t’s been about two years since I established an ADGN email address, and there are just shy of 6,000 emails to analyze. I was curious: Are there sorts of emails I respond to over and over again?
Last week, thanks to an AI scan of my inbox, I learned that I am indeed a broken record playing to a rotating audience.
The most common email comes from a leader in a school, school system, foundation, or nonprofit. It sounds something like this:
Hey Rob, we’re considering doing X. Do you think X is a good idea?
“X” is usually implementing or funding a new program, tool, or opportunity. There are often good reasons to do X. The undertone tends to lean yes.
And I get it, when I was leading in a school and then a nonprofit, I often said yes. There were a lot of reasons: FOMO, pressure to get results, a third-party study showing strong results or good value for money, or someone else willing to pay for it.
I’ve since had a lot of time to reflect on why saying “yes” to something good was sometimes a mistake, and to see the same pattern play out in other organizations. Too often, leaders say yes to too many “good” ideas, and it overwhelms their teams, overloads the people they exist to serve, and dilutes the dosage and focus of their most important work. Woof, I know.
But I never say that in response, because maybe this time they should do it. Maybe it is a great idea. Maybe it is exactly what the doctor ordered.
So instead, I reframe the question. It usually goes something like this:
Hi Alex:
I bet there are a lot of good reasons to do this. You could start with a pros-and-cons list, but I wonder if you and your leadership team might instead start by asking two questions:
- How confident are we that doing this will help our users achieve our definition of success—and what evidence supports that confidence?
- What might be the hidden costs of doing this, especially to the time and focus of our staff and users?
If you start generating a list of reasons to do it, the list will probably be compelling. I find these questions more useful because it may be a good idea, just not a good idea for your organization right now.
Or maybe it is exactly the right thing at the right time—and answering the questions will help you say yes with greater confidence.
If you’re curious, the next time an opportunity pops up, consider these two questions. I’d love to hear about it.
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