Unasked Questions Are Foolish Ones

Terry J. Fadem

If I Ask a Foolish Question, I’ll Look Foolish

If you do not ask the question, you will almost certainly be foolish—eventually. The only way to improve questioning skills is to use them. More often than not, others are also thinking about the same question and do not want to ask.

One of my former fellow managers was an ex-government administrator who had a tendency of allowing acronyms to slip into his conversation. Most of the time, they were easily discernible. On occasion, it was not possible to figure out what he meant.

I decided to look foolish in front of my boss and peers one afternoon when a particular acronym confused me.

Ex-military officer/manager: Our plan called for us to lead a ...