Why Your #1 Resolution in the New Year Should Be This

When you watched the political debates, whether Republican or Democratic, primary or presidential in 2016, at least once, you, like I, probably wanted to scream at the television “answer the f*cking question!” There is nothing that angers people more than wanting an answer and not getting one. And yet, more than ever before, NOT answering questions has become a way of life.

Think about it–have you replied to an email in the past year and pushed send before realizing you forgot to respond to a question contained therein? Have you absentmindedly said “Yes” “No” or “Sounds Good” to your spouse or child without really hearing the question they asked in the first place? I bet you have because we all have.

Have you yourself ever been trying to communicate with a colleague, partner, or employee and been given an “umm huh” instead of a real answer? As you spent your valuable time repeating yourself, was your frustration palpable? I bet it was, because we have all experienced this aggravation.

So this New Year’s, as you start to mull over all those changes you’d like to make, how about making just 1?

Answer the question. Whether it means carefully replying to every single question asked by a customer in an email with well- thought out and clearly explained details or providing a complete answer required by a co-worker collaborating on the same project with you, or even just responding in a full sentence to your loved ones.

This one tiny resolution can provoke powerful change in your life.

• No more back and forth email exchanges to get necessary precisions on hastily jotted off half-replies. Time saved.
• No more customer attrition because they got tired of waiting for one of your staff members to get the information they should have received a week ago. Connection kept.
• No more battles with your loved ones because you were there, but not really present. Relationship reinvigorated.

All it takes is one resolution. Answer the question. Every question. Like your life depends on it–because it really does.