I somehow thought “vagueness” just sounded too tame, and it was nice being the at a #1 google spot for a while for people who can’t spell.

Your point about wiki’s is a great one. I think having the collective knowledge (and more importantly the collective decisions) reflected in a documented & public fashion goes a long way to forcing people to represent themselves with deliberation and fore thought. Even the act of saying “ok guys here’s what we’re writing down here” makes people stop and evaluate things in the context of “making a decision” rather then “hearing themselves talk”.

Of course with that said, I was actually on a call today swearing at someone (privately) who not only couldn’t remember a decision that was already made and explained (that he was a part of making) but worse, who managed to “stir the pot” and dredge up all the old arguments.

As you said, it’s crucial for people to talk things through and a liar (or over embellisher) is the worst kind of poison. But too often I’ve seen the “paralysis” that comes from good people pontificating about the “what if” scenarios and talking across each other.

The act of “writing it down” seems to ensure (a) everyone’s solving the same problem and (b) that they’re not wasting time re-elaborating on a point that’s already been made, discussed and resolved.

Other than that, your points are well taken. However, don’t substitute efficiency for relationships. Sometimes people need to talk things out. It takes time.

My real problem with business is not with talkative developers and project managers, but with marketing personnel who continually spin the truth—emphasizing strengths, ignoring weaknesses—so accurate decision making becomes impossible for current and potential customers. These are the institutional and pathological lies told by the entire marketing sector. They are not bad people—at least we can hope they are not—they are just short on business ethics.