David Sanders

What Time is It?
July 9, 2007

The meeting starts off like most meetings between manager and employee with the usual greetings and personal updates. The manager, a successful veteran of his business leans back in a chair and asks the employee the current time. The employee, a young engineer with a few years under his belt leans forward with confidence and begins to give his answer.

The manager makes no expression or gives any indication of interest in what the employee is saying. The employee is somewhat perplexed at the lack of response from the manager and it leaves him doubting himself. He was certain he had explained the “time” in enough detail to not only impress his boss but to make him feel confident in his ability. The manager just sat there in a slight daze for a moment, he leaned forward and in a very calm way he said “David I asked you what time it is, not how to build a clock.”

I continue to learn this lesson even today. I get so caught up in the details of a project I want to share more than necessary at times. My goals are different today and my motives completely displaced from the mentality I used to have when it comes to reporting on projects. I am no minimalist by any means but I do try to consider my audience’s knowledge of the subject they are inquiring about.

I read somewhere that it is better to leave your audience with a few questions. I think a balance must be maintained during delivery in order to effectively answer the question to the satisfaction of the person asking. If I ask you “what time is it” there are numerous responses albeit some are a bit on the sarcastic side:

            Its summertime! It’s daytime! It’s five o’clock. It’s five A.M. It’s five P.M.

Seriously, throughout my years in this business the devil is in the details! That’s our job! Kick the devil out of the details! Sometimes while we are doing the kicking we want our managers to know what we have been through, what we are doing, we just want some credit and that’s okay everyone deserves credit for a job well done.

Looking back with hindsight being one of those “cool” tools I must be honest with myself. The delivery of the answer was not about impressing the boss or even about recognition it was about being young and lacking experience. Sometimes a minimum answer is the best answer. If a manager wants more information they will ask for it.

What time is it? Its time to go home!

Links of the Day

http://www.managementhelp.org/

http://www.leadstrat.com/library/tips.shtml#ques
http://www.time.gov/

Posted by David Sanders on July 9, 2007 | Comments (2)