Episode 160 - The Fog Doesn’t Clear Until You Move

Too many engineers wait for the full picture before they act. They want every variable defined, every risk eliminated, and every decision defended before they take the first step. That sounds responsible, but often it is just fear wearing a professional disguise. In this episode, Steve and Jake break down why clarity comes from movement, not overthinking. Using the idea of “fog of war,” they unpack how engineers can move faster, learn sooner, and make better decisions through action, feedback, and iteration. Not theory, practical, tactical advice for engineers who want to lead instead of stall.

Key Topics Covered
• Why unknowns should not stop you from starting
• How the “fog of war” applies to engineering, product development, and business
• The difference between knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns
• Why waiting for perfect information creates delay, not excellence
• How fast iteration reveals problems you could never predict upfront
• Why customer feedback often only becomes useful after you show them something
• How fear of judgment slows engineering decisions
• Why “wasted effort” is often the price of finding the right answer
• How prototypes, prints, drafts, and early layouts pull the future forward
• Why action creates better strategy than endless analysis

Actionable Steps
• Start with what you know, even if the full path is unclear
• Identify the next move instead of trying to solve the entire project at once
• Build the first version sooner so feedback has something to react to
• Treat early mistakes as information, not personal failure
• Use iteration to expose what you could not see from the starting line
• Stop trying to defend every decision before you make progress
• Listen to criticism, extract the useful input, and keep moving
• Don’t confuse rework with wasted effort when the rework creates clarity
• Create tangible outputs that help you think better, such as prototypes, layouts, drawings, or mockups
• Measure progress by learning speed, not by how perfect your first attempt looks

Who This Episode Is For
• Engineers who feel stuck because they do not have every answer yet
• Early-career engineers learning how to make decisions with incomplete information
• Product development engineers trying to move faster without being reckless
• Individual contributors who overthink because they fear being judged
• Engineering leaders who need their teams to act, learn, and adapt faster

Why It Matters
Your career will not grow from waiting until everything is safe, clean, and obvious. The engineers who build influence are the ones who move, learn, adjust, and keep going while others are still trying to protect themselves from being wrong. Energy creates visibility. Iteration creates clarity. Ownership creates momentum. If you want more responsibility, you have to prove you can move through uncertainty without freezing.

Where to Listen
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Or wherever you get your podcasts

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