Quote Me Another One...

I've been seeing this quote in the signature of a colleague, and it did strike me one time, not the first time I saw it, but at the time that it really meant something to me. Something happened in my work, and my older boss's reminder to me before came to my mind:

"When a boss asks a question, don't simply answer what was asked. Think through, and beyond. Why was it asked? For what use is your answer? Why were you asked, instead of others?"

Insights are:
1. This will sort of temper your reply, if you are angry at that time, whether with your boss, a colleague, with your work, or with anything at all.
2. You will not just answer haphazardly. Your reply can go all around the top people in your organization.
3. You will answer carefully. What you say may be on the front page of the company newsletter. And if you wouldn't like what you read, nobody else will.
4. You will forget your misery now, and will start to think past today, to tomorrow, and in the future. Your reply may stick on you from then on.
5. You don't want to create unnecessary chaos or bad remarks about you, or your group. Your department will eventually get hit for your misdemeanor, if there is, and people will get affected as a result, without their knowing it, and without having any chance to defend themselves from something they didn't do.

With that, here's the quote:

"Never answer a question unless you know exactly who is asking, why it is being asked, and what will be done with the information."