Comments on: Fake It ’til You Make It?

By: flugelhorn player

flugelhorn player — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:45:45 +0000

“Fake it till you make it” was a popular slogan with our high school drum majors. Just pretend like you were the best marcher/musician/drum major and try to act how you think the best marcher/musician/drum major would act. That same year at a marching competition we all lost count of the music (including the drum majors) during the repetitive introduction, and we just kept marching as if we knew what we were doing until the drum majors gave us a cue to start the next set. The drum majors recieved an award — the judges couldn’t tell we had been faking it.

By: mommadona

mommadona — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:01:07 +0000

Musical written many years ago all about this:

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_29IeEeZqo

By: Writer's Coin

Writer's Coin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:33:04 +0000

I’ve never been a fan of “fake it ’til you make it.” I know several people who are “faking it” and they are not getting any closer to “making it.”

All they’re doing is staying just under the radar enough for no one to notice they are faking it.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:38:08 +0000

My take on ‘fake it until you make it’ is that you shouldn’t stop _before_ you reach the edge of your knowledge. I work in a information-driven area, and there is NOTHING more frustrating than someone who says “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait for so-and-so” instead of working through the logic to resolve a situation. I am perceived, on specific topics, as the go-to expert by people who have been working in this field for 10 or 15 years, when I’ve worked in it for 4. I never lied about what I knew, but I did project the confidence that if I didn’t already know, I’d find out, and then I did so. It’s led to my involvement in projects where I started by just barely grasping the material, but I ended up leading because I acquired the skills and knowledge required. If you don’t push to the limits of what you can do today, you’ll never do more.

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:02:01 +0000

Fake it until you make it, how will you ever know when you’ve made it when it’s always a scam? This sounds like something salesmen are taught for selling cars, real estate or insurance. Or maybe politicians.

By: TStrump

TStrump — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:30:40 +0000

It’s a great saying.
I guess it means never show fear or nervousness – always act confidant … as though you always have the answer.
Sometimes, it’s not the message, it’s how it’s said.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:03:10 +0000

it also meant that you don’t worry about going into debt to give the appearance that you are fantastically wealthy and successful. Terrible. I’m all for positive thinking and motivation, though. I don’t think you have to fake anything, it’s a stupid cliche phrase and principle.

By: corinne

corinne — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:09:24 +0000

Hi,
I loved this post. I immediately sent it to my two older sons before even commenting. Something that I wish I knew when I was younger. Thank you.
~Corinne

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:09:15 +0000

email signatures are lame. That’s all. :)

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:08:51 +0000

Good tips. I have to give a presentation on a scholarly research paper I prepared during Scholar’s Week at my university. I was a little nervous about doing so until I read you post and realized that I should be confident b/c I will be speaking about a topic I am familiar with. Also, I will be sure to practice beforehand so that I know what I’m doing and derive confidence from that fact.

By: jack

jack — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:54:15 +0000

I think everyone is faking it until the make it. My son could really walk but he faked it until he made it. We all do it. I know I do.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:38:55 +0000

Good article, I think you mean hearsay though, unless you’re worried about being burned at the stake.

“Focus on sharing information that actually works instead of rumors and heresy.”

By: Marsha

Marsha — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:48:14 +0000

This is a tricky one. Personally, I do not think it is wise to include a catchphrase in an email signature that is used for business purposes. Besides not being entirely profession (unless it’s your company’s motto/vision/mission), there is a great risk that it will be misinterpreted. Also it runs the risk of losing any value if it is a part of EVERY email you send out.

As for this one: I believe it can be an effective phrase for motivating self-talk, but the work “fake” carries SO many negative meanings that it is a dangerous one indeed. JMO.

By: J

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:33:43 +0000

Too often I see people forget the “When you reach the edge of what you know, be honest about it” tip. I work at a company that is extremely technical, with lots of people having both broad and deep knowledge of the required subject knowledge. “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand that”, followed by “will you take some time to help me understand it” or “I’ll defer to you for your expertise” is more highly regarded than the person who tries to “fake” their way through something. Since there is generally a better-than-even chance someone else in the room knows more than you do, it’s a way to damage your credibility.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:25:45 +0000

Andy – for future reference: click on “Contact” in the header

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:38:13 +0000

In her book, “Self-Theories…”, Carol Dweck argues that a growth/learning mindset predicts success more than confidence does. If you’re going to fake something ’til you make it, fake that.

http://books.google.com/books?id=P0Mccblm6eUC&printsec=frontcover#PPA51,M1

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:23:23 +0000

Hey Trent, this is unrelated to the post, but I have a question and couldn’t seem to find your email address. My wife and I are in the beginning phases of trying to buy our first house. I’ve been a long time reader of yours and have noticed on several occasions that you talk about shopping around for a mortgage. I looked through the archives and I couldn’t find a post where you explained how exactly one would go about doing that. I would love to hear your thoughts on how to shop for a mortgage because there is a ton of information out there on the internet and it is hard to know who to trust.

Thanks,
Andy

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:17:37 +0000

Actually, a better line is “Face the fear….and do it anyway.”

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:01:08 +0000

I wonder why anyone would use that line as an email signature. Isn’t the whole point of “faking it” to not get caught doing so?

By: Philip Arthur Moore

Philip Arthur Moore — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:55:28 +0000

I just called my sister, who is a biomedical/clinical engineer, and asked her what she thought of this phrase. I am a web developer, and coming from a separate field as her, thought her opinion would be a very valuable one. Her immediate reaction to the phrase: “Oh. My. God. I can’t stand it when I hear that.” I on the other hand have a slightly different take on the connotations of the phrase, so I think it’s important to consider when and where this train of thought of being used.

For example, in my industry (web development), “fake it ’til you make it”, whether I verbally state it that way or not, has been my modus operandus throughout my career. It does not mean that I ever faked knowing how to build a great product for a client; it just means that there are so many variables, so many requests from clients that come out of left field, that there is no way to adequately prepare one’s knowledge for the myriad minutiae that I have to deal with on a daily basis. Some of what clients ask for I know how to do. Some of what they ask for I don’t. But I’m confident enough in my problem solving abilities to say to a client that “Yes, I can do this,” even if I have never done it before. The stakes are lower in my field than in other fields.

In my sister’s field of work, patients’ lives are on the line and she often hears salesmen and saleswomen sign off with the “fake it ’til you make it” catchphrase. She doesn’t like hearing this because it gives her the impression that if a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional asks her company’s salespeople a tough question, that they will “fake” their knowledge and try to cover it up with confidence. The stakes are much higher in the medical industry, and I do not at all want someone being so confident that they think they are capable of doing something that they haven’t done before or have had no direct experience with in the past.

So, I think the definition that Trent gives is one that in a perfect world would be apt. But sadly this isn’t the case. Most people use that phrase to describe those of us who put on airs of being knowledgeable or capable in a field when we are in fact par for the course, or mediocre in our lines of work. When I hear “fake it ’til you make it”, I imagine someone talking big but doing small. And when I read that in someone’s email signature, or hear that come from someone as a catchphrase, it immediately raises a red flag in my mind. Do these people know what they are doing? If so, why would they say that?

Ultimately, I think that we need to take the phrase, or way of living, on a case by case basis. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. So I’d rather err on the side of caution before uttering this oft misinterpreted phrase.