Don't Panic

Overview

"Don't Panic" are the first words — printed in large friendly letters on the cover — of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They are also the most useful two words anyone has ever written down about being on call, debugging a production outage, or standing on a ladder realizing the ladder is wrong.

Application

The instruction is not "don't care." It is not "don't act." It is specifically: do not panic. Panic is the state in which judgment degrades, decisions are made in haste, and things get worse before they get better. The opposite of panic is not calm; it is deliberate. You can be deliberate quickly.

• On a job site: the ladder is wobbly. Don't panic. Come down. Re-set the feet. Go up again.
• On call: the graph is spiking. Don't panic. Check the dashboard you actually trust. Decide. Act.
• In a meeting: the demo failed. Don't panic. State what happened. Move on.
• Mid-ski-run: the line is steeper than expected. Don't panic. Long turns. Feet under you. Breathe.

Burbridge's Commentary

"You can fix most things. You cannot fix most things while panicking." — Burbridge, on a rooftop, 2023