Sunday, July 18, 2004
2 Plus 2 is 0, Right?
How to get someone to answer your questions (from: KC Lemson [MS])
I learned a wonderful trick today that completely resonates with me, and I wanted to share it. Perhaps I should start a new program management category for this kind of thing, seems like I've been writing about it a lot recently. ...More
I'm posting this through Sauce Reader (<3!) which has built in blogging abilities and may even replace w.Bloggar (I kinda like that too, though. Oh, wait, Sauce is compatible with w.Bloggar too!) Anyway, back on topic: This is from Scoble's link blog. It's an interesting morsel of insight into the corporate world of flourishes and decorum, Just as you can't tell someone what to do, you can't force someone to give you an answer quickly, if at all. When you want someone to do something, you have to patiently suggest it, listen to their oppinion, explain yours and hope for the best. To get a quick answer, this post says you should give the definite wrong answer and wait to be corrected. Don't ask what 2 + 2 is, ask "2 plus 2 is 0, right?" "You'll be amazed at how quickly someone will take the time to correct you, particularly if the question was aimed at more than one person, since it's an opportunity for that person to prove their knowledge in front of others (which is just human nature)." However, as the post states, unless you're careful, you'll start to look pretty stupid. Tricky stuff!
