When ‘cutting the crap’ wastes time and effort

Have you got enough time to get done all the things you need to do? Lack of time is one of the biggest challenges that business leaders face – and that pressure means there’s no room for flimflam – “cutting the crap” is all the rage.

There’s nothing wrong with that in principle – but often, in practice, this kind of language drives behaviour that wastes everyone’s time and energy. I’ve lost count of the number of meetings that I’ve sat in where a leader has asked for ideas, then proceeded to critique the ideas proffered – calling on their years of experience – to explain why they won’t work and can’t be done. It’s all very “no bullshit” in feel – but what response will they get the next time they ask for ideas?