I see a lot of people complaining that every day there are 100 new frameworks for “agent teams”, prompting styles, workflows, and everyone insists theirs is the best for one reason or another. It reminds me a lot of early software engineering: every team had its own way of doing things, we experimented with tons of methodologies (waterfall, agile, etc.), and over time a few patterns became widely adopted (scrum, PM roles, architects, tickets, rituals). It feels like we’re in that same messy exploration phase right now.
And actually, these tools actually work, , because 99% of people still don’t really know how to prompt agents well and end up doing things like “pls fix this, it’s not working”.
One thing that worked well for us was going back to how a human team would approach it: write a product spec first (expected behavior, constraints, acceptance criteria, etc), use AI to refine that spec, and only then hand it to an opinionated flow of agents that reflect a human team to implement.
I think it's simpler than that, you get noticed and then maybe promoted based on what you deliver. The ability of delivering what you were asked to, on time, or even before that.
Adding extra things can always help, specially like in the UI side of things, since higher ups will probably just notice that part.
One of the best pieces of advice I can give, something that has helped me start talking more with strangers, is this:
When I’m speaking to someone in a service role, like a waiter, a cashier, or a salesperson, I remind myself that I’m just one of hundreds of people they interact with that day. To them, I’m simply another brief interaction. So if I say something awkward or if the conversation doesn’t flow perfectly, it’s not a big deal. It’s probably just one small, forgettable moment in a long series of conversations they will have that day.
Thinking about it that way helps me relax and not put so much pressure on myself. At the same time, some of the most meaningful or unexpected opportunities can come from simple conversations with strangers. You never really know what a small interaction might lead to, whether it is a new connection, a new perspective, or even an open door you did not see before.
When the service worker and you do the back and forth of "How are you doing today" - "Fine, you?" - "Fine"
Yeah don't do that, try out this phrase "It's my Monday" [0] instead of "Fine, you?"
You'll typically have them telling you what day of their work week they are in which is not usually the actual day of the week! Because managers schedule people in service positions in wacky ways.
That little bit of human connection around labor and work, man it does wonders. They know you know what it's like, that you see them as a person, and you care a little bit. Really gets the conversation going if there isn't too much of a line.
[0] Use any day of the week, but do use a weekday. Monday or Friday works best though.
And actually, these tools actually work, , because 99% of people still don’t really know how to prompt agents well and end up doing things like “pls fix this, it’s not working”.
One thing that worked well for us was going back to how a human team would approach it: write a product spec first (expected behavior, constraints, acceptance criteria, etc), use AI to refine that spec, and only then hand it to an opinionated flow of agents that reflect a human team to implement.
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