🏞️ Communicating Status Without Demanding Attention

One precept of "managing up" is that over-communicating tends to work better than under-communicating. This is where releasing "often" comes in. Releases offer a natural way to communicate status because they don't feel like something requiring a response, the way a direct email or message does. Releases done right are like a peaceful mountain stream flowing by — something people can observe and dip their hand into when there is something they are interested in. The stream does not demand attention, but provides a comforting presence that things are getting done — continuously, reliably, and peacefully. To carry the analogy a little further, consider the stagnant pond of obscurity where nobody is quite sure what is going on. Or the torrential flood of bugs and customer problems.