Last week I initiated my “Ask Me Anything” series for a networking group I want to be more active in. No better way than to volunteer 15 or so minutes a week to answer any questions, anything LinkedIn. Just drop by and ask.
I was quite impressed by the depth of the questions from the 8 participants. No shrinking wallflowers in the bunch.
Then, one question came, and I clearly struggled with how to answer and it showed.
And I failed, yes bombed.
But your intrepid LinkedIn coach promised he would figure it out and give the answer the following week.
Immediately upon the conclusion of the AMA it came to me. Wouldn’t you know?
I tested the solution on the asker and two other colleagues on the call. Yup, I had it, just about 5 minutes too late and after losing some face.
Now I’m ready.
You know that there’s always something else to learn, or recall, that you just can’t come up with in a 15-minute tap dancing routine in an AMA. This was one of them.
I knew the risks of holding AMAs. The group seemed sympathetic to my fumble, so I intend to redeem myself next week and move on.
Honesty to say “I don’t know but I will get that answer” has always served me better than BSing my way through, and I will thank the colleague who asked for increasing my knowledge base, and theirs with this nifty trick I recalled.
What goes around comes around, just as many in the group thanked me later for my time and donated expertise.
More tap dance lessons next week.
