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This is probably the biggest productivity loss in the workplace. The “random question.” The question that comes out of the blue, seems unrelated to the task at hand, to the priorities, or to a corporate initiative. The question that is asked to satisfy a curiosity.

People ask questions in an attempt to be helpful. But they don’t realize the corporate overhead being added when the receiver takes time to decode the question. Not to mention the frustration, or wasted time in answering frivolous questions.

The person asking the question will not feel it is random (of course not!). The person asking the question has the duty to be simple and clear when asking the question. If you are not getting an answer, it is likely you don’t have the attention of the receiver, or the receiver is simply out of bandwidth to answer your question. Don’t ask a question just because you can.

In a busy and fast moving workplace, the person tasked with answering the question has mere seconds to decide whether to ignore, deflect, or answer the question. A wrong choice could be career limiting.

Action items handed out by executives and senior managers sometimes fall in this category. The “problem of the day” is not as important as the strategic choices made in the planning phase.

You did have a planning session, right?