It’s not a game show

The need to have instant answers, particularly in a business setting, is a strange thing. While companies need to move forward, taking a few minutes to find the right solution shouldn’t be a problem.

I see similar with political candidates. While I expect them to be well-informed on various aspects of their role, if they need to ponder a question and get back with an answer later, that should be perfectly fine.

Seth Godin summed this up in a recent podcast, where he said:

“Well, why exactly do we need to produce the answer in real time? It’s not a game show. That in fact, when we go asynchronous, not all at once, but when we have it ready using a system like Slack, it’s easy to show that we could be more productive if we want to be.”

As an enneagram 5, I often feel the need to have the answers to everything, but I know that it’s a fool’s errand. If my team needs an answer to something, taking a few minutes to research the proper solution should never be an issue.

Speed shouldn’t be a measure

It’s similar to what Malcolm Gladwell shared regarding lawyers, and how silly it is that they’re measured on how quickly they can answer questions. Speed should be a factor, sure, but the main thing is getting the answer correct and that’s simply not valued as highly on tests like the LSAT. His main thought from there is that “ when we decide who is smart enough to be a lawyer, we use a stopwatch “. Why?

2D vs 3D content

I think much of Seth’s concern, as he alluded to with his comment about Slack, is that we’re holding unnecessary meetings. If we need to talk through deep ideas, a real-time conversation might be valuable. If straight answers are all that is needed, then an asynchronous solution (like Slack or email) is likely a far better way to go.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on December 9, 2024.