Re: Underdelivering

I absolutely agree, and definitely do my best to get at what the client WANTS, which is often underneath what they say. I know this scenario well from the opposite perspective, which is me going to my auto mechanic:

I tell him "i think i need my water pump replaced."

"That's at least 300 bucks, and it may not be what you really need. What's the problem you're having?" he replies.

"Oh, I can't seem to keep coolant in my system," i say

"Let's see... oh, looks like your radiator cap is busted. that'll be 15 bucks."

he identified what I needed, by asking me what my real problem was, not my unprofessioanl, uninformed opinion about how it should be fixed.

Still, this is all pretty unrelated to what my boss and I were agruing about, which was more about "how much quantity can we put out in a given amount of time for a given price." But any opportunity to re-enforce the importance of clear communication is good for me :)