Being right

#6 - Jun.2021

There's nothing worse than blindly thinking that you are right. This illusion is not only bad for your professional work but for your day-to-day life.

Reading through Ray Dalio's Principles, I connected with the notion of constantly asking yourself "How do I know I'm right?". This small change in perspective can make you more open to exploring new ideas, listening carefully to others' opinions or simply engaging in deep thinking.

This reminded me of a very simple - but effective - tool that I learned from Luis Alt when studying service design: the CSD Matrix. The name comes from the PT version (certezas, suposições & dúvidas) but in a free translations, this is: facts, assumptions & doubts.

The tool comes in handy for project kickoffs but you can consider it a living asset for both personal and teamwork. To make it work, you need to be brutally honest about what you really know and what you don't. The items mapped as assumptions & doubt becomes, then, your agenda for discovery and research. Keep it updated as new facts, assumptions and doubts appear.

Look for the facts. Be open-minded. Listen to others. This way you'll increase your odds of being right.