidence and counter-cases, leaving the call to you.
- Watch out: ask what evidence would overturn the judgement, or you will only hear supporting reasons.