Buying Time with Non Answers.

@postaday 238; #postaday2011.

Have you ever witnessed delivery of the non answer? Whether it’s on email or at a meeting, or at a nearby cube, it’s that feeble attempt at creativity to buy time because the right answer isn’t available.

The pitch is tossed. Quietly you wait for the hit. You read it, you hear it, you witness the delivery. It is weak, it is lame, it is laden with adjectives and excuses, it is designed to stir up dust that takes a while to settle, it is designed to buy time. It is someone else’s fault.

It is an indication of a weak link in the chain.

One of the best traits a colleague can have is ownership of projects, challenges, and failures. If someone I work with needs help finding an answer, or getting something right, and they share that, I’m inclined to help, no matter how busy I am. If I have a problem, if I miss a deadline, if my synapses aren’t firing correctly over something I’m supposed to write about, I put up the flag. I have friends from work on Facebook and Twitter and sometimes I need those outlets to get an aside from them to help me shape my prose. It’s all good. We all have the same goal: Deliver the best work possible, plainly and simply.

Don’t hide behind the non answer. It denies truth. It limits success. It delays goals. It emphasizes inability and immaturity. As a mom, I always encourage my girls to come clean with the problems they see as insurmountable. When we lean on each other, we realize and share each other’s success. I love that! I love it at home and at work!

May I help you?