Which of these would you do first? What is the difference?
I recently saw these four words on
different bullets on the same chart.
As a senior leader, which one do you
think I was supposed to react to? Should
I have to assume that “now” is before lunch but “immediately” is sometime
afterward? Or possibly, “ASAP” means
today where “soon” is sometime this week?
Communication is hard enough without using
words that seem to mean the same thing but don’t. There is a simple way to avoid this – use a date
and/or time. This is particularly true
when you are making commitments, describing risks or asking for help. Your leaders are pulled in many directions
and will react to the requests that are easily understood and input into “their
system.” To be a strong team player, you
need to understand the system and fit your needs into it.
Trust me, “soon, immediately, ASAP and
now” cannot be calendarized (I did not make up this word, but someone else did).
Do you find yourself or others talking
in general terms on exacting topics? How
do you help avoid this pitfall?
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1 comment:
Good post. It reminds me of an old Goerge Carlin joke..."here comes a moment, here it comes, here it comes, oops it's gone". Saying that, I think "Now" and "Immediately" would catch my attention more than "Soon" and "ASAP" if I was at the airport for example (flight number XXXX is boarding NOW).
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