Ask HN: What do you do when management is wrong and you are right? - behnamoh
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camjohnson26
They may not be wrong, they may just be weighing the variables differently
than you are. The right technical decision isn’t always the right decision for
the business.

If they are truly wrong, good management will be receptive to reasoned
feedback. Bad management won’t even listen, in which case it may be time to
find a new team.

But if management listens to your point and decides to do something different,
that’s their responsibility and why they get paid more. If you can live with
their mistake and make the most of it, great. If not better look for a
different team.

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gregjor
How do you know management is wrong and you are right? More likely you and
your management have different priorities and assumptions. You or management,
or both, may suffer from certainty bias.

Accept the learning experience. Sometimes you have to go along with decisions
you don't understand or agree with. Do your best and offer helpful suggestions
and alternatives.

You can't always get what you want, as one famous person put it.

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Jugurtha
_" Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man"_.

I figure you are not arguing about a physical law, but about a course of
action in the future.

First: even if there are only "right" and "wrong" course of action for your
issue, you cannot really know ex ante. None of you _is_ right, but maybe one
of you _will_ be. In the future.

Second: your situation most likely involves _tradeoffs_ and you may not have
all the information, often for valid reasons. You could make a case for any
position in the room during debates.

You argue for A, I argue for B. Chances are, A and B are very valid in the
absolute and isolation. Education or Healthcare? With infinite resources? Both
by all means. With a budget and an external threat? It gets harder because
there's a system. "Right" or "wrong" isn't even obvious for a game of chess
with clear/finite rules and moves, let alone life.

Our job is to make the case and give _options_ and a _course of action_ for
the decision makers to choose from and/or combine and/or weave together, then
execute and act on the decision that is made. Doing this allows the team to
execute and actually have a _course_ to correct and learn from that.

What's not to do in my opinion is to work half-heartedly and pout because
management did not pick "your" option. And if/when the team figures that the
course of action chosen isn't working and decides to correct course, the thing
not to do is to go "I told you so!".

Your system had some input signals and a desired state or the avoidance of an
undesired state, took an action, produced an output, compared it with a
desired state, figured there was an error, and now is merely correcting and
optimizing given constraints, requirements, and perturbations.

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bjourne
Gently let them know that they are wrong. Depending on the severity of the
error, repeat the procedure up to three times with decreasing level of
gentleness until they become right. If that doesn't work, don't bother. Also
isolate yourself from possible ramifications of the error.

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codingdave
I ask what guided them to the decision on which we disagree.

Typically, you'll find that you have different goals and priorities. And if
they are the boss, they get to make the call. If they are a good boss, they'll
listen to your reasons before making that call. If you are a good employee,
you'll listen to their reasons and accept the result if they choose
differently than you would have.

And as an individual, if any of that frustrates you so much that it makes your
work difficult, then they are just the boss of your job, not your life. Feel
free to make a change.

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ecornflak
The manager-tools.com podcast is excellent for things like this. Start with
the Professional Subordination one: [https://www.manager-
tools.com/2010/12/professional-subordina...](https://www.manager-
tools.com/2010/12/professional-subordination-part-1)

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bigbit
I've been on both side of this,you have to know that managers also have a
boss. It is the managers job to make whatever plan that was handed down
succeed.Depending on the chain of command there may not be a (practical)way
for them to push back, think contracts,time constants, lawyers etc.

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johnnyo
That would depend entirely on the specifics of the situation.

If management wants to waste money on something stupid and I’ve given my
advice, that is their problem, not mine.

If they are violating the law, that’s an entirely different matter.

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cac1
Prep a plan to save their asses when things blow up. Don't rub it in. Be a
hero.

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throwaway888abc
Where do you work dude ? My boss is always right.

