Handy Lines for Common Sense Management

"Cut it out."

"Can you give me your third paragraph first?"

"And then what?"

"How will this benefit the organization?"

"Where did these numbers come from?"

"Can you put that in plain language?"

"No."

"We can't afford it."

"Who is your most valuable employee?"

"Who is your best 'idea person?'"

"Always give me more than three options."

"How was that translated once it reached the field?"

"Have you talked to him/her about the problem?"

"I need time to think."

"I need to see that in writing."

"Can you boil that down to a one-page memo?"

"Are we making this harder than need be?"

"What are the deadlines?"

"What's really going on here?"

"Is this a battle we should be fighting?"

"It is more important to do right than to be right."

"What are your priorities?"

"What is within our control?"

"What is vital and what is expendable?"

"Is anyone keeping a record of this?"

"What is the precedent?"

"Describe the worst case scenario."

"Can we persuade him (or her) to stay?"

"How can we get more out of our current resources?"

"How are we perceived out there?"

"What is being rewarded?"

"What are we going to do about it?"

"How will this look to the average person?"

"Can you state the problem in one sentence?"

"Is this a technical problem or a values problem?"

"Why wasn't this done sooner?"

"Describe your work day."

"Is only one person to blame or is it a poor relationship?"

"If you were starting over, would you do the same thing?"

"Is that meeting necessary?"

"Go see."

"Who is the best person for the job?"

"Let's walk and talk."

"I want to hear from someone who has been silent."

"Tell me three things we should change."

"You'd like a minute? I'll give you five."

"Tell me three things we should leave alone."

"I know what they said. What did they mean?"

"At which point will that start to be ineffective?"

"Why are we messing with that?"

"Can, and should, that be outsourced?"

"Let me tell you what I want."

"Let me tell you what I don't want."

"Let's draw a verbal picture of what this will look like when everything is finished."

"Do you have enough resources?"

"What are we overlooking?"

"Tell me how we can do this."

"Is that a want or a need?"

"Is the timing right?"

"What's the rush?"

"If this doesn't work out, what do you think will be the likely cause?"

"Is anything or anyone interfering with your ability to get this done?"

"That seems crazy. Now what's a good reason for doing it?"