Monday, December 26, 2016

Running It By


It is a rare week when someone does not begin a conversation or an email exchange with me by saying "I want to run something by you" or words to that effect

These individuals may be personal friends or clients. Often they already know the best course of action but simply want confirmation. They also know that if I disagree I will tell them. One recently surfaced an approach and, after listening carefully, I suggested that she change one word.

Only one word.

But it made an enormous change in tone and substance. It also reduced the likelihood of opposition from other parts of the organization.

And it saved a sizable amount of time.

Oddly enough, that's why many people resist getting other opinions; they think doing so will take too much time. They overlook two things: getting another opinion seldom is a lengthy process and not getting extra insight may wind up gobbling massive amounts of time.

I don't say that as a consultant but as someone who often says, "I want to run something by you."

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