First of all, I want to say, “thanks to all the people who were kind enough to write and tell me how much you appreciated last month’s column. Your taking the time to write to let me know you found the column helpful is deeply appreciated. As my grandfather used to say, “Your kindness warmed the cockles of my heart.”
Some of those who wrote asked if I would expound on some of the concepts I presented. I appreciate the request. That makes it much easier for me to come up with ideas for this column.
Never Ask a Question to Which You Don’t Know the Answer!
In last month’s column, I illustrated this principle by saying that when I had an item that needed to go on the agenda for the meeting of the Juvenile Board or Commissioners Court, I visited with each member to learn if they were supportive of what I was proposing. If I discovered a majority of them were opposed to what I was proposing, I pulled the item from the agenda, visited with those who were opposed, found out what their objections were and spent time overcoming them. I only put it back on the agenda when I had enough votes for the item to be approved.
As one reader pointed out, frequently matters come up that require the item be placed on the agenda of the next meeting and there is not enough time to do the things I suggested. That reader is absolutely correct. In that case, this principle would not be applicable. However, most items are not emergency items.
Another reader suggested I provide examples of how this principle works. Suppose I had an idea for a new program or wanted to suggest a new way of doing something that would require approval from the board. In a casual conversation with each member of the board, I would bring up the idea. If I got a negative response from some of the members, I would ask them to explain why they felt the way they did. Once I knew what their objections were, I could then work on how to overcome their objections or amend the idea to make it more acceptable to them. [READ FULL POST]