Answer the question

Dave Kellog's blog post about how to deal with executives is great, but I think it's valid for an even wider audience. As I coach teams to present their work we focus a lot on the Minto Pyramid, but as soon as someone asks a question it all falls apart.

Dave's advice is that you should answer the question, and he does it (in my opinion) by applying the first layer Minto Pyramid to your answers. Provide a concrete answer, and leave the door open for followup questions if people want to hear your key arguments.

The examples are great, so I'm reproducing them here in case the blog post ever disappears:

So the best thing you can do in front of a senior executive is answer the question.

• Question: On a scale of 1-10 how is the team working?
• Bad Answer: Well, you know, the guys have been trying hard, things haven’t been perfect, but the team has really been pulling together lately, and I think things are improving. We’ve filled the open headcount and are making real progress.
• What the Executive Hears: Blah, blah, blah this fool is not answering my question blah, blah, blah.
• Good Answer: 7.
• Best Answer. 7, but there one or two key problems to work out.

But what if the answer isn't clear-cut?

Verbal hedging can be used to leave such threads open and avoid the huge “disclaimers” that people often insert before answering questions.

• Question: is the project tracking to finish on time?
• Bad Answer: well, you know, you can never be sure about these things, but it is going pretty run, the head PM has had a cold, and we got behind on a few tasks and — gosh you never know if an Act of God is going to interrupt things — and the long pole in the tent is getting some new servers delivered, and risk, yes risk, there’s always risk in managing such projects.
• Good Answer: Yes, but one item on the critical path — server delivery — is holding us up, but not so much that I think we’ll miss the deadline.
• Best Answer: Yes, mostly.

I like the last answer best, because — if I care — I can simply ask: what do you mean by mostly? And if I don’t, then I can proceed.