Leadership Quote by Gene Kim
““20% on detailed planning (Their poor throughput and high lead times were misattributed to faulty estimation, and so, hoping to get a better answer, they were asked to estimate the work in greater detail.)””
About This Quote
Source Book: “The Phoenix Project”, 2013
Detailed planning can be misapplied, leading to slower work and false blame on estimates.
In simple terms: Over‑planning may hurt progress.
Key Takeaway
Balance detail with speed.
Themes
planning
productivity
software development
Mood
pragmatic
reflective
Type
process
advisory
When to use this quote
- project meetings
- software sprints
- resource allocation
Key Concepts
estimation
lead time
process improvement
Questions to Reflect On
- When does planning become counterproductive?
- How can teams avoid over‑detail?
A Different Perspective
Too much detail can create bottlenecks.
![“Bill Baker, a distinguished engineer at Microsoft, quipped that we used to treat servers like pets: “You name them and when they get sick, you nurse them back to health. [Now] servers are [treated] like cattle. You number them and when they get sick, you shoot them.” quote by Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e7b/gene-kim-2268_health_bill-baker-a-distinguished-engineer-at-m_187582.jpg)
