Monday, September 28, 2015

"By the way"



One of the lessons of experience is to listen carefully whenever someone says "By the way."

"By the way" usually signals:

  • the real subject of the conversation;
  • disclosure of an opportunity;
  • disclosure of a problem; or
  • disclosure of something that should have been mentioned earlier.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well observed. In a similar vein, an old Sipp quote:
> I've discovered a rule of thumb that has carried me through my life without disappointment for many years. I came to two realizations by observing my housing customers' as well as my employees' behavior. Only later did it occur to me that it applied to almost any stripe of life. Here it is:
Part 1: When the customer uses the word just in a sentence, you’re about to hear something dumb.
Part 2: When an employee uses the words I gotta in a sentence, it’s going to be followed by something stupid, or a lie -- generally both.
http://sippicancottage.blogspot.com/2013/10/beware-justin-gotta.html

Jim

Michael Wade said...

Jim,

Having the right radar for such language is an important career advantage.

Michael