Development is tough. Among a long list of other things, it requires making a lot, and I mean a lot, of decisions. Oftentimes you won't have all the information. And sometimes they will be uncomfortable ones to make. But you need to decide on something. It is, arguably, almost always the case that any decision is better than no decision.

In situations like these, I often like to think back to something that my first boss in development used to drill into me. She would simply ask: What's best for the project? Now, this is not to say that you should ever do bad things simply for the betterment of a project. That is clearly the wrong thing to do. What I am instead saying is that it can be helpful to keep this guiding light in mind.

Developers have a fiduciary duty to their investors and partners. But they also have a responsibility to the people who will ultimately occupy the spaces that they're building and to the communities that they're building in. And at the highest level, all of these groups should be aligned in wanting the best possible project.

So if you're ever struggling with a development decision or you just need a goal reminder, try asking yourself this basic question. It may not work or apply in all scenarios, but I have found it to be helpful in situations where I'm wrestling with something and I need to take emotion out of the equation. What's best for the project? That's what it's all about.